PHOTOS BY ANDY HODGES | HITTHATLINE.COM
Noland not finding it difficult juggling football with baseball in spring
Razorbacks quarterback Connor Noland talked after Thursday’s practice on a cold, damp day about how he’s handled working at two sports in the spring and “doing okay” on school work.
O’Grady after Thursday practice on getting better from last season
Arkansas tight end Cheyenne O’Grady talked with the media after practice Thursday about what he’s working on in the offseason and spring, plus on what Ben Hicks has added.
Agim on working strictly inside in Razorbacks’ spring practice
Arkansas defensive lineman McTelvin Agim talked after Thursday’s practice about how he’s expecting to stay inside this year instead of switching.
Clenin on how depth is helping offensive line in spring practices
Arkansas offensive lineman Shane Clenin talked after Thursday’s practice about the improvement with more bodies during the drills in the spring.
Parker on getting settled at linebacker during early spring drills
Hogs’ linebacker Andrew Parker talked with the media after Thursday’s practice about how he’s adjusting and roles with senior De’Jon Harris out for the rest of the spring.
Dungee leads scoring parade as Hogs win opener in SEC Tournament
GREENVILLE, S.C. — Chelsea Dungee scored 31 points leading five Razorbacks in double figures in an 86-76 win over Georgia in the second round of the SEC Tournament in Greenville, South Carolina, on Thursday.
Dungee’s 31 points is her fourth game with 30 or more points and she was joined in double figures by Alexis Tolefree (13), Kiara Williams and Jailyn Mason (12) and Malica Monk (10). Arkansas (18-13) moves on to face No. 12 South Carolina (21-8) in the quarterfinal game at 5 p.m. Friday.
Arkansas came out of the gates on fire getting an early 6-0 run to take the lead over Georgia (18-12) in the first quarter.
It was the first of four Razorback runs of five points or more in the game. Arkansas led by as much as 12 points, but Georgia rallied late and closed to five points, 25-20, at the end of the frame.
The second quarter was the turning point for Arkansas. The Razorbacks outscored the Bulldogs, 23-15, in the stanza opening a 13-point lead at the break. Georgia cut the Razorback advantage to single digits three times in the fourth quarter but never got closer than eight points.
Dungee went 10-for-12 from the line, outscoring Georgia (5-for-11) from the bonus stripe. She scored 31 points in 36 minutes in the win.
The Razorbacks next face the Gamecocks in the quarterfinals. It is the second time Arkansas has reached the quarterfinals since the SEC expanded to 14 teams.
The meeting with South Carolina is the second of the season and the fourth time these teams have faced each other in SEC Tournament.
South Carolina rallied in the fourth quarter in the regular season meeting for an 87-79 win in Fayetteville.
The game tips at 5 p.m. and airs live on the SEC Network.
Notes
• Arkansas Starters: Alexis Tolefree, Malica Monk, Kiara Williams, Jailyn Mason, Chelsea Dungee
• Arkansas’ 25 first quarter points ties for the second most in the first frame this year.
• Arkansas’ 48 points at the half is the second most this year.
• The Razorbacks’ 13-point halftime lead is the second largest margin in an SEC game this year.
• It is the 16th time this season Chelsea Dungee has scored 20+ points and the fourth time she has had 30 or more.
• It is the second time this season that all five starters have scored in double figures (Nebraska).
• The last time a No. 10 seed defeated a No. 7 seed was 2015.
• Arkansas shot better than 50% (56.1%) for just the second time this year, and the first time against an SEC opponent.
• Malica Monk has 23 games in double figures … Alexis Tolefree has 16 games in double figures … Jailyn Mason has 10 games and Kiara Williams nine games with double figure points.
• Arkansas forced 12 Georgia turnovers. It is the 30th game in 31 tries the Razorback opponents had double digit miscues. Arkansas had just nine turnovers – their 11th game in single digits.
???? Thursday Halftime Pod — featuring Matt Zimmerman
Phil Elson & Tye Richardson hit on the Vandy win, interview Matt Zimmerman, and more!
Bud Light Morning Rush Podcast: Thursday
John, Tommy, and Nick Mason discuss the Nolan Court resolution, plus Richard Davenport!
Joe breaks 3-point season record as Hogs roll to easy win over Vanderbilt
On a day when Arkansas’ administration in Fayetteville released a request to finally honor Nolan Richardson, his protogé finally had a game like the good old days in a rollicking 84-48 win over Vanderbilt in Nashville.
Earlier Wednesday, the announcement came that the request has been officially made to the UA’s Board of Trustees and will be voted on later in March. You would think the measure would pass because in that highly-political world there aren’t many resolutions submitted that don’t have to the votes to succeed.
Mike Anderson was more worried about yanking his team out of an uncharacteristic slide in February. Usually his teams have come roaring into March with a full head of steam.
