41.7 F
Fayetteville

Arkansas falls to Georgia in second round of SEC Tournament on Thursday

ESPN Arkansas News Services
-
0
Arkansas falls to Georgia in second round of SEC Tournament on Thursday

GAINESVILLE, Fla. — Georgia defeated Arkansas, 4-0, Thursday in the second round of the Southeastern Conference Men’s Tennis Tournament Thursday evening.

After a short delay from the earlier matches, Georgia took a 1-0 advantage by securing the doubles point. The Bulldogs took court three 6-3. Oscar Mesquida and Adam Sanjurjo were able to take court one 6-4, but Georgia took court two 6-4 to take a 1-0 lead heading into singles action.

Georgia would take a 2-0 lead as No. 99 Philip Henning (UGA) defeated Maxim Verboven 6-3, 6-0 on the sixth court. The Dogs would pull within one from clinching as No. 31 Emil Reinberg (UGA) beat Alex Reco 6-1, 6-1 on court two.

The Dogs clinched the match on court four as Trent Bryde (UGA) defeated Enrique Paya 6-3, 6-2.

Doubles Results – Order of Finish (3,1,2)

1. Oscar Mesquida/Adam Sanjurjo (AR) def. No. 18 Robert Loeb/Jan Zielinski (UGA) 6-4
2. Walker Duncan/Emil Reinberg (UGA) def. Maxim Verboven/Enrique Paya (AR) 6-4
3. Alex Diaz/Philip Henning (UGA) def. Alex Reco/Jose Alonso (AR) 6-3

Singles Results – Order of Finish (6,2,4)

1. No. 17 Jan Zielinski (UGA) vs. No. 66 Oscar Mesquida (AR) 5-7, 4-2, unfinished
2. No. 31 Emil Reinberg (UGA) def. Alex Reco (AR) 6-1, 6-1
3. Robert Loeb (UGA) vs. Pedro Alonso (AR) 6-2, 2-2, unfinished
4. Trent Bryde (UGA) def. Enrique Paya (AR) 6-3, 6-2
5. Walker Duncan (UGA) vs. Jose Alonso (AR) 6-2, 1-5, unfinished
6. #99 Philip Henning (UGA) def. Maxim Verboven (AR) 6-3, 6-0

Fassi’s near-perfect round moves Razorbacks to third at SEC Championship

ESPN Arkansas News Services
-
0
Fassi’s near-perfect round moves Razorbacks to third at SEC Championship

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — A nearly perfect round by senior Maria Fassi and great play from Dylan Kim, Kaylee Benton, Brooke Matthews, and Ximena Gonzalez moved Arkansas into third place in round two of the SEC Championship in Birmingham, Alabama, on Thursday.

Fassi played 4-under on the Legends Course at Greystone Golf and Country Club shooting a 68 and is currently in second place with rounds of 71-68=139.

She trails the leader by just two shots going into the final round of stroke play on Friday.

Kim and Matthews bettered their first-round scores with rounds of 72 and 74, respectively. Benton added a 1-over 73 helping the Razorbacks to a 287 and up one spot to third place on the leaderboard.

Fassi started and ended her round with birdies and had just one bogey on the day. She also birdied holes five, six and 11.

She was one of three Razorbacks to count a four on the par-5 18th hole with Benton and Kim also carding birdies to finish. Benton (72-73) and Kim (73-72) are T15 overall with 1-over 145s.

Matthews made the turn and birdied the 10th and 11th holes erasing a double bogey on the front nine. She parred five of the last seven holes for a 74, three shots better than her first-day number. She and Gonzalez are T50 overall.

The windy conditions increased throughout the round and overnight wind and rain are expected.

Arkansas is currently scheduled to begin play at 9:40 a.m. in the final round to determine the individual winner. The top eight teams advance to match play Saturday and Sunday.

