Alabama-Birmingham coach Randy Norton talked after the 100-52 loss that Arkansas jumped out early and there really wasn’t a whole lot the Blazers could do.
Razorbacks get balanced offensive outburst, down Crimson Tide to win series
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — The game started with a lead-off home run by Casey Martin, then the heart of Arkansas’ order took it the rest of the way combining for 11 of the 14 hits in a 10-2 series-clinching win over Alabama on Sunday afternoon at Sewell-Thomas Stadium.
Arkansas (20-4, 5-1 SEC) wins its second-straight Southeastern Conference series to open league play and wins its first conference road series since 2017.
Alabama (19-6, 2-4 SEC) drops its second-straight SEC series with the loss.
The Razorbacks got the offense kickstarted by Martin’s home run and later scored four runs in the fourth inning to put some distance between them and the Tide, making it 8-2 before the midway point of the game.
Five different Razorbacks recorded two or more hits in the game with sophomore Heston Kjerstad and Dominic Fletcher leading all hitters with three hits each.
Kjerstad was a 3-for-4 at the plate, including a double. It’s Kjerstad’s second three-hit game of the series and sixth game with three or more hits this year.
Fletcher went 3-for-5 with two singles and an eighth-inning home run, his fourth of the year and second of the weekend.
Fletcher is on a five-game hit streak heading into Tuesday’s midweek game at Missouri State and has three multi-hit performances during that stretch.
Matt Goodheart and Trevor Ezell also had two hits in the game. It’s Ezell’s first two-hit game since March 2, while Goodheart continues to surge as he finished the series 5-for-8 (.625) with two double and two runs scored.
On the mound, redshirt junior Cody Scroggins earned his second victory of the year after working five innings with two runs allowed, one being earned on three hits with three strikeouts.
Scroggins has thrown five or more innings in each of his last three starts and hasn’t allowed more than three hits in either of those outings.
Getting out of the slump
Sophomore Casey Martin got out of his slump in a major way early Sunday, hitting his team-leading fifth home run on the second pitch of the game from Alabama starter Wil Freeman.
Martin’s long ball traveled well over the left field wall and was Arkansas’ first home run to lead off a game since Eric Cole did it against LSU on May 4, 2018. Martin finished the game 2-for-6 with two runs scored, his first multi-hit game since March 13 against Western Illinois.
Playing the long game
It’s been a successful week for the Razorback offense after a win at Texas and two victories at Alabama.
In all three wins, the Hog offense scored 10 or more runs and hit two or more home runs. On Sunday against the Crimson Tide, Martin and junior Dominic Fletcher both went deep, giving the Razorbacks four home runs in the series and 26 as a team for the year.
Fletcher’s home run in the eighth put a cap on the 10-run outburst on Sunday and upped Arkansas’ record to 10-2 when hitting a home run this year.
Coming back swinging
Arkansas has had some of its biggest games, offensively, this season after coming off of a loss. In the four games following a defeat, the Razorbacks are averaging 10.8 runs a game and 1.5 home runs a game.
The offense is hitting .315 in those four games with Heston Kjerstad leading all Razorbacks with 10 or more at-bats with a .556 average (10-for-18) and has seven RBIs.
Up next
Arkansas finishes its six-game road trip with a lone midweek game against Missouri State at Hammons Field in Springfield, Missouri, on Tuesday.
First pitch is slated for 6:30 p.m.
Six wins pace fourth-ranked Hogs in season opener Saturday at Arkansas Invitational
FAYETTEVILLE — Arkansas put together 33 Top 10 finishes with six event winners in the rain Saturday at the Arkansas Spring Invitational on Saturday at John McDonnell Field.
Payton Brown led the way in the women’s 1,500-meters with a first-place finish running 4:53.35 followed by teammate Greta Taylor who finished third at 4:56.96. Brown’s time was a lifetime-best in the event.
G’Auna Edwards recorded a second-place finish in the 100-meter hurdles running a season-best 14.04.
