Home runs lift Razorbacks past Aggies to open series

ESPN Arkansas News Services
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Home runs lift Razorbacks past Aggies to open series

COLLEGE STATION, Texas — Arkansas used the home run ball five times Thursday night to pull out a 7-3 victory over Texas A&M at Blue Bell Park.

Arkansas has won five-straight conference series openers and 20 SEC games for the first time in the Dave Van Horn era.

Arkansas remains one game ahead of Mississippi State in the SEC Western Division with two games to play. The Bulldogs defeated South Carolina, 24-7, for their 44th victory and 19th in conference play.

The Hogs were able to get ahead of Aggie starter Chris Weber for five runs in five innings and it all began with a three-run homer by redshirt senior Trevor Ezell in the third inning.

What followed were four more home runs off the bats of Casey Martin in the fifth and ninth, Matt Goodheart in the fifth and Jack Kenley in the sixth, marking the sixth time this year and second in the last four games that the Hogs have hit four or more home runs in a game and third with five or more.

The win by the Razorbacks was their 40th of the year and 20th in league play.

It’s the third-straight year and fifth time in the last six years the Hogs have totaled 40 or more wins. This year’s team is the fastest Razorback team to reach 40 wins since 1989.

It’s also the first time Arkansas has won 20 or more games in SEC play since 1999 and first under coach Dave Van Horn. Arkansas won a school-record 22 games in conference play in 1999 under long-time head coach Norm DeBriyn.

Once again, right-hander Isaiah Campbell gave Arkansas a quality outing, going six innings strong with only two runs allowed, one being earned and six strikeouts.

Campbell has 10 quality starts in his last 11 outings and picked up his 10th win of the year, making him the second pitcher (Blaine Knight) in the last six years to win 10 or more games in a single season.

They got five on it

For the second time in four games, Arkansas hit five home runs in Thursday’s contest, upping their season total to 75, which now leads the SEC.

Casey Martin went deep twice in the game, his first multi-home run game this season, while Trevor Ezell, Matt Goodheart and Jack Kenley also launched homers.

Martin is now tied for the team lead with Heston Kjerstad with 14 home runs this season. Ezell’s three-run bomb was his eighth of the year and second in four games. Goodheart’s was his second this year and Kenley’s was his 11th. Martin and Goodheart’s home runs in the fifth inning were of the back-to-back variety.

It’s the second time this year the Hogs have gone back-to-back, the last coming against Northwestern State on April 23.

Chicks dig extra-base hits

Eight of Arkansas’ 10 hits Thursday night went for extra-bases, three from doubles coupled with the five home runs.

It’s the most extra-base hits in a game for the Hogs since April 27 where they notched 10 against Tennessee. Arkansas has 20 extra-base hits in the last four games and is averaging 8.5 runs per game over that same stretch.

Bullpen picks up Campbell in final three innings

After Isaiah Campbell held Texas A&M down for six innings, he handed over the ball to Kevin Kopps, who pitched a beautiful seventh inning before running into trouble in the eighth.

Jacob Kostyshock, making his third appearance in three games, came on to relieve Kopps in the middle of the eighth after A&M scored to make it 6-3.

Kostyshock was able to strand two runners and pick up a big strikeout of the potential game-tying run at the plate.

Junior Matt Cronin finished off the ninth inning, but it wasn’t a save situation as he faced five batters and gave up one hit and one walk.

Razorback quotables

“You’ll notice Casey isn’t hooking the ball as much, he’s just staying through the middle. There’s a lot of times that we wouldn’t let him pull the ball during batting practice. We just told him to stay through the middle and he started having success in the games. He’s bought in and he just has so much bat speed that he can wait longer than a lot of people. He’s just got to learn that. He’s still growing up and still developing. He’s paid attention and has seen what’s worked for him and taken it to the game.” — Coach Dave Van Horn on Casey Martin’s play over the last month

“We’ve got some guys with some power, but we’re not trying to make it a habit. You’ve got to give Texas A&M a little bit of credit, they struck us out 18 times tonight, we just took some good swings and a few of those home runs were with two strikes. We just took advantage of a couple of balls that were left up in the zone.” — Van Horn on his team’s five-home run day

Up next

Arkansas and Texas A&M will be back on the field tomorrow with first pitch from Blue Bell Park at 6:30 p.m.

