Diaz gets 200th career hit as Razorbacks pound ninth-ranked LSU, 8-5

ESPN Arkansas News Services
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FAYETTEVILLE — Senior Ashley Diaz left no record untouched Thursday night in the Arkansas’ 8-5 series-opening win over No.9 LSU.

Diaz was 1-for-3 at the plate, but made her at-bats count.

She recorded her 200th career hit on a first-inning home run, her program-best 10th career sacrifice fly in the fourth and recorded four RBIs to make her second all-time at Arkansas for career RBI.

Starter Autumn Storms opened up the contest with a scoreless showing in the first, shutting down LSU’s top batters in the order.

Arkansas fired up the bats in the bottom of the inning, as sophomores Hannah McEwen and Danielle Gibson went back-to-back with base hits against the Tiger starter, Shelby Wickersham.

Diaz followed with her big hit, soaring the 1-2 count out over the left-center wall, giving the Razorbacks a 3-0 lead.

LSU (36-10, 13-6) quickly responded with five unanswered runs in the second and third innings. The Tigers capitalized on a home run by Shemiah Sanchez and a Razorback wild pitch to score two in the second, and three in the third with runs batted in by Sanchez, Amanda Doyle and Michaela Schlattman.

Sophomore Mary Haff entered for Arkansas in the third inning and pitched 4.2 scoreless innings for the Razorbacks. Haff recorded the victory, her 16th of the season.

Haff gave up only four hits to the league’s leading offense, walking one Tiger and striking out three. Haff faced 20 batters and recorded eight at-bats with at least two strikes.

Now trailing 5-3, the Hogs took advantage of a Tiger error in the fourth to cut LSU’s lead to 4-3. Nicole Duncan scored on the play, as Gibson’s ball came off the second baseman’s glove and trailed off into right field.

Diaz scored McEwen from third on a first-pitch sacrifice fly and Arkansas and LSU were tied at 5-5 through four frames.

Sophomore Linnie Malkin and senior Katie Warrick got in on the fun as well, as Malkin hit the game-winning home run in the fifth inning and Warrick followed with a solo home run to left center in the sixth.

The win over the Tigers is monumental for the Razorbacks, as they defeated LSU for the first time under head coach Courtney Deifel.

Notables

• Hannah McEwen reached based for the 43rd time this season and extended her on-base streak to nine games.

• Nicole Duncan was hit-by-pitch for the 15th time this season, tying former Razorback Shelby Hiers for 10th all-time at Arkansas for career hit-by-pitch. Duncan is only one call away from tying the single-season record of 16.

• Diaz’ seven putouts of the contest rank her third all-time at Arkansas for career putouts with 1,303.

Keep up with the Hogs

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Game 3 | Watch | Live Scoring

Up next

The Hogs and Tigers will play Friday at 6 p.m. and on Saturday for the series finale at 1 p.m.

Arkansas has only three conference series remaining, with a road series to follow next weekend at Texas A&M and the final home series of the season against Auburn.

Clark, Gregory put up best lifetime marks for Razorbacks’ women at ‘Bryan Clay’

ESPN Arkansas News Services
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Clark, Gregory put up best lifetime marks for Razorbacks’ women at ‘Bryan Clay’

AZUSA, Calif. — The Arkansas women’s distance team got the weekend’s slate underway as they competed on the west coast at the Bryan Clay Invitational.

Indoor All-Americans Devin Clark and Lauren Gregory finished Thursday night with lifetime-best performances in the 5,000-meters with Gregory’s performance finishing as the No. 2 time in program history.

Clark finished in 16:00.92 for ninth-place in her heat while Gregory ran 15:42.45 for fifth-place and now trails only Dominique Scott (15:25.10) for the fastest time in Arkansas history.

Maddy Reed (16:09.61) and Sydney Brown (16:49.78) finished 15th and 20th, respectively, in their heats of the 5k.

Freshman Quinn Owen recorded a time of 10:41.62 for 24th-place in her collegiate debut in the 3,000-meter steeplechase.

The Razorbacks will continue action at the Bryan Clay Invitational where the distance crew will compete in the 1,500-meters.

Cates, Young post lifetime bests at Bryan Clay Invitational in California

ESPN Arkansas News Services
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Cates, Young post lifetime bests at Bryan Clay Invitational in California

AZUSA, Calif. — The Arkansas distance crew got the weekend’s slate underway as they competed on the west coast at the Bryan Clay Invitational.

Preston Cates officially got competition for Arkansas going at the meet on Wednesday night as the junior finished in a lifetime-best 30:01.04 in the 10,000-meters taking fourth-place in his heat.

Matt Young followed in his footsteps Thursday night posting a lifetime-best of his own in the 5,000-meters finishing 10th in his heat with a time of 13:59.94.

Gilbert Boit finished eighth in his heat of the 5k with a time of 13:37.74 that falls just outside the Arkansas all-time top-10 list trailing Daniel Lincoln’s 2002 performance by 1.62 seconds.  Austen Dalquist also competed in the 5k running 14:42.30 for 30th-place in his heat.