Kethlin Campbell stepped to the track for the first of her two appearances on the day, running 11.51 for a first-place finish in the 100-meters. Campbell led a group of sprinters who recorded wind-aided personal-best marks as the Razorbacks finished first, second, third, and fourth as Payton Chadwick (11.57), Morgan Burks-Magee (11.65), and Tiana Wilson (11.70) followed Campbell across the line. Had the wind been legal, Campbell’s time would have landed at No. 8 on the All-Time Top-10 list in program history but the reading of +2.6 was over the allowable 2.0 meters per second.
Freshman Josie Carson made her Razorback outdoor debut with a second-place finish in the 800-meters running a personal-best 2:17.43.
Sydney Hammit paced the field as she won the 400-meters in 53.92 with Arkansas placing seven athletes in the top-10. Paris Peoples (54.24), Alex Byrnes (55.10), Sydney Davis (55.61), Shafiqua Maloney (55.80), Kayla Carter (57.82), and Tamara Kuykendall (58.68) followed suit in second, third, fourth, fifth, seventh and eighth place, respectively.
J’Alyiea Smith took third-place in the 400-meter hurdles with a lifetime-best 1:03.32.
It was a Razorback sweep in the women’s pole vault led by Rylee Robinson’s clearance of 4.13m (13-6.50). Bailee McCorkle 3.95m (12-11.50), and Morgan Hartsell 3.80m (12-5.50) followed Robinson. Women’s pole vault was contested indoors at Randal Tyson due to the weather.
Campbell made it 2-for-2 in the sprints, winning the 200-meters in a lifetime-best 23.37. Campbell’s time is good for No. 8 on the all-time top-10 list. Following Campbell were Janeek Brown (23.53), Burks-Magee (23.84), Wilson (24.24), and Davis (25.37) in second, third, fourth, and ninth-place.
Quinn Owen (2:11.80), Meghan Underwood (2:12.29) turned in second and third-place finishes in the Invitational 800-meters.
Maddy Reed (4:29.06), and Sydney Brown (4:29.98) went 1-2 in the Invitational section of the 1,500-meters to close out the action on the track.
In the field, Ellyot Belote recorded a sixth-place finish in the javelin with a best of 35.10m (115-2). Riley Hoogerwerf finished 11th with a best of 30.02m (98-6).
Hoogerwerf returned to post a seventh-place finish in the discus, finishing with a best of 36.67m (120-3).
Arkansas will return to action next week in Austin, Texas as the Razorbacks compete in the 92nd Clyde Littlefield Texas Relays at Mike A. Myers Stadium.
Razorbacks roll in outdoor season opener Saturday as Schwartz returns
FAYETTEVILLE — In a steady downpour that lasted all afternoon, Arkansas pieced together 25 top-10 finishes, including seven event winners, at the Arkansas Spring Invitational on Saturday at John McDonnell Field.
On the track, the men’s 4×100-meter relay got things started for the Razorbacks as Josh Oglesby, Rashad Boyd, Kris Hari, and Hunter Woodhall carried the baton to a first-place finish running 40.79.
Kevin Wilkinson ran a huge final lap to surge to a third-place finish in the 1,500-meter running 4:07.93, while teammate Reese Walters was close behind in fifth-place in a time of 4:12.03.
Carl Elliot (14.02), Shakiel Chattoo (14.02), Tre’Bien Gilbert (14.15), and Gabe Moore (14.59) gave Arkansas a 1-2-3-4 finish in the 110-meter hurdles with three of the four turning in personal-best marks in the event. The lone outlier was Chattoo who holds a PR of 13.79 from last year’s Texas Relays.
Oglesby returned to the track for a third-place finish in the 100-meters running a collegiate PR of 10.53 seconds.
Rhayko Schwartz made his return to the track following a redshirt season to heal an injury last year. The junior survived the event unscathed, winning the 400-meters in 47.21.
Travean Caldwell and Nick Hilson ran out front the entire way in the 400-meter hurdles, with Caldwell edging out Hilson 52.14 to 53.18. Caldwell’s time was a personal-best for the transfer from Arkansas-Baptist.