You can hear the game on ESPN Arkansas 95.3 in the River Valley, 96.3 in Hot Springs and 104.3 in Harrison-Mountain Home.

The game will be televised online only via SEC Network+.

Musselman on positives at Arkansas, teaching his system

ESPN Arkansas News Services
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New Razorback coach Eric Musselman did a host of interviews with media Thursday afternoon and covered a wide range of topics from what he found appealing and teaching.

Golden Hurricane’s five-run seventh too much for Hogs to overcome

ESPN Arkansas News Services
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STILLWATER, Okla. — Arkansas was unable to recover from a five-run seventh inning by Tulsa and was shutout in the first game at the Stillwater Regional on Thursday evening. 

Five errors, three in the seventh inning alone, plagued the Razorbacks and allowed five Tulsa runners to cross the plate. 

Arkansas threatened the Tulsa defense multiple times, with runners in scoring position in the first, fourth and fifth innings. Seven Razorbacks were left stranded over the course of the game.

Senior Ashley Diaz and sophomore Danielle Gibson each recorded two hits in the loss. Diaz and Gibson have combined for 33 multiple-hit games this season, with 17 from Diaz and 16 from Gibson. 

Junior Autumn Storms earned the start and recorded the loss. In her 14th complete game of the season, Storms recorded six strikeouts and gave up no walks in her fifth-straight appearance. 

The Razorbacks drop into the elimination bracket and will face the non-advancing team of the Oklahoma State-BYU match up Thursday night.

Hogs’ Martin named semifinalist for Dick Howser Trophy

ESPN Arkansas News Services
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Hogs’ Martin named semifinalist for Dick Howser Trophy

DALLAS — Arkansas shortstop Casey Martin is one of 26 college players named by the National Collegiate Baseball Writers’ Association (NCBWA) as a Dick Howser Trophy semifinalist on Thursday.

This is 33rd year for the Dick Howser Trophy, which is given to the top player in collegiate baseball.

The finalists will be announced on Thursday, June 6. The 2019 award will be presented at TD Ameritrade Stadium in downtown Omaha, the home of the College World Series for the eighth year.

The winner will be unveiled on MLB Network on Friday, June 14, and then, a press conference with the winner will be held on Saturday, June 15 at 10 a.m., the opening day of the 2019 CWS.

Martin, who after a stellar freshman season, has already been named to numerous All-American and all-conference teams throughout his career, will now hope to add one of college baseball’s highest honors to his collection.

Hitting .311 through 52 games, Martin already has 12 home runs and 50 RBIs this season, which nearly match his totals from a year ago (13 HR, 49 RBIs).

The Lonoke native has top-10 totals in the SEC in hits (70), doubles (19), runs scored (55), total bases (131), RBIs (50) and home runs (12).

He’s also totaled three inside-the-park home runs this year and has seven games with three hits or more.

Seven of the 26 semifinalists come out of the SEC and outfielder Andrew Benintendi was the last Razorback to win the award back in 2015, the same year he won the Golden Spikes Award and helped Arkansas to the College World Series.

This year Martin is one of only two shortstops on the prestigious list.

The Dick Howser Trophy, given in memory of the former Florida State University All-America shortstop and major league player and manager, who died of brain cancer in 1987, is regarded by many as college baseball’s most prestigious award.

Criteria for consideration of the trophy include performance on the field, leadership, moral character and courage, qualities that were exemplified by Dick Howser’s life.

Martin and the Razorbacks are on the road this week for their final regular-season series of 2019 as they get set to take on 17th-ranked Texas A&M starting on Thursday at Blue Bell Park.

Game one is slated for a 6 p.m. first pitch tonight on ESPNU.

