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Ramirez, Tolefree on big nights downing Tennessee handily Thursday night

ESPN Arkansas News Services
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FAYETTEVILLE — Arkansas won its third straight game on Thursday night, beating Tennessee, 83-75.

With their nine wins in conference play this season, the Razorbacks are just one SEC win away from matching the program record with three regular season games left to play.

It is only the second time ever the Hogs have won nine or more conference games since joining the SEC back in 1991.

Redshirt junior guard Amber Ramirez put on a show against the Lady Vols, going for a season-high 29 points, just four shy of her career-best.

The sharpshooter was money all night long, going 11 of 20 from the field and five of nine from deep. Her game against the Vols was her fifth 20-plus game during the conference season, tied for the most on the squad.

Alexis Tolefree also had another big outing for Arkansas, going for 22 points and seven rebounds, leading the team on the glass once again.

PHOTO BY ANDY HODGES | HITTHATLINE.COM

Key point of game

The Hogs had the Lady Vols down by as much as 16 early in the fourth, and it looked like they may coast to their third straight win.

Tennessee didn’t back down, though, going on an 18-8 run over six minutes in the final frame to make it a six-point game with 3:59 to play.

The teams went back and forth from there, before Arkansas iced the game at the free throw line.

The Lady Vols cut it closer with 15 seconds to play, as the Hogs held a narrow 79-75 lead, but Ramirez and Tolefree, along with a key defensive stop, buried Tennessee late, as the duo went a perfect four for four from the free throw line to keep this one just out of reach.

PHOTO BY ANDY HODGES | HITTHATLINE.COM

Hogs highlights

• Arkansas’ defense was active against the Lady Vols, forcing 23 turnovers, the most since the Hogs forced 26 against UT Martin (12/29/19).

• Ramirez had a team-high three steals to go along with her team-high 29 points.

• Tolefree recorded her fifth game this season with seven or more rebounds.

PHOTO BY ANDY HODGES | HITTHATLINE.COM

• Chelsea Dungee stuffed the stat sheet, going for 16 points, three assists, two steals, and two rebounds.

• Dungee was also seven of nine from the free throw line.

• A’Tyanna Gaulden once again led the Hogs in helpers, dishing four assists.

Next game

The Razorbacks head to Gainesville for a rematch with the Gators on Sunday. That game is set to tip at 3 p.m. CT and will air on the SEC Network.

Harper on Tennessee not able to overcome turnovers in loss to Razorbacks

ESPN Arkansas News Services
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Lady Vols coach Kellie Harper didn’t feel the fast pace by Arkansas was as much of a factor as her team’s turnovers (23) in 83-75 loss Thursday night.

Van Horn on variety of pitchers, wind in 7-5 win to open series with Gonzaga

ESPN Arkansas News Services
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Arkansas coach Dave Van Horn talked about using a variety of pitchers and the nuances of battling a stiff breeze at Baum-Walker Stafium to down Gonzaga on Thursday afternoon.

Moore, Monke, Opitz recapping Hogs’ win over Bulldogs to open series

ESPN Arkansas News Services
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Arkansas players Robert Moore, catcher Casey Opitz and pitcher Caden Monke talked after the game, including Opitz’ towering shot that was misplayed in the outfield for a hit.

???? Halftime Pod Presented by Jeff’s Club House-HogsZags BSB Preview, HogsVols WBB Preview

ESPN Arkansas News Services
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???? Halftime Pod Presented by Jeff’s Club House-HogsZags BSB Preview, HogsVols WBB Preview

Hogs’ series with Gonzaga starts this afternoon live on ESPN Arkansas

ESPN Arkansas News Services
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Hogs’ series with Gonzaga starts this afternoon live on ESPN Arkansas

FAYETTEVILLE — Arkansas returns to action with a four-game series against Gonzaga at Baum-Walker Stadium and you can hear it live at ESPN Arkansas 95.3 in the River Valley, 96.3 in Hot Springs or 104.3 in Harrison-Mountain Home.