Rashad Boyd’s time of 21.15 in the 200-meters was good for third-place as the freshman posted a collegiate PR in the event. Boyd was joined by Hunter Woodhall in fourth at 21.33, Kris Hari in fifth at 21.56, and John Winn in sixth at 21.59. Woodhall’s time was a personal-best for the sophomore from Syracuse, Utah.
The Razorbacks finished 4-5-6 in the invitational section of the Invitational 800-meters led by Chase Pareti in 1:53.26. Eugene Grayson III and Colin O’Mara followed close behind in times of 1:56.17 and 1:59.56, respectively.
Kieran Taylor turned in a personal-best in the 1,500-meters running 3:58.10 in the invitational section for a fifth-place finish.
The “A” squad of John Winn, Hunter Woodhall, Rhayko Schwartz, and Travean Caldwell teamed up to win the 4×400-meter relay in 3:17.13.
In the field, Sam Kempka took care of business in the ring, winning the shot put with a best throw of 16.79m (55-1), while Erich Sullins handled the field in the discus with his winning mark of 52.97m (173-9).
Arkansas will return to action next week in Austin, Texas, as the Razorbacks compete in the 92nd Texas Relays.
Razorbacks put up second-highest score in school history at SEC Championships
NEW ORLEANS — Arkansas placed second in the SEC Championships Session One with a 196.475, the second highest team score recorded at the championship meet.
The Razorbacks were led by record scores from freshman Amanda Elswick on vault and sophomore Sarah Shaffer on bars. Both gymnasts recorded a 9.900 on their apparatus, which tied for the school records on the events at the SEC Championships.
Session One Team Scores:
1. Alabama: 197.350
2. Arkansas: 196.75
3. Auburn: 196.375
4. Missouri: 195.900
All-SEC Gymbacks
Kennedy Hambrick | All-Around
Amanda Elswick | Vault
Sarah Shaffer | Bars
All-SEC Freshman Team
Kennedy Hambrick | All-Around
Amanda Elswick | Vault
First Rotation: Arkansas Floor: 49.275
The Gymbacks took a slight lead over Alabama in the first rotation off of what was the third highest floor score at the SEC Championship in team history. The rotation was led by four scores of 9.850 from freshmen Kennedy Hambrick and Amanda Elswick, as well as sophomores Sarah Shaffer and Sophia Carter. Senior Sydney McGlone led the rotation with a 9.875 as no Razorback scored below a 9.800 on the event.
Second Rotation: Arkansas Vault: 48.950
Arkansas nearly cleared the 49 mark on vault once again, led by Elswick’s 9.900 as the team’s anchor. The score of 9.900 ties the school record on vault at the meet as she Amanda Wellick, Katherine Grable, Jaime Pisani and Michelle Stout who have recorded the score at the meet for the Gymbacks.
The back half of the lineup recorded Arkansas’ highest scores as Hambrick and McGlone recorded 9.8’s in the four and five position. Leadoff vaulter junior Jessica Yamzon scored a 9700 and freshman Savannah Pennese recorded a 9.750 as the other scorers in the rotation.
Third Rotation: Arkansas Bars: 49.100
Sarah Shaffer paced the Hogs with a 9.900 on the bars en route to the third highest team bars score at the SEC Championships. Shaffer’s 9.900 was also the highest by a Gymback at the meet in team history, as she joins Michelle Stout and Melissa Leigh who recorded similar scores in 2009 and 2004, respectively.
With little room for error after a fall in the second spot for the team, the Razorbacks came up strong. Hambrick posted a 9.825 in the two-spot that gave way to a 9.775 from sophomore Hailey Garner. Following Shaffer’s score, junior Michaela Burton recorded a 9.850 in the anchor position to give Arkansas a running score of 147.325 as the Gymbacks trailed just the Crimson Tide of Alabama heading into the final event.
Fourth Rotation: Arkansas Beam: 49.150
The Gymbacks started the rotation strong, with a leadoff score of 9.850 from Yamzon, freshmen Hambrick and Elswick each posted 9.900’s on the event. After a fall, freshman Katarina Derrick recorded a 9.650 while anchor Burton put up a 9.850 to end the meet. The beam score was the second highest in team history on the event at the meet to give way for a team score of 196.475.
