Arkansas coach Dave Van Horn felt it was another third game after two fairly comfortable wins that got close Sunday afternoon, but thought the Hogs did what they had to for a series sweep.
Kjerstad, Washington, Wicklander recapping walkoff win in third game
Razorbacks Heston Kjerstad, who got a walkoff single for the 3-2 win over Eastern Illinois on Sunday, along with Curtis Washington and pitcher Patrick Wicklander.
Behind Williams’ career night, Hogs get close before falling to Kentucky
LEXINGTON, Ky. — A career day for Kiara Williams and solid efforts from Chelsea Dungee and Malica Monk were not enough to complete the upset at No. 17 Kentucky as Arkansas fell, 61-59.
The hotly-contested second half saw Kentucky (21-5, 8-4 SEC) grab a 59-55 lead with 1:05 to play. The Wildcats fouled Dungee who made one bonus shot pulling Arkansas (16-10, 5-7 SEC) within three, 59-56.
The teams exchanged contested misses as the clock wound down. Arkansas found senior Raven Northcross-Baker alone in the corner for a 3-point field goal to tie the game at 59-all with just 22 seconds on the clock.
Kentucky got the ball back and got the home rim bounce on a shot that rattled around the cylinder before falling in with three seconds left in the game. The Wildcats stole the inbounds pass and hung on for the win.
Williams had a career-best 17 rebounds and seven blocked shots adding in a 14-point offensive effort for Arkansas. Dungee scored 20 points for the Razorbacks. It was her 23rd game of the season in double figures and her 13th game with 20 or more points.
Monk added a 10-point performance handling the ball 37 minutes with only one turnover. It was Monk’s 21st game of the season in double figures.
Arkansas got out to a slow start and trailed by eight points after the first quarter, but the Razorbacks stormed back outscoring Kentucky 19-8 in the second quarter to lead by three, 33-30, at the break.
The second half saw four ties and one lead change with Monk, Dungee and Jailyn Mason playing 20 minutes each for the Razorbacks.
The Wildcats were able to go to their bench with 10 different players seeing the court in the second half. Taylor Murray stepped up with 12 points putting the Wildcats in a position to win the game late.
Notes
• Arkansas Starters: Alexis Tolefree, Malica Monk, Kiara Williams, Jailyn Mason, Chelsea Dungee.
• Chelsea Dungee has scored in double figures in 23 games including six in a row. She had 15 points at the half and finished with 20 for the game.
• Malica Monk has scored in double figures in 20 games this year.
• Kiara Williams finished with a career-best 17 rebounds. Williams had 11 boards at the break. It is her fifth game of the year with double-digit boards and ninth for the team this season.
• Kiara Williams had her third double-double with 14 points and 17 rebounds. It is the fourth double-double of the year for Arkansas. It is Williams’ eighth double-double for her career.
• Kiara Williams had a career-best seven blocks in the game.
Up Next
The Razorbacks travel to Georgia, Thursday, Feb. 21 for a 6 p.m. tip. It is the second meeting with the Lady Bulldogs. Arkansas dropped the first contest in Bud Walton Arena, 80-72, in the last game of January.
The Razorbacks return home hosting the first of two home games welcoming Ole Miss for Senior Day on Feb. 24.
Arkansas hosts Missouri Feb. 28 and travels to Texas A&M on March 3, as the regular season concludes.
Anderson on Razorbacks’ issues in double-digit home loss
Arkansas coach Mike Anderson met with the media following the 77-67 loss at Bud Walton on Saturday night as the team went cold from the floor in the second half.
Arkansas’ Jones says team can stay together through four-game skid
Mason Jones (30 points) said the team will stay together in the locker room, despite the four-game losing streak after the Hogs lost to Mississipnpi Saturday night, 77-67.
Howland on Bulldogs’ big second-half run to sink Arkansas
Mississippi State coach Ben Howland said his team’s 23-1 run in the second half was usually something the Razorbacks did to visitors at Bud Walton Arena.