Kyle Levermore finished the 3,000-meter steeplechase with a season-best time of 9:21.80 for 45th-place while Ryan Murphy also posted a season-best crossing the line in 9:49.23 for 92nd-place in the same heat.

The Razorbacks will continue action at the Bryan Clay Invitational where the distance crew will compete in the 800-meter and 1,500-meter disciplines.

Arkansas falls to Georgia in second round of SEC Tournament on Thursday

ESPN Arkansas News Services
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Arkansas falls to Georgia in second round of SEC Tournament on Thursday

GAINESVILLE, Fla. — Georgia defeated Arkansas, 4-0, Thursday in the second round of the Southeastern Conference Men’s Tennis Tournament Thursday evening.

After a short delay from the earlier matches, Georgia took a 1-0 advantage by securing the doubles point. The Bulldogs took court three 6-3. Oscar Mesquida and Adam Sanjurjo were able to take court one 6-4, but Georgia took court two 6-4 to take a 1-0 lead heading into singles action.

Georgia would take a 2-0 lead as No. 99 Philip Henning (UGA) defeated Maxim Verboven 6-3, 6-0 on the sixth court. The Dogs would pull within one from clinching as No. 31 Emil Reinberg (UGA) beat Alex Reco 6-1, 6-1 on court two.

The Dogs clinched the match on court four as Trent Bryde (UGA) defeated Enrique Paya 6-3, 6-2.

Doubles Results – Order of Finish (3,1,2)

1. Oscar Mesquida/Adam Sanjurjo (AR) def. No. 18 Robert Loeb/Jan Zielinski (UGA) 6-4
2. Walker Duncan/Emil Reinberg (UGA) def. Maxim Verboven/Enrique Paya (AR) 6-4
3. Alex Diaz/Philip Henning (UGA) def. Alex Reco/Jose Alonso (AR) 6-3

Singles Results – Order of Finish (6,2,4)

1. No. 17 Jan Zielinski (UGA) vs. No. 66 Oscar Mesquida (AR) 5-7, 4-2, unfinished
2. No. 31 Emil Reinberg (UGA) def. Alex Reco (AR) 6-1, 6-1
3. Robert Loeb (UGA) vs. Pedro Alonso (AR) 6-2, 2-2, unfinished
4. Trent Bryde (UGA) def. Enrique Paya (AR) 6-3, 6-2
5. Walker Duncan (UGA) vs. Jose Alonso (AR) 6-2, 1-5, unfinished
6. #99 Philip Henning (UGA) def. Maxim Verboven (AR) 6-3, 6-0

Fassi’s near-perfect round moves Razorbacks to third at SEC Championship

ESPN Arkansas News Services
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Fassi’s near-perfect round moves Razorbacks to third at SEC Championship

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — A nearly perfect round by senior Maria Fassi and great play from Dylan Kim, Kaylee Benton, Brooke Matthews, and Ximena Gonzalez moved Arkansas into third place in round two of the SEC Championship in Birmingham, Alabama, on Thursday.

Fassi played 4-under on the Legends Course at Greystone Golf and Country Club shooting a 68 and is currently in second place with rounds of 71-68=139.

She trails the leader by just two shots going into the final round of stroke play on Friday.

Kim and Matthews bettered their first-round scores with rounds of 72 and 74, respectively. Benton added a 1-over 73 helping the Razorbacks to a 287 and up one spot to third place on the leaderboard.

Fassi started and ended her round with birdies and had just one bogey on the day. She also birdied holes five, six and 11.

She was one of three Razorbacks to count a four on the par-5 18th hole with Benton and Kim also carding birdies to finish. Benton (72-73) and Kim (73-72) are T15 overall with 1-over 145s.

Matthews made the turn and birdied the 10th and 11th holes erasing a double bogey on the front nine. She parred five of the last seven holes for a 74, three shots better than her first-day number. She and Gonzalez are T50 overall.

The windy conditions increased throughout the round and overnight wind and rain are expected.

Arkansas is currently scheduled to begin play at 9:40 a.m. in the final round to determine the individual winner. The top eight teams advance to match play Saturday and Sunday.

From Shauna Taylor

“I’m super proud of this group. It takes a team effort to have success on this golf course. I’m really proud of Brooke (Matthews). She doubled her second hole and finished 2-over. Obviously (Maria) Fassi had a fantastic round and Dylan (Kim) told me she had 24 putts, so she battled hard today. It really says a lot about our group. We are just trying to take it one day at a time. Tonight, we are going to rest and recover. We want to fuel properly and try to pace ourselves to put ourselves in a position to challenge for a title.”

About Maria Fassi:

“I think experience on this golf course means a lot. This is her fourth year playing here. She knows the hole locations and knows when she needs to be aggressive and when to take her medicine and hit to the middle of the greens. She’s grown so much as a player and her discipline on the golf course is amazing. Her acceptance of dealing with wherever her golf ball goes is the reason she will find herself in contention quite a bit.”