The Razorbacks now await their postseason fate. The NCAA Selection Show will be streamed on NCAA.com Sunday at 4 p.m. The NCAA Regional Hosts this season are Oregon State, Michigan, LSU and Georgia. This will be the first season under the new NCAA Gymnastics Postseason format.
Crimson Tide hammer Noland, even series with 10-0 shutout over Hogs
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — Alabama forced a rubber match with Arkansas, giving up only four hits in a 10-0 shutout at Sewell-Thomas Stadium.
Casey Martin, Dominic Fletcher, Trey Harris and Jacob Nesbit each tallied a hit in the defeat, but the Razorbacks could not get a baserunner past second as Harris had the only extra-base hit in the contest.
It’s Arkansas’ first conference loss of the year and first time it has been shutout since Game 3 of the College World Series Finals against Oregon State last season.
It’s also the first time the Hogs have been shutout by the Crimson Tide since a 5-0 loss in Tuscaloosa, Alabama during the 2013 season.
Nesbit was able to keep his team-best hitting streak alive as he upped it to 13 games with a fifth-inning single, while also extending his reached base streak to 20 games.
Since his hit streak began on March 6 against Charlotte, Nesbit is hitting .463 with 19 hits, 13 RBIs, 10 runs scored and is slugging .610 with a .489 on-base percentage. Nesbit also continues to lead the team overall with a .356 batting average for the year.
The Razorback pitching wasn’t able to slow the Tide offense either as it allowed three runs in the second inning and six runs in the sixth before the final run came in during the eighth inning. It’s just the second time an opponent has scored 10 or more runs on Arkansas this year (12 against Louisiana Tech on March 9).
Starting pitcher Connor Noland lasted only 1.2 innings, his shortest start of the year, as he gave up all three runs in the second inning before giving way to Kole Ramage out of the bullpen.
Saturday was Noland’s first decision of the year, dropping his record to 0-1.
Ramage was good out of the bullpen, retiring the first 10 batters he faced and seemed to be keeping the Hogs in the game, but he gave up three-consecutive hits to start the sixth which was the start of a string of eight-straight batters that reached base before Arkansas recorded an out.
Patrick Wicklander, Zebulon Vermillion, Liam Henry and Collin Taylor all followed Ramage out of the bullpen. Vermillion and Henry both came away with more of the more effective outings as both pitchers held Alabama to no runs in the seventh and eighth innings.
Razorback quotables
“We spotted them a three-run lead in the second inning and we missed some pitches. We hit a couple of balls hard and had a few line outs with runners on first and third, but we had that bad hop play at third at the end of the second inning when we had only given up one run. There wasn’t much he could have done about it. We just got off to a bad start on the mound. Our starting pitcher was behind, he didn’t have his breaking ball today and wasn’t spotting his fastball. They (Alabama) were hitting a lot of balls hard. They kind of took it to us, offensively.” — Dave Van Horn on Saturday’s loss to Alabama
“We just have to learn from what happened today. You can think about it for a while and then just move on to the next day. That’s what you have to do in this league. Nobody is going to give you anything. You have to take it. We’re on the road and tomorrow is a Sunday game. It’s going to be a tough game for us; we have to play perfect to win tomorrow.” — Van Horn on how to learn from today and prepare for a rubber match on Sunday
Up next
Arkansas will send redshirt junior Cody Scroggins to the mound on Sunday as the Razorbacks will try to take its second-consecutive series to start SEC play.
Scroggins hasn’t given up a run in his last 11 innings and struck out 18 during that span. First pitch from Tuscaloosa is set for 1 p.m. and will be broadcast on SEC Network+.
Fassi, Kim, Benton in Top 10 for Razorbacks at ‘Evans-Derby’ in Auburn
AUBURN, Ala. — Arkansas had three players in the Top 10 taking the lead after round one of the Evans-Derby Experience in Auburn, Alabama, on Saturday.
Seniors Maria Fassi and Dylan Kim are tied for fourth overall, shooting two-under 70’s and senior Kaylee Benton is tied for 10th with an even par 72 at the Auburn University Course.
Team’s began the round from the first tee box and Fassi appeared to struggle in the opening holes.