From Shauna Taylor

“I’m super proud of this group. It takes a team effort to have success on this golf course. I’m really proud of Brooke (Matthews). She doubled her second hole and finished 2-over. Obviously (Maria) Fassi had a fantastic round and Dylan (Kim) told me she had 24 putts, so she battled hard today. It really says a lot about our group. We are just trying to take it one day at a time. Tonight, we are going to rest and recover. We want to fuel properly and try to pace ourselves to put ourselves in a position to challenge for a title.”

About Maria Fassi:

“I think experience on this golf course means a lot. This is her fourth year playing here. She knows the hole locations and knows when she needs to be aggressive and when to take her medicine and hit to the middle of the greens. She’s grown so much as a player and her discipline on the golf course is amazing. Her acceptance of dealing with wherever her golf ball goes is the reason she will find herself in contention quite a bit.”

The Razorback Lineup

2 Maria Fassi (1) 71-68=139 -5
T15 Kaylee Benton (2) 72-73=145 +1
T15 Dylan Kim (3) 73-72=145 +1
T50 Brooke Matthews (4) 77-74=151 +7
T50 Ximena Gonzalez (5) 75-76=151 +7

 

The Field

1 Florida 284-283=567 -9
2 South Carolina 287-286=573 -3
3 Arkansas 291-287=578 +2
4 Georgia 293-286=579 +3
5 Auburn 284-298=582 +6
6 Vanderbilt 296-288=584 +8
7 Ole Miss 298-290=588 +12
8 LSU 299-292=591 +15
9 Mississippi St. 294-298=592 +16
T10 Texas A&M 300-293=593 +17
T10 Alabama 301-292=593 +17
12 Tennessee 294-300=594 +18
13 Missouri 299-298=597 +21
14 Kentucky 304-299=603 +27

 

SEC Championship Notes

• Arkansas won the program’s first SEC title and it was the first title under the format that features match play.

• Maria Fassi tied for the individual title but lost the playoff. Fassi finished T5 as a freshman (2016), T63 as sophomore (2017) and as runner-up as a junior (2018).

• Arkansas finished third in stroke play last year and won the match play portion for the SEC title.

ª The Razorbacks have 12 top-5 finishes in program history.

• Rain is expected overnight and play may be delayed in the morning for the final round of stroke play.

Arkansas falls to Kentucky in second round at SEC Tournament in Texas

ESPN Arkansas News Services
-
0
Arkansas falls to Kentucky in second round at SEC Tournament in Texas

COLLEGE STATION, Texas — Arkansas fell, 4-1, to Kentucky on Thursday afternoon in the second round of the SEC Tournament.

The Razorbacks opened the match strong, clinching the doubles point for the sixth-straight match. Lauren Alter and Tatum Rice defeated No. 13 Justina Mikulskyte and Akvile Parazinskaite before the Wildcats evened doubles play with a 6-4 victory over Martina Zerulo and Thea Rice.

Miruna Tudor and Jackie Carr clinched the point at the No. 3 position for the second-straight match.

Kentucky took the lead quickly, as Alter was defeated 7-6(4), 6-2 and Tatum Rice fell at the No. 2 position. The team got within one of the clinch with a 6-3, 6-3 win at the No. 5 position, before winning the match with a victory over Tudor. The final two matches were suspended due to the clinch.

The Hogs will learn their postseason fate at 5:30 p.m. on April 29, with the individuals and doubles selection announcement to be made the following day.

No. 44 Arkansas 4, Missouri 1

Doubles Results – Order of Finish (1,2,3)
1. Lauren Alter/Tatum Rice (ARK) def. Justina Mikulskyte/Akvile Parazinskaite (UKW) 6-2
2. Lesedi Jacobs/Diana Tkachenko (UKW) def. Martina Zerulo/Thea Rice (ARK) 6-4
3. Miruna Tudor/Jackie Carr (ARK) def. Brianna Tulloch/Alexis Merrill (UKW) 7-5