A complete list of the 26-player Dick Howser Trophy semifinalists is as follows:

JJ Bleday, OF, Vanderbilt
Hunter Bishop, OF, Arizona State
Reid Detmers, SP, Louisville
Ryan Garcia, SP, UCLA
Nick Gonzales, 2B, New Mexico State
Emerson Hancock, SP, Georgia
Kody Hoese, 3B, Tulane
Josh Jung, 3B, Texas Tech
Chris Lanzilli, OF, Wake Forest
Jake Mangum, OF, Mississippi State
Alek Manoah, SP, West Virginia
Casey Martin, SS, Arkansas
Austin Martin, 3B, Vanderbilt
Kyle McCann, C, Georgia Tech
Patrick McColl, 1B, Harvard
Joey Ortiz, SS, New Mexico State
Jack Ralston, SP, UCLA
Adley Rutschman, C, Oregon State
Jake Sanford, OF, Western Kentucky
Bobby Seymour, 1B, Wake Forest
Ethan Small, SP, Mississippi State
Noah Song, SP, Navy
Zack Thompson, SP, Kentucky
Spencer Torkelson, 1B, Arizona State
Andrew Vaughn, 1B, California
Davis Wendzel, 3B, Baylor

Dungee competing for spot on 2019 Pan American women’s team

ESPN Arkansas News Services
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Colorado Springs, Colo. — Arkansas’ Chelse Dungee is one of 35 players at the trials for the 2019 U.S. Pan American Games Women’s basketball team at the United States Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs, Colorado.

They will compete through May 20, when the 12-member roster is expected to be announced.

The trials roster features 10 athletes who have won medals with USA Basketball in international competition, 11 who have taken part in at least one previous USA Basketball trials and 14 who will be new to USA Basketball.

Expected at trials: Bella Alarie (Princeton/Bethesda, Md.), Brittany Brewer (Texas Tech/Abilene, Texas), Chennedy Carter (Texas A&M/Mansfield, Texas), Te’a Cooper (TBD/Powder Springs, Ga.), Kathleen Doyle (Iowa/Lagrange Park, Ill.), Chelsea Dungee (Arkansas/Sapulpa, Okla.), Dana Evans (Louisville/Gary, Ind.), Kiah Gillespie (Florida State/Meriden, Conn.), Vivian Gray (Oklahoma State/Argyle, Texas), Tyasha Harris (South Carolina/Noblesville, Ind.), Becca Hittner (Drake/Urbandale, Iowa), Joyner Holmes (Texas/Cedar Hill, Texas), Stephanie Jones (Maryland/Havre de Grace, Md.), Aari McDonald (Arizona/Fresno, Calif.), Karissa McLaughlin (Purdue/Fort Wayne, Ind.), Amber Melgoza (Washington/Santa Barbara, Calif.), Taylor Mikesell (Maryland/Massillon, Ohio), Ayana Mitchell (Louisiana State/Conyers, Ga.), Beatrice Mompremier (Miami/Miami, Fla.), Erica Ogwumike (Rice/Cypress, Texas), Michaela Onyenwere (UCLA/Aurora, Colo.), Eleah Parker (Pennsylvania/Charlotte, N.C.), Jaelynn Penn (Indiana/Louisville, Ky.), Destiny Pitts (Minnesota/Detroit, Mich.), Mikayla Pivec (Oregon State/Lynnwood, Wash.), Lindsey Pulliam (Northwestern/Silver Spring, Md.), Jayla Scaife (Dayton/Muncie, Ind.), Kristin Scott (Iowa State/Kasson, Minn.), Destiny Slocum (Oregon State/Meridian, Idaho), Amber Smith (Missouri/Shreveport, La.), Sug Sutton (Texas/St. Louis, Mo.), Kobi Thornton (Clemson/Shellman, Ga.), Kiana Williams (Stanford/San Antonio, Texas), Peyton Williams (Kansas State/Topeka, Kan.) and Kay Kay Wright (UCF/Orlando, Fla.).

Suzy Merchant (Michigan State) will lead the team as USA head coach, with USA assistant coaches Felisha Legette-Jack (Buffalo) and Vic Schaefer (Mississippi State).

“Our coaching staff is excited to get the trials started this week,” Merchant said. “We are looking forward to working with all of the athletes invited to try out for the 2019 U.S. Women’s Pan American Games Basketball Team.

“The first few sessions will be an opportunity for everyone to learn as much as possible and then to be able to demonstrate that during our scrimmages.”