State’s Perry, Woodard talking about strong win over Hogs
Mississippi State players Reggie Perry (12 points, 10 rebounds) and Robert Woodard (10 points) talked with the media after the 77-67 win over the Razorbacks.
Ezell, Noland, McFarland recapping second game win over Panthers
Razorback players first baseman Trevor Ezell, pitcher Connor Noland and designated hitter Jordan McFarland recapped the pair of wins against Easter Illinois on Saturday.
Razorbacks’ big innings lead to pair of wins in opening-day doubleheader
FAYETTEVILLE — Waiting one extra day to start the 2019 season didn’t seem to bother 12th-ranked Arkansas on Saturday at Baum-Walker Stadium.
The Razorbacks picked up a pair of wins behind a strong offensive showing, winning 15-7 in game one and 12-3 in game two.
Each starting position player recorded at least one hit in both games of the doubleheader. Sophomore infielder Casey Martin led all Razorback hitters combining for five hits on the day, three coming in game one win.
Graduate senior Trevor Ezell and redshirt freshman Jacob Nesbit, who were both making their Razorback debuts, each added four hits combined of their own over the two-game stretch.
Coach Dave Van Horn opened his 17th season as the Razorback skipper with his 17th-straight Opening Day win and it was the second-largest Opening Day win in the last five seasons.
It was also the 25th-straight season-opening win for the Razorbacks dating back to 1995 under former head coach Norm DeBriyn.
On the pitching side, redshirt junior Isaiah Campbell and freshman Connor Noland made their first starts of the year.
Campbell was solid through five innings, but gave up three earned runs in his final inning of work. The Kansas-native still struck out five and never issued a walk.
Noland, who was making his Razorback debut, nearly completed five innings after striking out a team-high seven batters, but Eastern Illinois loaded the bases with two outs in the fifth, forcing Van Horn to go to the bullpen. Noland still didn’t give up an earned run and only allowed one walk.
Game 1 | Arkansas 15, Eastern Illinois 7 (Box Score)
Not only did Martin have a great day at the plate in the first game of the day, but so did Ezell. The Bryant, Arkansas native went 3-for-4 at the plate with three RBIs and three runs scored, including hitting Arkansas’ first home run of the year into the right field bullpen.
It was one of four home runs hit in the game as Heston Kjerstad, Jack Kenley and Christian Franklin also went deep. The four home runs is the most in the first game of the season for any Dave Van Horn-led team dating back to 2002.
The big inning came in the fourth as Arkansas chased EIU starter Tyler Jones with an eight-run frame. Franklin’s three-run opposite field home run got the rally going and it was followed by the two-run home run of Kjerstad that was estimated at 392 feet. The home run was Kjerstad’s only hit in the game.
Catcher Casey Opitz had a good day at the plate also, as he got the start behind the dish. The sophomore went 2-for-3 with a career-high three RBIs, as well as two runs scored.
Amidst the 18-hit barrage that Arkansas had in game one, the offense also did not strike out once in 46 batters. It’s the first time since Feb. 28, 2010, a 7-6 victory over Troy, that an Arkansas team did not strike out in a game.
Game 2 | Arkansas 12, Eastern Illinois 3 (Box Score)
Five different players recorded two or more hits in game two, including Martin, Nesbit, Dominic Fletcher, Jordan McFarland, Zack Plunkett.
McFarland, who got the call as the designated hitter, went 2-for-4 with a team-high three RBIs and a stolen base. His two-RBI single in the eighth was part of a six-run frame that ballooned a three-run Arkansas lead to a nine-run Arkansas lead.
In that inning, the Razorbacks not only batted around for the second time in the day, but all six runs were brought in by singles or a fielder’s choice. Plunkett had the lone extra-base hit in the inning, a double, but couldn’t bring anyone around to score at the time.