Singles Results – Order of Finish (3,2,5,4)
1. Justina Mikulskyte (UKW) vs. Martina Zerulo (ARK) 3-6, 6-1, 1-2, unfinished
2. Lesedi Jacobs (UKW) def. Tatum Rice (ARK) 6-4, 6-3
3. Tiphanie Fiquet (UKW) def. Lauren Alter (ARK) 7-6 (7-4), 6-2
4. Akvile Parazinskaite (UKW) def. Miruna Tudor (ARK) 6-3, 7-5
5. Diana Tkachenko (UKW) def. Laura Rijkers (ARK) 6-3, 6-3
6. Anastasia Tkachenko (UKW) vs. Jackie Carr (ARK) 3-6, 2-5, unfinished

Hogs finally land former Pulaski Academy lineman Jones from Irish

ESPN Arkansas News Services
-
0

Chad Morris lost Pulaski Academy offensive lineman Luke Jones less than three weeks after getting the job at Arkansas … but now Jones is coming back home.

Apparently it didn’t work out in South Bend and the 6-foot-5, 303-pounder announced he was coming back to the state Thursday afternoon on Twitter:

Considering the NCAA is making a lot of these transfers eligible immediately, it could be a boost for an offensive line situation struggling with numbers.

Jones had been competing for the backup center spot at Notre Dame in the spring and it’s a spot the Razorbacks have been filling by committee the last few years.

Ty Clary, the projected No. 1 coming out of spring, has struggled with snaps at times. His backups are redshirt-sophomore Shane Clenin (seven career games played), redshirt-freshman Silas Robinson and true freshman walk-on Austin Nix.

Jones was the fourth-rated player overall in the state his senior year, but flipped his commitment from the Hogs to the Irish 20 days after Morris was named as the coach, replacing Bret Bielema.

He is the fifth transfer addition along with quarterbacks Ben Hicks and Nick Starkel, running back Trelon Smith and kicker Jared Sackett.

Hicks and Starkel are graduate transfers and eligible immediately. Smith and Sackett are expected to sit out this season.

With the NCAA granting waivers right and left, though, nothing is for certain.

He will be the fourth player from Pulaski Academy on the roster along with junior linebacker Hayden Henry. Incoming freshman tight end Hudson Henry and freshman wide receiver John David White are the others.

Jones was a heavily-recruited three-star with offers from Arkansas, Notre Dame, Missouri, Oregon, Virginia and over a dozen others.

Former Razorback Johnny Ray to SEC Baseball Legends for 2019

ESPN Arkansas News Services
-
0
Former Razorback Johnny Ray to SEC Baseball Legends for 2019

FAYETTEVILLE — Former two-time All-SWC selection and Major League veteran Johnny Ray has been named one of four Southeastern Conference legends that were announced by the conference office Thursday morning.

The Razorbacks baseball legend will be recognized at the 2019 SEC Baseball Tournament May 21-26 at Hoover Metropolitan Stadium in Hoover, Alabama.

A two-time All-Southwest Conference second baseman for the Razorbacks, Ray was a standout on the diamond in 1978 and 1979.

The two-year letterman helped lead the Razorbacks to a combined 80-28 record in his tenure including a national championship runner-up finish in 1979.

The Chouteau, Oklahoma, native led the team in numerous offensive categories in both seasons as a Razorback including at bats (154-1978, 235-1979), runs (27-1978, 55-1979) and hits (47-1978, 77-1979).

He also led the team in doubles in 1978 (8), triples in 1979 (12) and in RBI in 1979 (47).

Ray was drafted by the Houston Astros in the 12th round of the 1979 MLB Draft, and in 1982 he was named the Sporting News Rookie of the Year.

He played 10 seasons in Major League Baseball with the Pittsburgh Pirates and the California Angels. He made one All-Star game appearance as a member of the Angels in 1988.

Joining Ray in this year’s class is Doug Duke from Alabama, Josh Fogg from Florida and Jeremy Sowers from Vanderbilt.

Ray is the third Razorback to be named an SEC Legend since the inaugural year in 2012 as former Razorback All-American Kevin McReynolds was part of that first class, followed by hall of fame head coach Norm DeBriyn in 2016.