On hand to assist the coaching staff during trials will be court coaches Lisa Fortier (Gonzaga), Aaron Johnston (South Dakota State), Nikki McCray-Penson (Old Dominion) and DeLisha Milton-Jones (Pepperdine).

The team members will return to Colorado Springs for training camp July 23-Aug. 5, before competing in the women’s basketball tournament at the 2019 Pan American Games from Aug. 6-10 in Lima, Peru.

Athletes eligible for this team must be U.S. citizens who currently are enrolled as a full-time collegiate student with remaining eligibility for the 2019-20 school year.

The seven gold medalists include: Carter, who won gold at the 2016 FIBA Americas U18 Championship and was all-tournament at the 2017 FIBA U19 World Cup as the USA earned silver; Dungee, who won gold at the 2013 FIBA Americas U16 Championship; Evans, who won gold at the 2016 FIBA Americas U18 Championship; Harris, who won gold at the 2016 FIBA Americas U18 Championship and silver at the 2017 FIBA U19 World Cup, where she was all-tournament; Holmes, who won gold at the 2014 FIBA U17 World Cup and silver at the 2017 FIBA U19 World Cup; Mompremier, who won gold at the 2014 FIBA Americas U18 Championship; and Slocum, who won gold at the 2015 FIBA U19 World Cup.

Alarie and Sutton earned silver medals at the 2017 FIBA U19 World Cup, and Mikesell won bronze at the 2016 FIBA U17 World Cup.

This past September, Harris took part in the 2018 USA Women’s National Team training camp prior to the FIBA World Cup, including playing in a Red-White exhibition game in South Carolina.

Athletes with experience at a previous USA Basketball trials are: Cooper (2013 U16, 2014 U17, 2015 U19 trials); Doyle (2017 U19 trials); Gillespie (2014 U17 trials); Gray (2016 U18 trials); Hittner (2017 U19 trials); Jones (2013 U16, 2014 U17, 2017 U19 trials); McDonald (2017 U19 trials); Onyenwere (2014 U17 trials); Pitts (2016 U17 trials); Smith (2017 U19 trials); and Kiana Williams (2014 U17, 2015 U16, 2016 U17 trials).

New to USA Basketball are: Brewer, McLaughlin, Melgoza, Mitchell, Ogwumike, Parker, Penn, Pivec, Pulliam, Scaife, Scott, Thornton, Peyton Williams and Kay Kay Wright.

Thirty-three of the 35 athletes were recognized at the end of 2018-19 with conference awards.

From the American Athletic Conference, Wright was a first team member.

From the Atlantic Coast Conference, Evans was the Sixth Player of the Year; first team selections were Gillespie and Mompremier; and Thornton was named to the second team (coaches). From the Atlantic-10 Conference, Scaife was a fist team member.

From the Big 12 Conference, Gray was the Newcomer of the Year and first team; Peyton Williams was first team and all-defensive team; Sutton was first team; Scott was second team; and Holmes was honorable mention.

From the Big Ten Conference, Mikesell was Freshman of the Year and was joined on the first team by Doyle, McLaughlin, PItts and Pulliam were first team; and Jones and Penn were second team.

From Conference USA, Ogwumike was player of the year and first team. From the Ivy League, Alarie was Player of the Year and first team, and Parker was Defensive Player of the Year and first team. From the Missouri Valley Conference, Hittner was a first team selection.

From the Pacific-12 Conference, McDonald was all-defensive team and first team; Onyenwere, Pivec, Slocum and Kiana Williams were first team selections; and Melgoza was honorable mention.

And from the Southeastern Conference, Carter and Mitchell were first team; and Cooper, Dungee and Harris were second team.

The USA Basketball Women’s Junior National Team Committee, chaired by George Washington University head coach Jennifer Rizzotti, is responsible for selecting the U.S. trials athletes.

In addition to Rizzotti, the USA Junior National Team Committee includes 2008 Olympic gold medalist Kara Lawson as the athlete representative; and Karen Aston (Texas), Tonya Cardoza (Temple) and Wes Moore (North Carolina State) as the NCAA representatives.