The All-American was four-over after eight holes but picked up a birdie on the ninth hole before the turn. The momentum carried over to the back nine as Fassi played the second side 5-under with four birdies in her final five holes.
Kim’s scorecard was balanced, especially on the back nine where she was even with one birdie and one bogey. She was two-under on the front side with three birdies to turn with a 34.
Benton had the least ink on her scorecard with a bogey on the third hole and a birdie to move to even on No. 17. Ximena Gonzalez played 1-over with a 73 and is tied for 21st while sophomore Maria Hoyos is tied for 85th shooting an 83. Julia Dean is competing as an individual and is tied for 42nd with a 75 on Saturday.
Arkansas again finds itself among a talented field with two rounds remaining. Arkansas’ 3-under 285 leads No. 7 Florida (288), No. 2 Texas (290), No. 13 Auburn (290) an No. 14 Kent State (292) who round out the top-5 in the standings.
The Lineup
T4 Maria Fassi (2) 70 -2 T4 Dylan Kim (3) 70 -2 T10 Kaylee Benton (1) 72 E T21 Ximena Gonzalez (4) 73 +1 T85 Maria Hoyos (5) 83 +11 T42 Julia Dean (Ind) 75 +3
The Field
The Lineup
| The Field | |||
| 1 | Arkansas | 285 | -3 |
| 2 | Florida | 288 | E |
| T3 | Texas | 290 | +2 |
| T3 | Auburn | 290 | +2 |
| 5 | Kent State | 292 | +4 |
| T6 | Duke | 293 | +5 |
| T6 | Florida State | 293 | +5 |
| 8 | Mississippi St. | 294 | +6 |
| T9 | South Carolina | 296 | +8 |
| T9 | Baylor | 296 | +8 |
| 11 | Alabama | 301 | +13 |
| 12 | Louisville | 302 | +14 |
| T13 | Clemson | 305 | +17 |
| T13 | Ole Miss | 305 | +17 |
Hopkin takes second place, Hogs finish 19th at NCAA championships
AUSTIN, Texas — In the final day at the NCAA Women’s Swimming and Diving Championships, junior Anna Hopkin earned a second-place finish on the way to a program record in the 100-yard freestyle.
The Razorbacks finished in 19th place with 63 points, the highest finish for the team since 1988.
Hopkin kicked off the day’s events with a second-place finish (46.61) in the 100 yard freestyle preliminaries, breaking the program record for the first time of the day.
She recorded a second-place finish in the finals with a time of 46.56, earning All-American honors with the fourth-fastest time in the NCAA.
In the 400-yard freestyle relay, Kobie Melton, Hopkin, Molly Moore, and Marlena Pigliacampi earned a 24th place finish with a 3:16.60. The relay was the third-fastest time of the season and fourth-fastest in program history.
Sophomore Peyton Palsha swam the final individual event of the meet, finishing 32nd overall with a time of 16:40.20.
“I am so proud of this team and what we have achieved this year,” coach Neil Harper said. “Two years ago we were 11th in the SEC and not ranked at the NCAA Championships. After three days of giving it everything we had, we are a Top-20 team!
“Brooke and Anna led us the entire year and performed brilliantly here, but this was a total team effort. We had eight Razorbacks here this year and have built a great foundation for the next few years. I’m so excited for our ladies, our program, and the Razorbacks family.”
The Hogs’ 19th place finish is the first time since 1988 the program has earned a Top-20 finish, just the third Top-20 finish in program history.
Haff’s 15 strikouts paces Razorbacks past fifth-ranked Tennessee to even series
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — Sophomore Mary Haff made a statement in the circle for Arkansas with a career-high 15 strikeouts as Arkansas evened their weekend series with Tennessee, getting a 1-0 win.
Senior Katie Warrick recorded her fifth home run of the season in the fourth inning to give the Razorbacks the only run it needed to win.
Haff’s career-best performance is also a single-game high among SEC pitchers this season, besting three others who previously recorded one less than Haff.
The complete-game shutout is the sixth for the Florida-native this season and the 17th of her career. The scoreless performance puts Haff only three shutouts away from moving into second all-time at Arkansas for career shutouts.