???? Thursday Halftime Pod — featuring Aaron Torres of Fox Sports Radio

Tye Richardson
-
0
???? Thursday Halftime Pod — featuring Aaron Torres of Fox Sports Radio

Phil Elson & Tye Richardson hit if Mus/Morris will recruit better than Bielema/Anderson, plus Aaron Torres and Halftime Homework!

Tyler Wilson shares where Bobby Petrino is coaching right now

Tye Richardson
-
0
Tyler Wilson shares where Bobby Petrino is coaching right now

Bud Light Morning Rush Podcast: Thursday

Tye Richardson
-
0
Bud Light Morning Rush Podcast: Thursday

John, Tommy and Tyler Wilson play an Easter game, talk about getting better players on campus and more!

Razorbacks to host ninth-ranked LSU in weekend series

ESPN Arkansas News Services
-
0
Razorbacks to host ninth-ranked LSU in weekend series

FAYETTEVILLE — Arkansas will host No.9 LSU for a three-game series starting Thursday at 6 p.m. at Bogle Park.

The annual Easter egg hunt is set to take place at the conclusion of Saturday’s game. Admission is always free for all fans; seating is first-come first-serve basis and gates open one hour prior to first pitch.

Games one and two will stream live on SEC Network+ and the WatchESPN app. Saturday’s game will air live on ESPNU and the WatchESPN app with Jenn Hildreth and Jenny Dalton-Hill on the call.

 Arkansas (32-14, 6-9) heads into the weekend after securing its third consecutive run-rule victory, playing only five in a doubleheader against Furman and then UAPB.

Arkansas has now won six-straight games, including its first extra inning contest of the season: a 12-inning 6-5 victory over Furman on Saturday.

Over the course of the winning streak, two Hogs are batting .500 or better: Ashley Diaz (.524, 11-21) and Sydney Parr (.500, 9-18).

The Razorbacks have fired off 20 extra-base hits, slugging .561 and building a .448 on base percentage.

The Arkansas pitching staff combined for a 1.23 ERA, striking out 45 batters and forcing its opponents to a .163 average at the plate.

Scouting the competition

LSU (36-9, 13-5) travels to Fayetteville after defeating Kentucky in games two and three last weekend. The Tigers are hitting .332 on the year, which leads the SEC.

In the circle, Maribeth Gorsuch and Shelby Wickersham are both 10-1. Wickersham owns a 1.76 ERA, while Gorsuch and Shelbi Sunseri both have a 2.13 ERA. Sunseri leads the Tigers in strikeouts with 58 in 79 innings of work.

The Tigers own a 59-9 record after the Razorbacks dropped all three of the weekend series last season in Tiger Park.

Razorback notables

• Danielle Gibson is only one of eight Razorbacks to ever record double-digit home runs and doubles in the same season (11 doubles, 10 home runs). She is the first since Nicole Schroeder achieved such in 2017 and only the fourth sophomore.

• Nicole Duncan’s 14 hit-by-pitch calls in 2019 is two-short of the single-season high of 16, set by Kim Eiben in 2002.

• Kayla Green is only one of four SEC catchers to catch eight or more runners stealing – of those four, Green has the least number of stolen bases allowed (4) and therefore the best SBA% (.333).

In the polls

After a 5-0 week at home, the Razorbacks are holding steady in the polls, cruising into Week 10 sitting at 25th in the NCAA Women’s Softball RPI, and ranked No. 19 by USA Today/NFCA, No. 16 by Fast­pitch News, No. 18 by FloSoftball, No. 22 by Softball America and No. 25 in the USA Softball/ESPN poll.

Up next

The Hogs and Tigers will play Friday at 6 p.m. and on Saturday for the series finale at 1 p.m.

Arkansas has only three conference series remaining, with a road series to follow next weekend at Texas A&M and the final home series of the season against Auburn.

Hogs facing big weekend SEC series with Bulldogs, starting Thursday

ESPN Arkansas News Services
-
0

FAYETTEVILLE — For the fourth-straight weekend, Arkansas faces a ranked conference opponent as second-ranked and SEC West leader Mississippi State comes to Baum-Walker Stadium for a three-game series starting on Thursday at 8 p.m.