Arkansas earns 34 entries to NCAA West prelims in California next week

ESPN Arkansas News Services
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Arkansas earns 34 entries to NCAA West prelims in California next week

FAYETTEVILLE — Following the SEC Outdoor Championships last weekend, Arkansas secured 34 entries into the NCAA West preliminary round in Sacramento, California, on May 23-25 at Hornet Stadium hosted by Sacramento State University.

The NCAA West Preliminary meet is one of two regional events, which serve as the first round of the NCAA Outdoor Championships.

Athletes gain entry into the competition by having one of the top-48 best marks of the region (East or West) in their respective events. In order to advance to the final round in Austin, Texas an athlete must finish among the top-12 best (per region) in their respective events.

Razorback entries

The 34 Razorback entries represent a balanced mix of sprints, relays, distance and field events. In the sprints, Arkansas will compete in the 100-meters, 200-meters, 400-meters, and 100-meter hurdles.

In the distance events, it’ll be the 1,500-meters, 5,000-meters, 10,000-meters, and 3,000-meter steeplechase while off the track, pole vault, high jump, and long jump will highlight Arkansas’ representation in the field events.

Both the 4×400-meter relay and 4×100-meter relay will be at the meet entering with the fastest and second-fastest times, respectively.

Year-by-Year entry count (National Finish)

• 2019 – 34 (TBD)
• 2018 – 22 (11th)
• 2017 – 28 (6th)
• 2016 – 37 (1st)
• 2015 – 26 (4th)
• 2014 – 21 (9th)
• 2013 – 22 (8th)
• 2012 – 26 (24th)
• 2011 – 20 (14th)

Solo double duty

Six Razorbacks, Brown (100mH/200m), Payton Chadwick (100mH/200m), Carina Viljoen (1,500/5K), Sydney Brown (1,500/5K), Devin Clark (5k, 3k steeple), and Taylor Werner (5k/10k) will pursue a final round qualification in two events apiece.

Event Breakdown

100 Meters
Kiara Parker
Tamara Kuykendall

200 Meters
Janeek Brown
Payton Chadwick

400 Meters
Kethlin Campbell
Paris Peoples
Morgan Burks-Magee
Sydney Hammit
Tiana Wilson
Shafiqua Maloney

1,500 Meters
Carina Viljoen
Maddy Reed
Sydney Brown
Megan Underwood

5,000 Meters
Taylor Werner
Lauren Gregory
Carina Viljoen
Devin Clark
Sydney Brown

10,000 Meters
Taylor Werner

100 Meter Hurdles
Janeek Brown
Payton Chadwick
G’Auna Edwards

3,000 Meter Steeplechase
Devin Clark
Rachel Nichwitz

4×100 Meter Relay
Arkansas

4×400 Meter Relay
Arkansas

High Jump
J’Alyiea Smith

Pole Vault
Tori Hoggard
Lexi Jacobus
Desiree Freier
Rylee Robinson
Bailee McCorkle

Long Jump
G’Auna Edwards

Hogs advance 28 athletics to NCAA West prelims next week

ESPN Arkansas News Services
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Hogs advance 28 athletics to NCAA West prelims next week

FAYETTEVILLE — With all eyes focused on the NCAA Championships, Arkansas will head to Sacramento, California, next weekend with a plane full of Hogs entered in the NCAA West Preliminary meet slated to run May 23-25 at Hornet Stadium hosted by Sacramento State University.

The NCAA West Preliminary meet is one of two regional events, which serve as the first round of the NCAA Outdoor Championships. Athletes gain entry into the competition by having one of the top 48 best marks of the region (East or West) in their respective events.

In order to advance to the final round in Austin, Texas an athlete must finish among the top-12 best (per region) in their respective events.

Razorback entries

Arkansas will make the cross country trek to the 2019 NCAA West Prelims with 28 entries (in 16 of 21 events).

One of those entries, multi-event performer Gabe Moore, automatically passes on through to Austin off his best decathlon score from earlier this season.

This is the third-straight season for Moore to advance to the NCAA meet in the decathlon. This is the 10th-straight year that the Razorbacks will be represented in the decathlon.