Against the Commodores, the Razorbacks — at least for one night — showed flashes of the days when they were battling at this time of the year for an NCAA seed. That won’t be coming this year unless the Hogs run the table in Nashville next week that will shock the nation.
Arkansas only led Vandy by four at halftime, but out-scored the Commodores 55-23 in the second half to guarantee that Anderson’s record of never having a losing season as a head coach will continue. At 16-14 and one regular season left, the math works out.
The Hogs started the half with a 23-4 run that effectively put the game away as Anderson’s biggest key — defense — forced 23 turnovers which turned into 33 points. Those are numbers he looks at almost every game.
Daniel Gafford (20 points) and Mason Jones (16) keyed the fast start to the second half, but it was Joe, the freshman from Fort Smith Northside, that had the most buzz.
When his long-range bombs start falling, good things tend to happen for the Hogs. Hitting 4-of-6 from behind the arc, Joe broke Scotty Thurman’s record with 103 3-pointers on the year … with a game left Saturday at home against Alabama.
Wicklander, Franklin pace Hogs to 9-2 win over Charlotte on Wednesday
FAYETTEVILLE — Arkansas earned its fifth-straight win Wednesday night at Baum-Walker Stadium, defeating Charlotte, 9-2, on the backs of a strong start on the mound by Patrick Wicklander and a near-cycle from Christian Franklin.
Wicklander, making his second start of the year, not only had the longest outing of his young career (5.0 innings) but also notched a career-high eight strikeouts over 76 pitches and only walked three.
Wicklander’s last three outings have made him a strong asset either out of the bullpen or in a starting role for the Hogs. Over his last nine innings of work, he’s struck out 15, walked six and only allowed two runs.
On offense, Franklin turned in his third multi-hit game of the year, going 3-for-4 with three RBIs and a run scored. He had a single in the third inning, an RBI double in the fifth inning and followed that up with a two-RBI triple in the sixth inning, his first three-bagger of the season.
Arkansas (10-1) remains undefeated at home (8-0) with the win. It was nearly the Hogs’ first shutout of the season as they took a 9-0 lead into the ninth inning.
Charlotte (6-6) plated two runs in the final frame for the final tally, but it still marked the fifth time this year that Arkansas has won by seven or more runs.
Playing Long Ball
For the second straight game and third time this year, Arkansas hit two or more home runs as Trevor Ezell and Dominic Fletcher both added to their totals Wednesday afternoon.
Ezell hit his third of the year off the scoreboard in the sixth inning, which now ties him with Jack Kenley for the team lead. Then, Fletcher launched his second of the year in the seventh inning to pad Arkansas’ lead to 9-0.
Arkansas now has four players with two or more home runs and 12 home runs as a team through 11 games.
Small Ball
The Razorbacks played a little small ball and got a little luck in acquiring their first run in Wednesday’s game. After Fletcher and Opitz led off the second inning with walks, freshman Trey Harris put down a perfect sacrifice bunt down the first-base line to move the runners up 90 feet.
That was followed by a Kenley sacrifice fly to bring home Fletcher. Arkansas has totaled seven sacrifice hits this year and eight sacrifice flies.
Near-cycle for Franklin
Freshman outfielder Christian Franklin almost joined a very exclusive club in Arkansas history, falling just a home run short of the cycle.
Franklin had a single, a double and a triple in his first three at-bats on Wednesday and upped his batting average to .400 for the season, good for second on the team.
Kyle Harris has the only known cycle in Arkansas history, performing the feat in 1994 against Tennessee.
Razorback quotables
“I felt like Patrick Wicklander had really good stuff. He just didn’t command some of it. He walked the first batter the first three innings and they didn’t score a run. Very unusual. He had seven or eight strikeouts and those were the only three walks he had in five innings. He’s a guy who could pitch for us every Tuesday or Wednesday and if he keeps pitching well, maybe we flip him to the weekend to keep some of our older guys in the bullpen.” — Coach Dave Van Horn on Patrick Wicklander’s performance
“I thought we played a good ball game. That’s a solid team and we just got some big hits. To me the play of the early part of the game was just a great play by Casey Martin on a ground ball that looked like it was headed into center field. Instead of runners at first and third and nobody out we turned a double play. Two outs and nobody on. That was a big momentum swing. That was a big-time defensive play.” — Van Horn on Arkansas’ win over Charlotte
“Oh, that double play was huge in the game. We could have ended up with runners at first and third with one out or runners at second and third and no outs. There could have been different situations that could have changed the game. But as soon as I could see the ball in Marty’s (Casey Martin’s) glove I thought, ‘Ok, we at least got one, possibly two here.” —Patrick Wicklander on a run-saving double play in the third inning
Up Next
Arkansas continues its homestand this weekend with a three-game series against Louisiana Tech starting on Friday at 6 p.m. at Baum-Walker Stadium.
Games two and three are slated for 1 p.m. starts and all games will be televised on SEC Network+.