Thursday’s game will be televised in front of a national audience on ESPNU, Friday’s game two will be at 6:30 p.m., while Saturday’s finale will be at 2 p.m.

Games two and three will be online only via SEC Network+.

The Razorbacks (27-10, 9-6 SEC) are still just a game back of the Bulldogs in the division race even with the slip up at sixth-ranked Vanderbilt last week that resulted in a series loss.

Arkansas did prevent the sweep with a thrilling ninth-inning comeback on Sunday, scoring five runs in the final frame to win a back-and-forth battle, 14-12.

In that game, Arkansas pounded out a season-high 22 hits with eight of its nine starters recording two or more hits.

The hit total was the most in a single game since the second game of the 2018 season (vs. Bucknell on Feb. 17, 2018) and the most in an SEC game since 2001 (24 vs. Georgia, March 17, 2001).

The Razorbacks followed up that offensive outburst with 16 runs on 16 hits against Arkansas-Pine Bluff on Tuesday.

The Hogs have 38 hits over their last two games and 19 games with 10 or more this year.

Once again, redshirt junior Isaiah Campbell will be on the mound to kick off the series. He’ll go opposite Ethan Small for Mississippi State.

Campbell has thrown six or more innings in seven-consecutive starts and all nine of his starts this year have been of five innings or more. Campbell is currently third in the league in innings pitched (58.2) and fifth in the league in strikeouts (58).

He suffered his first loss of the year last week at Vanderbilt, but totaled his seventh-straight quality start, striking out nine.

Follow Live

This weekend’s series can be viewed on ESPNU on Thursday and SEC Network+ on Friday and Saturday. Clay Matvick (PxP) and Chris Burke (Analyst) will be on the call Thursday. Brett Dolan (PxP) and Troy Eklund (Analyst) will return games two and three for the SEC Network+ broadcast.

Phil Elson and Bubba Carpenter will have the radio call all three days on the Razorback Sports Network.

Fans can listen to the radio call via the Razorback Gameday app and on ESPN Arkansas 95.3 in the River Valley, 96.3 in Hot Springs and 104.3 in Harrison-Mountain Home.

Pregame coverage begins 30 minutes prior to first pitch. There will also be a live radio link available on ArkansasRazorbacks.com.

Important Links
Game 1 – WATCH | LIVE STATS
Game 2 – WATCH | LIVE STATS
Game 3 – WATCH | LIVE STATS 

Probable Starters
ARK RHP Isaiah Campbell (6-1, 2.45 ERA, 68 K, 10 BB) vs. MSU LHP Ethan Small (4-0, 1.83 ERA, 94 K, 15 BB)

ARK LHP Patrick Wicklander (3-1, 4.25 ERA, 52 K, 23 BB) vs. MSU RHP Peyton Plumlee (2-2, 3.35 ERA, 38 K, 16 BB)

ARK TBA vs. MSU RHP JT Ginn (7-1, 3.35 ERA, 64 K, 6 BB)

Goodheart staying hot at halfway point of SEC season

Going into the SEC opener against Missouri, sophomore Matt Goodheart was only hitting .241 with one multi-hit game and just seven hits in 12 games and four RBIs.

Claiming he was having trouble seeing at night, Goodheart got a new contacts prescription and not only turned the corner, but has become one of the top hitters in the SEC.

Goodheart is now hitting .456 in his last 20 games and has tallied six multi-hit performances in his last eight games.

In the Auburn series, Goodheart went 6-for-14 (.429), including his first three-hit game as part of Arkansas’ 15-inning win in the doubleheader with two of those hits going for doubles.

He followed that up with a 6-for-11 performance at the plate with two multi-hit games, three extra-base hits and two runs driven in.

In just SEC games, Goodheart is first in batting average (.480) and on-base percentage (.574). He’s also second in slugging (.700), two-hundredths behind Ole Miss’ Cole Zabowski.