Teams with athletes in the decathlon 2+ years in a row
10 – Arkansas
7 – Georgia
4 – Texas A&M
3 – Wichita St, Michigan St, Kent St, Rice
2 – Wisconsin, UTSA, Kansas St, Dartmouth, Stanford

Arkansas also has multiple entries in the 100-meters, 400-meters, 800-meters, 1500-meters, 5k, 10k, 110-meter hurdles, 400-meter hurdles.

Arkansas is also one of 14 schools (Arizona, Arkansas, Baylor, BYU, Cal St. Fullerton, Houston, Iowa, Nebraska, Oregon, Stephen F. Austin, TCU, Texas Tech, UCLA, UT-Arlington) to qualify both the 4×100-meter and 4×400-meter relay for the regional meet this year and have accomplished the feat every year of regional format that began in 2010.

Year-by-Year Entry Count (National Finish)

• 2019 – 28 (TBD)
• 2018 – 35 (12th)
• 2017 – 35 (4th)
• 2016 – 41 (2nd)
• 2015 – 17 (3rd)
• 2014 – 29 (T-9th)
• 2013 ¬ 29 (3rd)
• 2012 – 38 (8th)
• 2011 – 26 (T-10th)

Relay royalty

In the current regional format that began in 2010, Arkansas is one of only three programs that have advanced a 4×100-meter relay and 4×400-meter relay to the prelim every year.

The other schools who have accomplished the feat are Florida and LSU. Arkansas is the only school in the West Region to have both a 4×100 and 4×400 qualify to the NCAA Prelims every year of regional format.

Four events with three Hogs

At the West prelims, four out of the 16 events in which Arkansas has entries will feature three Razorbacks on the line. Coach Chris Bucknam’s crew boasts tremendous depth in the 100 meters, 5,000 meters, 10,000 meters, and the 110-meter hurdles.

Returning NCAA qualifiers (Final Round)

Two Razorbacks from the 2018 NCAA outdoor 12th-place team return to guide a new group towards national success. Qualifiers from last years outdoor championships making the trek this year include seniors Cameron Griffith and Gabe Moore.

2019 NCAA West Preliminary Event Breakdown

100-meters
Hari, Ejiakuejwu, Oglesby

200-meters
Boyd

400-meters
Woodhall, Brown

800-meters
Taylor, Pareti

1,500-meters
Griffith, Moehn

5,000-meters
Boit, Griffith, Young

10,000-meters
Boit, Young, Murphy

110-meter hurdles
Chattoo, Elliott, Gilbert

400-meter hurdles
Caldwell, Hilson

4×100 meter relay
Arkansas

4×400 meter relay
Arkansas

Long Jump
Nairn

Triple Jump
Nairn

Hammer Throw
Sullins

Decathlon (Through to NCAA’s in Austin)
Gabe Moore

???? Wednesday Halftime Pod — Featuring Connor Vanover

Tye Richardson
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???? Wednesday Halftime Pod — Featuring Connor Vanover

Phil Elson & Tye Richardson hit on Isaiah Moss coming in, interview Connor Vanover, plus Halftime Homework!

Bud Light Morning Rush Podcast: Thursday

Tye Richardson
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Bud Light Morning Rush Podcast: Thursday

John & Tommy discuss two new Razorbacks, plus Arkansas head basketball coach Eric Musselman joins the show!

Musselman joins Morning Rush on all things Arkansas basketball

Tye Richardson
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Musselman joins Morning Rush on all things Arkansas basketball

Eric Musselman pops in to talk about potential assistant coaches, assembling the team he wants, rules he wants to see changed and more!

Hogs take one-game lead in West into final series with A&M

ESPN Arkansas News Services
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Hogs take one-game lead in West into final series with A&M

COLLEGE STATION, Texas — Arkansas finishes the regular season at Texas A&M this weekend with a three-game series starting on Thursday at Blue Bell Park.

The Hogs have a one-game lead in the SEC Western Division over Mississippi State and have won four-straight conference series.

The Razorbacks (39-13, 19-8 SEC) have won eight of their last 10 games going into Thursday night’s tilt with the Aggies. They’ve also won three of their four road conference series this season and have not lost a series to the Aggies since 2016.

Arkansas continued to roll last week in its home regular-season finale against then-No. 15 LSU, taking two of three from the Tigers for the first time since 2011.

