AUBURN, Ala. (Interstat) — The Auburn Tigers look to continue their recent dominance over the Arkansas Razorbacks when the Southeastern Conference rivals open a weekend series Friday at Samford Stadium – Hitchcock Field at Plainsman Park.

First pitch is scheduled for 6 p.m. CDT under cloudy skies with temperatures near 74 degrees.

Auburn (20-8) enters with momentum after routing Arkansas 10-1 on Thursday to begin the series. The Tigers’ potent offense will test an Arkansas squad seeking to halt a five-game skid. The Razorbacks (19-11) are coming off a crushing 15-14, 10-inning loss at Missouri State on Tuesday, a game in which they blew a large late lead.

A key matchup will feature two of the league’s top hitters. Arkansas shortstop Camden Kozeal is a focal point of the Razorbacks’ lineup, coming off a 2-for-5 performance with a home run and five RBIs against Missouri State. Over his last 10 games, Kozeal is batting .350 (14-for-40) with three homers and 15 RBIs.

For Auburn, center fielder Bristol Carter aims to break out of a recent 2-for-16 slump. Carter drove in two runs in Tuesday’s loss at Georgia Tech and had a three-RBI game against South Alabama last week.

Despite Auburn’s commanding win Thursday and superior record, statistical models favor Arkansas to rebound. Interstat’s game simulator projects a 5-4 Arkansas victory, and its ELO rating system gives the Razorbacks a 59.9% probability to win Friday’s contest.

The Tigers have won four of their last five, while Arkansas has dropped five straight, including a three-game sweep by Florida last weekend.

Following Friday’s game, the series continues Saturday afternoon.