You can also listen online at HitThatLine.com. CLICK HERE

The pregame show starts at 1:30 p.m. with first pitch at 2 p.m.

It will be the first time the Razorbacks have played the Bulldogs since 2016. Arkansas has never played Gonzaga in a three-game series, let alone a four-game set.

The Bulldogs hold a 5-3 advantage in the all-time series, with a 3-2 mark in games played in Fayetteville.

Arkansas is coming off a three-game sweep of Eastern Illinois to open the 2020 season. The Hogs outscored the Panthers, 27-5, in the three games, picking up victories of 5-1, 10-1 and 12-3 for a strong start to the new year.

Arkansas put together a .324 clip at the plate in the opening series, tallying 35 hits, 15 for extra bases.

The Razorbacks struck out EIU 31 times en route to a 1.33 team ERA and a .206 opponent batting average over the three games, allowing only three extra-base hits.

The Razorbacks have now won their last 19 opening weekend series dating back to 2002, including all 18 seasons under Dave Van Horn.

Arkansas has never lost opening day under Van Horn, outscoring opponents 148-42.

Van Horn has tabbed right-hander Kole Ramage, right-hander Connor Noland and lefty Patrick Wicklander to start the first three games of the series against Gonzaga. Sunday’s starter is to be announced.

Ramage entered Sunday’s game as the first reliever and tossed 2.0 scoreless frames against the Panthers. He allowed just one hit and one walk, striking out two, to earn his first win of the year and ninth of his collegiate career.

Noland earned the opening day win after tossing 6.2 innings on Friday afternoon. He allowed just one run, unearned, on two hits, walking one batter while striking out a career-high 11. Half of the batters he faced, he struck out.

Wicklander tossed 5.0 innings of shutout ball, allowing three hits, two walks and a hit batter, ringing up seven Panthers. He held EIU to a .167 clip at the plate and did not allow an extra-base hit. He was one strikeout shy of matching his career-best, picking up the game two victory.

Pitching matchups
Thursday – RHP Kole Ramage vs. LHP Keaton Kneuppel
Friday – RHP Connor Noland vs. LHP Mac Lardner
Saturday – LHP Patrick Wicklander vs. RHP Alek Jacob
Sunday – TBA vs. RHP Nick Trogrlic-Iverson

Noland’s performance on the mound on opening day earned him SEC Pitcher of the Week on Feb. 17.

It was his first pitcher of the week honor and second weekly accolade from the conference office, picking up newcomer of the week during the middle of his freshman season.

He wasn’t the only Hog to earn hardware after the first series of the year, as Heston Kjerstad was also named SEC Co-Player of the Week and Collegiate Baseball Newspaper National Player of the Week. It was the first time Arkansas has won SEC Player and Pitcher of the Week in the same week.

Outfielder Heston Kjerstad had quite the weekend at the plate, going 7-for-12 with four homers, 10 RBIs and six runs scored, earning national player of the week honors from Collegiate Baseball Newspaper.

He began the year with a 3-for-4 performance, including an RBI single and two solo home runs. It was the fifth time in his career he had hit multiple homers in a game.

Kjerstad would accomplish the feat again in the series finale as part of a 3-for-5 day, launching a three-run dinger and a solo hot, as well as a two-RBI double. All seven hits brought in at least one run during the weekend against the Panthers.

Kjerstad finished the series with a .583/1.667/.643 line at the plate in 12 at-bats. He is the first Hog since at least 2002 to record four home runs in the first series of the year.

Arkansas did not move in any of the updated polls after the first week of the year.

Week 2 rankings
Perfect Game – No. 4
USA Today Coaches – No. 5
NCBWA – No. 6
D1 Baseball – No. 7
Collegiate Baseball – No. 9
Baseball America – No. 11

A total of 29,118 fans came to see the Hogs play last week, which was the second-highest opening weekend attendance in Arkansas history and was No. 2 in total attendance in the country for the first series of the 2020 season.

Bud Light Seltzer Morning Rush Podcast — The new proposed transfer rule, Richard Davenport and more!

Tye Richardson
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Bud Light Seltzer Morning Rush Podcast — The new proposed transfer rule, Richard Davenport and more!