The Hogs showed off a high-powered offense against the Tigers, hitting .337 as a team with double-digit run totals coming in the first two games, both victories.

The game one victory (14-4) was one for the record books as the 14 runs were the most scored by an Arkansas team against LSU since 2008 and the five home runs hit tied for the most hit in a game this year and second-most in a game in school history.

Much has been made of Arkansas’ offense over the last month and it’s beginning to draw comparisons to last year’s offense that helped the Razorbacks make a run to the College World Series final.

This year’s offense is hitting seven points better (.311) through 52 games than the 2018 squad and is slugging 16 points better (.507). The 2019 squad is also scoring runs at a higher clip, averaging 8.1 runs per game, a one-run difference than the 2018 team at this point in the season.

For the fifth-straight week, Arkansas will send Isaiah Campbell and Patrick Wicklander to the mound in games one and two and will leave game three open.

Campbell was his usual strong self last week against LSU, going six innings and allowing only two runs on four hits with one walk and four strikeouts.

It was his 10th quality start of the year and 12th outing of five innings or more.

Campbell sits at 91 strikeouts for the year, needing nine more to reach the 100-strikeout mark for the season. If Campbell reaches 100 strikeouts, he will be the third Razorback in the last three years to strikeout 100 batters in a season and then ninth Razorback all-time to eclipse the century mark in one year.

Follow live

This weekend’s series will be televised in front of a national audience on Thursday and Saturday. Game one will be featured on ESPNU, while game three will be on the SEC Network.

Tom Hart and Eduardo Perez will call the series opener and finale. The middle game will be online only via SEC Network+.

Phil Elson will have the call as always on the radio for the Razorback Sports Network and you can listen 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.

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

Probable starters

• Game 1: (ARK) RHP Isaiah Campbell (9-1, 2.57 ERA, 91 K, 14 BB) vs. (TAMU) LHP Chris Weber (4-0, 2.79 ERA, 63 K, 18 BB)

• Game 2: (ARK) LHP Patrick Wicklander (5-1, 4.17 ERA, 75 K, 31 BB) vs. (TAMU) LHP John Doxakis (6-3, 1.93 ERA, 88 K, 20 BB)

• Game 3: (ARK) TBA vs. (TAMU) RHP Christian Roa (2-2, 3.49 ERA, 37 K, 9 BB)

Razorback Prime Nine

• Arkansas completes the 2019 regular-season in College Station, Texas this weekend for a three-game series with the 17th-ranked Texas A&M Aggies before heading to Hoover, Alabama for the 2019 SEC Tournament.

• Arkansas is coming off its fourth-straight SEC series victory after taking two of three games with No. 15 LSU last week. It was the first series win over the Tigers for Arkansas since 2011.

• The Razorbacks currently sit at the top of the SEC Western Division with a one-game lead over Mississippi State. At 19-8, the Hogs have tied the record for the most conference wins under Dave Van Horn and need three to tie the school record (22 in 1999).

• Redshirt junior Isaiah Campbell will take the mound on Thursday night for his 14th start of the year. At 9-1, Campbell is tied for the SEC lead in innings pitched (84.0) and has worked six or more innings in 10 of his last 11 starts with 10 quality outings.

• Isaiah Campbell was named a semifinalist for the 2019 Golden Spikes Award earlier this week. He’s the first Razorback to be named a semifinalist since Andrew Benintendi in 2015.

• In last week’s series opener against LSU, Arkansas hit five home runs as a team in the 14-4 blowout win. It’s the second time this year that they have hit five home runs in a game and fifth time with four or more.

• The Razorbacks weren’t expected to hit as many home runs as last year’s record-setting team (98), but have still set a good pace going into the last weekend of the year. As a team, Arkansas has hit 70 home runs, which is second-most in the SEC.

• Dominic Fletcher continues to be a doubles machine going into this weekend’s series with Texas A&M. Sitting at 22 two-baggers for the year, Fletcher is six off the school record and first in the SEC.

• Catcher Casey Opitz has been a baserunner’s worst nightmare in recent weeks as he caught six would-be base stealers in the last two weeks, five against Kentucky.. Opitz has 19 caught stolen bases this year, which leads the SEC.

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