Warrick’s game-winning home run was the 19th of her career as a Razorback, as her solo-shot to left field helped propel the Hogs to a 22-8 record overall and a 4-4 count in conference play.
It took only three hits to defeat the Lady Volunteers – only the second time this year the Razorbacks were outhit in a victory. The other two hits came off the bats of sophomore Hannah McEwen and senior Ashley Diaz.
McEwen’s hit in the third inning extends her streak to 14 games with at least one hit and 26 consecutive games in which she reached base.
Arkansas and Tennessee will meet for the game-three rubber match tomorrow (March 24), back at Sherri Parker Lee Stadium for an 11:00 am (CT) first pitch.
Questions start for Anderson, Hogs, after falling to Hoosiers on Saturday
If anything, Arkansas’ 1-1 finish to the season in the National Invitational Tournament is going to increase the buzz that has surrounded this team and Mike Anderson for the last month.
The Razorbacks got a fairly comfortable first-round win over a Providence team that isn’t very good. Facing Indiana on Saturday, things were a little tougher … especially on the road in a loud and hostile environment.
And the Hogs couldn’t get a win.
It was pointed out by many this past week the Providence game was an anomaly. When Gabe Osabuohien hits a 3-pointer in a game there’s something different. Bless his heart, Gabe fired up three more attempts Saturday and I’m not sure two of them hit the rim solidly.
Against the Hoosiers, Desi Sills popped up with 18 points and Isaiah Joe had 12, but there wasn’t much more in the way of scoring.
After a solid outing, the Hogs followed it up with a so-so effort and that’s the problem many fans are having with the way things have been going with Anderson’s teams.
On Saturday, the Hogs led most of the first half, but fell behind by two at the break.
Then came yet another cold streak.
Arkansas went nearly the entire final seven minutes of the game without a field goal and the only reason they were able to make things interesting at the end was, simply, Indiana isn’t very good, either.
The Razorbacks had the ball with 6.4 seconds remaining, which is having a chance. A pair of free throws from Mason Jones closed the Hoosiers’ lead to one but Devonte Green pushed the lead back to three with two free throws of his own.
A last second 3-point attempt from Jalen Harris wasn’t the worst look in the world, but probably a little deep for him and it clanged off the rim.
Down low, Reggie Chaney basically disappeared. He scored two points off just three shots and got just three rebounds.
Arkansas struggled down low, being outscored 30-10.
The Razorbacks end the season 18-16.
Arkansas’ basketball program has gone steadily downhill the last couple of years with a player some are hoping is a lottery pick in June’s NBA draft, but more likely will be a later first-round, early second-round pick.
When the SEC made a commitment to improve things in men’s basketball a few years ago, others stepped up their game while some feel Anderson didn’t change a thing.
It’s a league where every coach in a major sport has to spend more time recruiting than actual coaching and landing really good players just to stay competitive.
To compete for championships you better be landing either a whole lot of really good players or a couple of big time stars.
Then you have to put ’em on the floor and win games. Just trying isn’t good enough in the SEC and the Razorback fan base is getting restless.
Arkansas basketball has now gone longer without the success experienced during a 19-year run that included Final Four appearances and two championship games and a national title.
Anderson wasn’t brought back home to win one game in NCAA Tournaments, much less a solo win in a couple of NIT appearances.
As the program sits now, after eight complete seasons by Anderson, it’s not where anyone expected. A 62 percent overall winning percentage (55 percent SEC) with no conference or tournament titles is why there is an ever-increasing amount of noise.
What ultimately happens will be determined by other people over the next couple of weeks.
But going forward it’s reasonable to expect the minimum standard might not be making the NCAA or even winning a single game there.
When teams don’t meet expectations the coach has a problem, right or wrong.
And Mike Anderson has a problem.
Kjerstad, Goodheart at plate, Campbell on mound pace Hogs past Tide
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — With the help of three home runs and another strong performance on the mound from redshirt junior Isaiah Campbell, Arkansas handily defeated Alabama, 12-3, Friday night at Sewell-Thomas Stadium to stay perfect in league play.