On the pitching side, Noland looked great, allowing only one hit and one walk in the first three innings. He ran into a little trouble in the fourth, but got the benefit of a double play. In the fifth, it was errors in the defense that allowed the bases to jam up with only one out. Noland did get a strikeout of Alex Stevenson and looked to be willing to finish the inning, but Van Horn decided to go to the bullpen and bring in Ramage, who got the final out and pitched the next two innings scoreless.
Ramage ended up with the victory, his first of the year. Zebulon Vermillion and Marshall Denton finished off the final two innings, allowing only one hit and striking out one in the final eight batters.
Up Next
Arkansas and Eastern Illinois will finish off its series tomorrow with a 1 p.m. first pitch at Baum-Walker Stadium.
The game will be televised online on SEC Network+ via the Watch ESPN app and WatchESPN.com.
Van Horn on Razorbacks’ opening doubleheader sweep Saturday
Arkansas coach Dave Van Horn after the second win of the day over Eastern Illinois, 12-3, to complete winning a pair of games to open the new season.
Razorbacks get 8-2 win over Sacramento State in final game in Puerto Vallarta
PUERTO VALLARTA, MEXICO — Arkansas is back in its groove, posting an 8-2 win over Sacramento State on Saturday in the Hogs’ final game of the Puerto Vallarta College Challenge.
Katie Warrick recorded her second home run of the season, while Mary Haff secured the win from the circle and Autumn Storms’ fifth-inning relief is good for her fifth career save.
Up Next
Arkansas will return to Fayetteville to host Southeast Missouri State on Thursday (Feb. 21) for its home opener and the start of the Razorback Invitational.
The Hogs will also face SIU-Edwardsville, Drake, and IUPUI during the invitational.
All-Tournament Team
Storms and sophomore Kayla Green earned spots on the Puerto Vallarta College Challenge All-Tournament Team after two stellar performances over the course of the Razorbacks’ four games in Mexico.
Storms recorded a shutout win and a save, while giving up no earned runs and picking up 18 strikeouts. Green finished with a .556 average at the plate, recording her first home run of the season against Northern Colorado. Green rattled off back-to-back multi-hit games against Washington and UNC as well.
How It Happened
After a scoreless first inning, the Hogs got to work in the second, taking advantage of a Hornet error and a walk to load the bases with Warrick, Green, and Ashley Diaz.
Freshman Maggie Hicks would follow with a hit-by-pitch call to score Warrick and give Arkansas a one-run lead.
Sacramento State responded in the bottom of the third inning, scoring two on a single up the middle. The hit would give the Hornets the lead, but not for long.
The Hogs bounced back in the fourth, using the quick feet of Carley Haizlip, Haydi Bugarin, and Hicks to score three runs, all a result of errors by the Sacramento State defense. Haizlip entered to pinch run for Arkansas after Green reached on a lead-off walk, followed by a base-hit by Hicks and a fielder’s choice by Bugarin.
In the fifth inning, the Razorbacks tacked on another run to give the Hogs a 5-2 lead. After Warrick fired off a line drive down the right-field line for a double, Keely Edwards would enter to pinch run. Edwards would cross the plate only two batters later, as Hicks put the ball in play and reached on another Hornet error, giving Edwards the chance to score.
The final runs of the game came in the sixth inning for Arkansas, starting with Hannah McEwen, who earned her first hit of the game with a single through the right side. McEwen would make her way around to third base with a pass ball and wild pitch.
In steps Warrick to absolutely unload on a 1-1 pitch and send it out far over the left-field fence, giving the Razorbacks a comfy 7-2 lead. With the bases cleared, Diaz followed with a single to left field, she wasn’t on first base long before Green stepped in and delivered a double to left-center, sending Diaz in for the Hogs’ eighth and final run of the game.
Haff pitched a complete four innings for the win and Storms relieved Haff at the start of the fifth inning — the power duo helped propel Arkansas to its first ever win over Sacramento State. Together, they accounted for nine strikeouts and allowed only four hits.