Wicklander shows poise as starter

Freshman Patrick Wicklander may be one of Arkansas’ main starters by season’s end. Wicklander showed maturity two weeks ago when starting Arkansas’ rubber match with No. 15 Auburn on the road.

Wicklander threw five scoreless innings to help save an already depleted bullpen from the 15-inning affair the night before and struck out six batters en route to the 8-0 shutout.

In seven starts this year, Wicklander has a 1.98 ERA with three wins in 27.1 innings and 39 strikeouts.

Doubles machine

Through 37 games, junior Dominic Fletcher is easily having his best season as a collegiate hitter. Fletcher, who combined for 22 home runs and 86 RBIs, is on a similar pace this year with four home runs and 26 RBIs.

However, his batting average (.306) and doubles (17) are ahead of last year’s pace. Fletcher’s 17 doubles are currently tied Mississippi State’s Jake Mangum for the most in the SEC.

In three of Fletcher’s last seven games, he’s hit at least one double and six of his doubles this year have come in SEC play.

He has at least one hit in 15 of the last 18 games and tied his career high with five RBIs in Tuesday’s 16-4 win over Arkansas-Pine Bluff.

Fassi’s 71 pushes Razorbacks to fourth on first day at SEC Championship

ESPN Arkansas News Services
-
0
Fassi’s 71 pushes Razorbacks to fourth on first day at SEC Championship

BIRMINGHAM, ALA. — Maria Fassi fired a one-under 71 leading Arkansas to fourth-place after round one action at the 2019 SEC Championship in Birmingham, Alabama, on Wednesday.

Fassi’s 71 was part of a 3-over 291 for Arkansas and has the defending champions just seven shots back of the lead with two rounds of stroke play remaining.

The stroke play portion of the event determines the individual champion as well as the seeding for match play. Match play will decide the team title.

The Arkansas All-American had an eventful day on the Legends Course at Greystone Golf and Country Club. She birdied Nos. 6 and 7 and turned 2-under.

Fassi bogeyed No. 10 and doubled No. 12 moving to 1-over with six holes remaining. She rallied to birdie No. 14 and the closing hole at No. 18 getting up and down from the bunker for her 71.

She is three shots out of the lead.

Senior Kaylee Benton, who won her 18th hole to clinch the title match last year, is currently T14 overall with an even par 72. Senior Dylan Kim is tied for 19th, shooting 73, and freshman Ximena Gonzalez is tied for 36th with a 75.

Redshirt freshman Brooke Matthews rounds out the Razorback scores and is tied for 54th with a first-day 77.

Twelfth-ranked Florida and No. 14 Auburn are tied for the lead with 4-under 284’s. No. 11 South Carolina is third with 287 followed by Arkansas at 291. Georgia rounds out the top five with a 5-over 293.

Razorback lineup

T6 Maria Fassi (1) 71 -1
T14 Kaylee Benton (2) 72 E
T19 Dylan Kim (3) 73 +1
T36 Ximena Gonzalez (5) 75 +3
T54 Brooke Matthews (4) 77 +5

 

The field

T1 No. 12 Florida 284 -4
T1 No. 14 Auburn 284 -4
3 No. 11 South Carolina 287 -1
4 No. 6 Arkansas 291 +3
5 No. 40 Georgia 293 +5
T6 No 41 Tennessee 294 +6
T6 No. 47 Mississippi St. 294 +6
8 No. 4 Vanderbilt 296 +8
9 No. 35 Ole Miss 298 +10
T10 Missouri 299 +11
T10 LSU 299 +11
12 Texas A&M 300 +12
13 No. 36 Alabama 301 +13
14 Kentucky 304 +16
1...1,3381,3391,340...1,755Page 1,339 of 1,755

HitThatLine.com is the website for ESPN Arkansas. Listen at 99.5 in Fayetteville, 95.3 FM in Fort Smith and the River Valley, 96.3 FM in Hot Springs and 104.3 FM in Harrison.

© Copyright 2017-25 by Pearson Broadcasting. All rights reserved.