Tye & Tommy on the TX/TTU wins, not getting to play basketball, Tom Murphy and remembering Miracle on Ice!
Van Horn knows February win over Texas means nothing in May
Arkansas shut out Texas, 4-0, on Sunday night at the State Farm College Baseball Showdown and while some fans will celebrate, Dave Van Horn probably won’t.
“It’s just another game to me,” he said later when the question that always gets asked when the Razorbacks meet the Longhorns.
Exactly why it’s a big deal in any sport to Hog fans remains a mystery to me. It’s been just another game for the last 30 years.
Van Horn was more interested in Ole Miss and Mississippi State, who are also in Arlington playing games and the SEC is 5-1 (the Bulldogs lost to TCU on Sunday).
“There’s two other teams from the western division (of the SEC) that are here right now that are every bit as good as we are,” Van Horn said. “We’ve got our hands full with league play.”
Texas has been good in baseball before it became popular to be good in college baseball. Arkansas didn’t get around to having a whole lot of interest in the sport until the mid-1970’s.
“I have a lot of respect for their program and what they’ve done over the last 75 years,” Van Horn said. “It’s hard to say it’s just another win because some of our fans love it when we beat Texas in anything but to me it’s just a good win for our program.”
Still, getting a shutout win over the Longhorns in a showcase college baseball series that wasn’t television is a big deal to a lot of fans.
“It’s hard to say it’s just another win because some of our fans love it when we beat Texas in anything,” Van Horn said to acknowledge he’s aware some of the fans get worked up over it. “To me it’s just a good win for our program.”
And it was a good win.
Peyton Pallette allowed only one hit over 4.1 innings of work, retiring the first six Longhorn batters he faced.
He struck out two in the first before striking out the side in the top of the second.
Pallette, from Benton, worked around a base-loaded jam in the third, collecting another punch-out along the way, and then set down the Longhorns in order in the fourth, grabbing his seventh strikeout in the frame.
He struck out the very first batter he faced in the fifth before he was pulled for pitch count, finishing the outing with eight strikeouts.
Pallette departed the ballgame with a one-run lead thanks to designated hitter Brady Slavens, who single-handedly powered the Hog offense on Sunday night.
The Olathe, Kansas, product drove in all four runs in the win, starting with his RBI single in the bottom of the fourth that put Arkansas up, 1-0.
Slavens then broke the game open in the sixth inning, launching a three-run homer to right center and putting the Hogs ahead by four.
Left-hander Caden Monke and right-hander Caleb Bolden came on in relief of Pallette and did their jobs in protecting the lead.
Bolden tossed four scoreless frames out of the bullpen, closing out the game and striking out seven to lock down Arkansas’ second consecutive win over a Top 10 opponent.
Sunday’s win was Arkansas’ sixth all-time shutout victory against Texas. The Razorbacks last did so during the 1988 campaign, taking down the Longhorns, 5-0, in Austin, Texas in 1988.
The State Farm College Baseball Showdown concludes Monday night.
Arkansas will look to continue its undefeated start, facing its third nationally ranked opponent of the year, squaring off against No. 10 TCU at 6 p.m. Monday at Globe Life Field.
Information from Arkansas Communications is included in this story.
Bolden on strong four innings picking up save in Hogs’ win over Longhorns
Razorbacks’ pitcher Caleb Bolden’s strong four innings keeping Texas at bay helped secure the shutout win in the second game in Arlington.
Slavens after driving in all four runs to lift Razorbacks over Longhorns, 4-0
Arkansas’ pitching turned around from Saturday night’s opener and Brady Slavens drove in all four runs, including three-run homer over Texas.
Neighbors after win over LSU about Slocum returning with huge night
Destiny Slocum (29 points, 4 steals, 3 rebounds) and Chelsea Dungee (20 points, 3 steals, 3 rebounds) keyed Hogs’ 74-64 road win over Tigers.
Hogs win sixth of last seven games, picking up road win at LSU
BATON ROUGE, La. — Arkansas is peaking at the right time, downing LSU on Sunday evening, 74-64, in a game that really wasn’t as close as the final score indicated.
The No. 18 Razorbacks (17-7, 7-6 SEC) got their third straight SEC win and knocked the Tigers (8-11, 6-7) below .500 in league games.
The return of Arkansas guard Destiny Slocum was the story of the night, as the senior went off for 29 points on 11-15 shooting, including 5-7 from behind the arc.
Despite missing the Ole Miss game on Thursday night with a non-covid illness, Slocum put on one of her best performances of the season.
And Chelsea Dungee once again posed a problem for the opponent offensively as well, going for a quiet 20 points of her own, while also swiping three steals in the effort.
Turning point
LSU never led in this one, as Arkansas jumped out to an early lead, shooting 4-5 from deep in the first quarter while securing a double-digit advantage before the start of the second frame.
The Hogs coasted along the rest of the first half, taking a 14-point lead to the locker room after shooting 60 percent from the floor while holding LSU to just 36 percent in the first 20 minutes.
Dungee and Slocum got it done in the opening half, going for 13 and 15 points, respectively, to start the game.
The Razorbacks kept the pedal down in the second half, continuing their scoring surge in the third quarter, stretching the lead to 22, the biggest lead of the game.
Slocum was lethal on the offensive end, scoring 14 more in the second half to keep Arkansas ahead of the Tigers.
LSU guards Jailin Cherry and Khayla Pointer both played well, accounting for 40 of LSU’s 64 points, but it simply wasn’t enough, as the Hogs held firm down the stretch to secure the road win.
Hogs highlights
• Slocum also put up four steals in this one, a season-high.
• Erynn Barnum packed a punch off the bench once again, going for 12 points in only 14 minutes.
• Despite going scoreless, Amber Ramirez collected six boards, a season-high.