Tye & Tommy on the transfer rule impact, Richard Davenport talks recruiting Thursday and more!

Two big issues could change college sports in dramatic, ugly fashion

Andy Hodges
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Two big issues could change college sports in dramatic, ugly fashion

When the NCAA holds its annual convention in April, the questions getting the most publicity are a one-time transfer rule and compensating players above and beyond what they get now.

Either one by itself could be workable, but the combination of the two may makes for an interesting dynamic that would change things dramatically and maybe in an ugly way.

Former Georgia coach Mark Richt weighed in on the Twitter thing with maybe the most accurate description of what to expect in the biggest sports:

“I know, I have an idea. You recruit and develop players and when I think they’re good enough I will poach them from your roster! Welcome to what the new normal will look like in college football!”

Let me sum it up for you simply by saying the rich will get richer and the poor, well, they’ll need a combination of luck, more money and more money than that.

Welcome to free agency in college athletics.

The idea of something approaching a direct salary for college athletes will never work out to an amount of anything significant. It’s basic math. That’s because the athletic departments at most schools don’t have the same money to work with.

SEC schools have more than the Big 12 or Pac 12 and they ALL have more than non-Power 5 schools. That’s the rub. What do you do with the schools that aren’t in one of the big boy conferences.

What that means, quite simply, is somehow the folks in Fayetteville can only pay the players the same amount as the ones in Pine Bluff or Little Rock. Yes, Arkansas State, UALR, UAPB and UCA have a vote equivalent to the UA at the NCAA meetings.

Forget about percentage. The private schools are never going to release that number and the bigger schools will be paying so much the best players will have to take a pay cut to play professionally.

The NCAA rules are made to the lowest-common denominator. Figuring out all the economics of this will make bean counters the most important people in college athletics.

Paying players for their name, likeness and image might be more interesting. If you think there’s a ton of money to be made from apparel sales, no college makes enough profit off the jerseys for the player’s cut to amount to a whole lot (they get a royalty from the retail outlets that’s not exactly a big percentage).

In effect, if they’re lucky they’ll get 10 percent of 10 percent of that jersey you paid $100 for with a player’s name on the back. About $1 per jersey, in other words.

Throw in the drama associated with the biggest names getting thousands in appearance fees by a business while the others get nothing and you get all sorts of extra problems. The only reason it works in professional sports is everybody is getting something.

It’s how some pro owners get around salary caps by helping boost certain players earning potential off the field. The Dallas Cowboys were doing that for decades before Jerry Jones bought the team.

Combine free agency for players with the freedom to move from school to school and you have chaos.

But what this whole issue is going to do is open up the scenario for a breakway from the NCAA by the biggest schools. They will, sooner or later, get tired of being limited by the smaller schools.

That is why the two issues coming up in April that are getting all the discussions in February are going to likely create some changes in the world of college athletics, regardless of what is decided.

Of course, we’re assuming any of this passes.

We’re talking about a merry band of idiots with a rich history of waiting until the train gets going, then jumping under it.

Which, of course, means there’s no way to predict what will happen.

???? Halftime Pod Presented by Jeff’s Club House —Hogs Fall To Florida, Guests- Clay Henry And Bill King

ESPN Arkansas News Services
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???? Halftime Pod Presented by Jeff’s Club House —Hogs Fall To Florida, Guests- Clay Henry And Bill King

Neighbors says Tennessee ‘may be worst matchup all year’ for Hogs

ESPN Arkansas News Services
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Arkansas coach Mike Neighbors said Wednesday morning the Vols’ record may not be what it usually is but they still pose a problem in matching up players for Thursday night’s game.

Bud Light Seltzer Morning Rush Podcast — zone D in the future, RJ Young, What’s Your Beef

Tye Richardson
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0
Bud Light Seltzer Morning Rush Podcast — zone D in the future, RJ Young, What’s Your Beef

Tye & Tommy debate whether Arkansas should implement some Zone D, RJ Young joins the show, plus What’s Your Beef Wed!

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