Phil Elson & Tye Richardson discuss updates with Arkansas football, the USC win, plus former Omahog Carson Shaddy joins the pod!
Bud Light Morning Rush Podcast: Friday
John, Tommy, & Nick discuss the USC win, take calls on Mike Anderson, where Arkansas ranks in the SEC and more!
Cronin saves day for Razorbacks in first game against USC, retiring four straight
LOS ANGELES — Matt Cronin didn’t have such a good outing against Eastern Illiniois last weekend, but made up for it in the first game of the series against USC as Arkansas held on for a 6-3 win.
The Razorbacks never trailed in the game as Casey Martin got things started with a three-run double in the second inning for a 3-0 lead.
With a pair of runs in the third and a solo run in the fourth, the Hogs ran through pitchers Cody Scroggins, who started before yielding to Patrick Wicklander, who proceeded to let the three baserunners he inherited cross.
Cole Ramage then got in some work, followed by Zebulon Vermillion before Cronin finished it by getting the last four outs of the game, all on strikeouts.
Arkansas will try to win the series Friday, with first pitch scheduled for 8 p.m. Isaiah Campbell will start on the mound for the Razorbacks.
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.
Razorbacks have four players score double figures, but rally at Georgia falls short
ATHENS, Ga. — Arkansas had four players in double figures and had a big run late in the game, but it wasn’t enough in a 93-83 loss to Georgia on Thursday.
Kiara Williams scored in double figures for the second consecutive game but the Razorbacks (16-11, 5-8 SEC) couldn’t counter Georgia’s (16-10, 7-6 SEC) early momentum and strong foul line shooting in the final frame.
Chelsea Dungee paced Arkansas with 18 points followed by 17 points from Alexis Tolefree. Williams had a season-best 15 points and added a team-best seven rebounds. A’Tyanna Gaulden tallied 12 points in 16 minutes of work for her third game of the season in double digits.
The pace of the game favored the Razorbacks early and the teams played through 12 lead changes and five ties in the first 20 minutes. Georgia, however, managed a late second quarter and early third frame run that put the Bulldogs up by 16 points around the five-minute mark of the second half.
Georgia then went cold offensively as Dungee and Gaulden heated up. Arkansas strung together a 9-0 run closing the gap to single digits, 59-52, forcing a Bulldog timeout.
Arkansas trimmed the Bulldog lead to four points twice in the fourth quarter and was as close as five points in the final minute. The Razorbacks had to foul as the clock wound down and Georgia was solid from the line going 9-for-14 from the charity stripe in the fourth quarter.
Notes
• Arkansas Starters: Alexis Tolefree, Malica Monk, Kiara Williams, Jailyn Mason, Chelsea Dungee
• There were 12 lead changes and five tie scores in the first half.
• Georgia led by 12 in the 2Q but Arkansas closed the gap to seven at the break — 45-38.
• Arkansas had five 3-point field goals in the first half and finished with seven in the game.
• Alexis Tolefree scored 17 points and was in double figures for the 13th time this year.
• Junior Kiara Williams has scored in double figures in eight games this year. Williams had a season-high 15 points.
• Chelsea Dungee finished with 18 points and has scored in double figures in 24 of 27 games.
• A’Tyanna Gaulden had 12 points for her third double-digit game of the year.
• Four players scored in double figures. It is the first game since Vanderbilt (1-13-19) that four Razorbacks have been in double digits.
Up Next
The Razorbacks return home for back-to-back home contests. They host Ole Miss on Sunday for Senior Day and welcome Missouri in the final regular season home game on Thursday.
Arkansas travels to Texas A&M March 3 as the regular season comes to a close.
Hogs’ Hopkins sets second individual record on SEC Championships’ third day
ATHENS, Ga. — Junior Anna Hopkin set her second individual record of the SEC Championships on day three of the meet, her 13th record-breaking performance of the season.
The Razorbacks opened the meet with the 400 yard IM, with two swimmers setting a personal best time and one setting a season-best time. Emma Garfield earned a 40th place finish with a time of 4:23.98, setting a season-best time.
Vanessa Herrmann set a personal best (4:16.72) to earn a 25th place finish and qualify as first alternate. Peyton Palsha also set a personal best, earning a 12th place finish (4:10.70) and advancing to the B-finals where she took fifth in her heat and 13th overall with a time of 4:10.36.
In the 100 yard butterfly, three swimmers set personal best times and two set season-best times. Brittney Pike set a personal best (57.40) to finish in 48th place while Cris Roberts set a season-best time of 56.40 to earn a 41st place finish.