• Senior forward Taylah Thomas nearly double-doubled, going for seven points and seven boards.
Next game
The Hogs stay on the road for their next matchup, traveling to play Auburn on Thursday.
The Razorbacks and Tigers are set to tip off at 8 p.m. and the game will be broadcast on the SEC Network.
Hogs open 2021 win a wild win over Texas Tech in State Farm Showdown
Arkansas’ 13-9 win over Texas Tech on Saturday night in the State Farm College Baseball Showdown wasn’t particularly pretty, but it was crazy.
“That was one of the craziest games I’ve been in in a while,” Dave Van Horn said later.
In a game that started late and finished even later, it went down to the final half-inning to determine things.
Maybe the best stat line of just how crazy the game was is the Hogs scoring five of their 13 runs on a wild pitch or balk.
Elijah Trest, who picked up the win in relief, started off by giving up a three-run homer in the seventh and somehow managed to hang around long enough to get the win.
“Very rarely does a reliever get a chance for a little bit of redemption to stay in the game and get him out for the next two innings,” Van Horn said. “We come back, get a win, and he gets a win personally.”
Zebulon Vermillion started the game and didn’t do particularly bad, giving up two runs on three hits over four innings, striking out four and walking a couple of Red Raiders’ batters.
Both teams managed to leave a small village on the bases (Arkansas 10, Texas Tech 9). At times, pitchers got the ball everywhere in Globe Life Park except over the plate.
“Both teams really didn’t play very well, didn’t pitch very well, they got a couple big hits, they took advantage of a couple mistakes,” Van Horn said. “We took advantage of a couple mistakes on them.”
In the end, though, the main thing for Van Horn was coming out of the mess with a win to kick off the season.
“I’m just proud of the way our team just kept fighting and fighting,” Van Horn said. “We fought hard to score those two runs to take the lead, and they come back and get hit by a hit pitch, a walk, a three-run homer and now we’re losing again.
“We didn’t get all uptight, we just kept fighting, and it was just a good night for us.”
Now the Hogs face Texas on Saturday at 7 p.m.
Sunday’s meeting will be the 89th between the two programs. The series dates back to 1974 when the Hogs and Longhorns met annually as members of the SWC from 1974-91.
The Longhorns hold the advantage over the Razorbacks in all-time meetings, leading the series, 56-32. Arkansas, however, has won five of the last six matchups between the two teams.
Information from Arkansas Communications is included in this story.
Van Horn on Hogs’ ‘crazy’ 13-9 win over Texas Tech in State Farm Showdown
Razorbacks’ coach Dave Van Horn said the victory over the Red Raiders was “one of craziest games I’ve been a part of in a while.”
Webb on big catch early, then key hit to pad Razorbacks’ lead late in win
Arkansas right-fielder Braydon Webb had a big catch in the third inning to save a run, then a ninth-inning hit to give the Hogs a 13-9 lead.
Neighbors looks ahead to quick turnaround matchup on road against LSU
Arkansas coach Mike Neighbors previews the matchup with the Tigers that is good preparation for what team will see in postseason.
Dungee’s 38 points paces Razorbacks past Ole Miss on Friday night
Destiny Slocum wasn’t able to play Friday night, but Chelsea Dungee exploded for a 38-point night and Arkansas downed Ole Miss, 84-74.
The 18th-ranked Razorbacks (16-7, 6-6) completed the Mississippi sweep, taking down Ole Miss (9-8, 3-8). With the win, Arkansas has clawed back to .500 in the SEC, and has now won five of its last six games.
Slocum, a senior transfer, has been a key member of the team and Mike Neighbors said after the game her absence had nothing to do with covid-19 or a practice injury.
Dungee was at it again against the Rebels, exploding for a season-high 38 points, making 11 of her 22 shot attempts, while also putting in 14 of her 17 free throws.
It was her fourth game this season going for 30+ points, and the fifth time in her career going for 37 or more.
Her performance also broke a tie with former men’s basketball star Mason Jones for the most 37+ point performances by a player, man or woman, ever put on in Bud Walton Arena.
Turning point
Dungee and Amber Ramirez were hot from the start, both recording double-digit points in the first half.
Dungee went for 18, while Ramirez chipped in with 10. An 11-0 Arkansas run in the first quarter shifted the momentum in the Hogs’ favor early, with the home squad knocking down 55 percent of their first-half shots.
The Razorbacks forced 12 Rebel turnovers in the opening two frames to help Arkansas secure a 41-36 lead going into the locker room.
The second half started much like the first, as Arkansas tallied six quick points to start the final 20 minutes.
Dungee pounded the paint, drawing six fouls for 11 free throws in the second half alone, knocking down nine of them.
The Rebels had a surge of their own, though, drawing multiple three-point plays in the fourth quarter to try to draw even with the Hogs, but Arkansas kept the pressure on, courtesy of a couple of big buckets by Erynn Barnum and Marquesha Davis down the stretch.
Hogs highlights
• Dungee was only three points shy of her career high (41, Auburn, 2019).
• Dungee has now hit 10+ free throws in six games this season.
• On top of it all, she also had four assists and two steals.
• Dungee’s 38-point total was the third highest scoring game by an SEC player in a conference game this season.
• Jailyn Mason was big on the glass after being pressed into starting duty, grabbing a team-high six rebounds for the Hogs.
• Ramirez continued her hot scoring streak, as she has scored 15+ in five of her last six games.
• Mason and Ramirez also nabbed three steals each.
• Barnum recorded a game-high +17 in her big game off the bench, going for seven points, four boards and two steals.
Next game
Arkansas will be back in action on Sunday, heading to the Bayou to play LSU.
Tip-off is scheduled for 5 p.m. and the game will be broadcast on the SEC Network.