For the third-straight game, Arkansas (19-3, 4-0 SEC) scored four or more runs in the second inning when it plated six to jump out to a 7-0 lead before the completion of two innings. All six runs were scored with two outs as Alabama starting pitcher Sam Finnerty was put in a hole early.
Even before the big inning, the offense was kickstarted by sophomore Heston Kjerstad, who hit his fourth home run of the year in the first inning and his second in three games.
Kjerstad drove in four more runs on a bases-loaded single in the second inning, tying his career-high for RBIs after just two at-bats. The Amarillo, Texas native finished the game 3-for-5 with two runs scored. It’s his fifth three-hit game of the season and eighth multi-hit game.
After being handed a large cushion before the bottom of the second, Campbell went on to work six more innings, giving him seven before letting the bullpen take over. It was the fourth-straight quality start for Campbell as he scattered five hits without giving up a run, walking one with seven strikeouts.
Campbell moves to 5-0 with the victory, matching his win total from last season and has only walked two or less batters in all six of his starts.
Nesbit stays on fire; hits first collegiate home run
Redshirt freshman Jacob Nesbit stayed hot at the plate Friday night, going 2-for-4 with three RBIs, including a home run.
Nesbit’s double in the third inning not only brought in Arkansas’ eighth run of the game, but extended his team-best hitting streak to 12 games and reached-base streak to 19 games.
In the eighth inning, Nesbit crushed his first collegiate home run to make it 10-0 Razorbacks. Nesbit is the eighth different Hog hitter to hit at least one home run this year.
Razorbacks get production from 6-7-8 hitters
The combo of Matt Goodheart, Jack Kenley and Jacob Nesbit went a combined 8-for-14 (.571) at the plate Friday against the Crimson Tide, driving in four and scoring five.
Goodheart and Kenley each tallied three hits in the game, while Nesbit had two. For Goodheart, the sophomore notched his fourth multi-hit game in his last five starts.
Kenley extended his hit streak to four games and tallies his first multi-hit game since March 10 against Louisiana Tech.
Playing long ball
For the third time this season, Arkansas hit three or more home runs in a game as Heston Kjerstad, Jacob Nesbit and Dominic Fletcher all had the long ball working Friday night.
Kjerstad’s solo homer in the first inning got Arkansas’ offense started and then Nesbit followed in the eighth inning for his first collegiate home run.
Fletcher put an exclamation point on the night with a solo blast in the ninth, his third of the year.
Razorback quotables
“He saw the ball well tonight. He squared up two or three balls, took a nice walk and really didn’t go out of the zone too much. He had a really good night.” — Coach Dave Van Horn on Matt Goodheart’s two-hit night
“He battled and got out of a couple jams, but we spotted him a seven-run lead after two and it freed him up. His stuff wasn’t as good as it had been and he knew it. He still threw a lot of strikes and that’s what you do when you’re winning. You have to throw the ball over the plate and make them earn it.” — Van Horn on Isaiah Campbell’s outing
“Alabama had a veteran pitcher out there and he was just one pitch away from getting out of the second inning, but we just kept fouling pitches off and got some big hits and kept chipping away. All of the sudden, we punch in six runs and we’re up 7-0 with (Isaiah) Campbell on the mound.” — Van Horn on the big six-run second inning
“Both (Jack) Kenley and (Jacob) Nesbit are swinging the bat well right now. It’s good we’re getting a lot of production at the end of the order and they’re contributing offensively. Really the whole lineup has been doing a great job. (Casey) Martin has been struggling a little bit, but he’s a great defender and we know he’s going to turn it around.” — Van Horn on the production from the bottom of his lineup
“I didn’t have the best command tonight and had to rely on my cutter heavily. If I didn’t have that, it would have been a really tough outing. When you get run support like that, it just gets easier because you just have to go out and throw strikes and let the defense do the work.” — Isaiah Campbell on his victory over Alabama
Up next
Arkansas and Alabama will be back on the field tomorrow at Sewell-Thomas Stadium for game two of the series.
First pitch is slated for 2 p.m. and will be broadcast on SEC Network+.