Andrea Sansores tied for 39th place with a personal best time of 56.05 and Marlena Pigliacampi set a season-best time of 54.23 to tie for a 27th place finish.
Kobie Melton set a personal best time of 53.06 to finish in 16th place and advance to the B-finals where she finished in 14th place overall (52.91). Her finals time was just 0.30 seconds from tying the school record.
The final event of the day was the 200 yard freestyle, where Alyssa Lemon set a personal best (1:49.68) to earn a 47th place finish while Kenedy Thaman set a season-best (1:49.54) to finish in 46th place.
Kiera Michailoff-Russell earned a 42nd place finish and set a personal best with a time of 1:49.20. Hopkin earned an eighth-place finish (1:45.78) to advance to the A-finals to finish in sixth-place and set a school record with a time of 1:44.56.
“The team is really performing well and we had a lot of personal bests today. Peyton, Kobie, and Anna all excelled tonight in the finals and went faster. Anna’s school record was a fantastic performance and provided us all good momentum for tomorrow’s preliminaries,” coach Neil Harper said.
After three days of the SEC Championships, the Hogs sit in seventh place with 346 points. Arkansas will return to the pool tomorrow for the fourth of five days at the meet, opening competition at 9 a.m. with the 200-yard butterfly.
Storms has career night in Razorbacks’ home-opening win over Redhawks
FAYETTEVILLE — Autumn Storms was nothing less than hot for Arkansas on a cool evening, tossing a career-high 13 strikeouts in a 7-1 victory over Southeast Missouri State.
The home-opener win included a five-run fourth inning highlighted by back-to-back home runs by senior Haydi Bugarin and sophomore Nicole Duncan.
The Razorbacks had a narrow one-run lead through two innings, after sophomore Kayla Green floated a sacrifice fly back to the right-field warning track, giving sophomore Hannah McEwen the opportunity to score from third.
SEMO (7-4) would respond with a run of its own in the top of the third inning after a Razorback error would put runners on the corners. Redhawk Mykaela Arrellanes scored on the next hit, giving SEMO its only run of the game.
Coming into tonight’s game, the Redhawks owned the best batting average of those teams participating in the Razorback Invitational (.333 batting average), but the Arkansas defense held them to only four hits and a .180 performance at the plate in the Razorbacks’ victory.
The Hogs’ offense exploded in the fourth inning, and with two outs on the board, Bugarin would spark the rally that would score five runs on four hits. Bugarin’s home run over the left-field wall and into the parking lot is the ninth of her career and second of the season.
Duncan followed in similar fashion, blasting the first pitch over the right-field fence into the Bogle Park outfield berm. It is the first for Duncan in the cardinal and white.
The back-to-back home runs bring Arkansas’s total to nine on the season, coming from seven different Hogs.
Sophomore transfer Danielle Gibson finished the night 3-for-4 at the plate, including a fourth-inning double that scored Sydney Parr who had reached on a SEMO error earlier that inning.
Senior Katie Warrick earned a four-pitch walk to load the bases full of Hogs and the Redhawks would call for a defensive change in the circle. Starting pitcher Haley Thogmartin would walk away with the loss, her second of the season, after allowing six runs on eight hits in 3.2 innings.
Now with the bases loaded, the Razorbacks scored two more, as senior Ashley Diaz and Green reached on consecutive bases-loaded walks.
Arkansas scored its final run on another hit by Gibson in the fifth inning. The single to left field combined with the quick feet of Parr gave Parr the time she needed to cross the plate from second.
Storms’ 13 strike outs are not only a career high, but also a game high for the Razorbacks this season. Through 35 innings in the circle, Storms has given up only two runs, three walks and has struck out 40 batters.
Up Next
The Hogs will return to Bogle Park on Friday for day two of the Razorback Invitational. Arkansas will face SEMO again at 4:45 p.m. and then SIU-Edwardsville at 7 p.m.
Craddock on what Hicks brings to Hogs in addition to on the field
Razorbacks offensive coordinator Joe Craddock talked with the media Thursday about graduate transfer quarterback Ben Hicks’ familiarity with system benefitting already.
Caldwell on need for speed, looking back at defensive line issues last year
Razorbacks defensive line coach Steve Caldwell talked Thursday in advance of spring practice about how the team is progressing from a lack of speed and how players have different attitude in offseason.
Stepp on recruiting and being ‘relentless’ while building relationships
Arkansas wide receivers coach Justin Stepp talked with the media Thursday about building relationships and how game steps up in the hotly-contested SEC.
Traylor excited with new faces in backfield as start of spring nears
Razorbacks running backs coach Jeff Traylor talked Thursday about some of the new players coming in and how injured players recovered and an energizing start to spring practice next week.