The Razorback Lineup

2 Maria Fassi (1) 71-68=139 -5
T15 Kaylee Benton (2) 72-73=145 +1
T15 Dylan Kim (3) 73-72=145 +1
T50 Brooke Matthews (4) 77-74=151 +7
T50 Ximena Gonzalez (5) 75-76=151 +7

 

The Field

1 Florida 284-283=567 -9
2 South Carolina 287-286=573 -3
3 Arkansas 291-287=578 +2
4 Georgia 293-286=579 +3
5 Auburn 284-298=582 +6
6 Vanderbilt 296-288=584 +8
7 Ole Miss 298-290=588 +12
8 LSU 299-292=591 +15
9 Mississippi St. 294-298=592 +16
T10 Texas A&M 300-293=593 +17
T10 Alabama 301-292=593 +17
12 Tennessee 294-300=594 +18
13 Missouri 299-298=597 +21
14 Kentucky 304-299=603 +27

 

SEC Championship Notes

• Arkansas won the program’s first SEC title and it was the first title under the format that features match play.

• Maria Fassi tied for the individual title but lost the playoff. Fassi finished T5 as a freshman (2016), T63 as sophomore (2017) and as runner-up as a junior (2018).

• Arkansas finished third in stroke play last year and won the match play portion for the SEC title.

ª The Razorbacks have 12 top-5 finishes in program history.

• Rain is expected overnight and play may be delayed in the morning for the final round of stroke play.

Arkansas falls to Kentucky in second round at SEC Tournament in Texas

ESPN Arkansas News Services
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Arkansas falls to Kentucky in second round at SEC Tournament in Texas

COLLEGE STATION, Texas — Arkansas fell, 4-1, to Kentucky on Thursday afternoon in the second round of the SEC Tournament.

The Razorbacks opened the match strong, clinching the doubles point for the sixth-straight match. Lauren Alter and Tatum Rice defeated No. 13 Justina Mikulskyte and Akvile Parazinskaite before the Wildcats evened doubles play with a 6-4 victory over Martina Zerulo and Thea Rice.

Miruna Tudor and Jackie Carr clinched the point at the No. 3 position for the second-straight match.

Kentucky took the lead quickly, as Alter was defeated 7-6(4), 6-2 and Tatum Rice fell at the No. 2 position. The team got within one of the clinch with a 6-3, 6-3 win at the No. 5 position, before winning the match with a victory over Tudor. The final two matches were suspended due to the clinch.

The Hogs will learn their postseason fate at 5:30 p.m. on April 29, with the individuals and doubles selection announcement to be made the following day.

No. 44 Arkansas 4, Missouri 1

Doubles Results – Order of Finish (1,2,3)
1. Lauren Alter/Tatum Rice (ARK) def. Justina Mikulskyte/Akvile Parazinskaite (UKW) 6-2
2. Lesedi Jacobs/Diana Tkachenko (UKW) def. Martina Zerulo/Thea Rice (ARK) 6-4
3. Miruna Tudor/Jackie Carr (ARK) def. Brianna Tulloch/Alexis Merrill (UKW) 7-5

Singles Results – Order of Finish (3,2,5,4)
1. Justina Mikulskyte (UKW) vs. Martina Zerulo (ARK) 3-6, 6-1, 1-2, unfinished
2. Lesedi Jacobs (UKW) def. Tatum Rice (ARK) 6-4, 6-3
3. Tiphanie Fiquet (UKW) def. Lauren Alter (ARK) 7-6 (7-4), 6-2
4. Akvile Parazinskaite (UKW) def. Miruna Tudor (ARK) 6-3, 7-5
5. Diana Tkachenko (UKW) def. Laura Rijkers (ARK) 6-3, 6-3
6. Anastasia Tkachenko (UKW) vs. Jackie Carr (ARK) 3-6, 2-5, unfinished

Hogs finally land former Pulaski Academy lineman Jones from Irish

ESPN Arkansas News Services
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Chad Morris lost Pulaski Academy offensive lineman Luke Jones less than three weeks after getting the job at Arkansas … but now Jones is coming back home.

Apparently it didn’t work out in South Bend and the 6-foot-5, 303-pounder announced he was coming back to the state Thursday afternoon on Twitter:

Considering the NCAA is making a lot of these transfers eligible immediately, it could be a boost for an offensive line situation struggling with numbers.

Jones had been competing for the backup center spot at Notre Dame in the spring and it’s a spot the Razorbacks have been filling by committee the last few years.

Ty Clary, the projected No. 1 coming out of spring, has struggled with snaps at times. His backups are redshirt-sophomore Shane Clenin (seven career games played), redshirt-freshman Silas Robinson and true freshman walk-on Austin Nix.

Jones was the fourth-rated player overall in the state his senior year, but flipped his commitment from the Hogs to the Irish 20 days after Morris was named as the coach, replacing Bret Bielema.

He is the fifth transfer addition along with quarterbacks Ben Hicks and Nick Starkel, running back Trelon Smith and kicker Jared Sackett.

Hicks and Starkel are graduate transfers and eligible immediately. Smith and Sackett are expected to sit out this season.

With the NCAA granting waivers right and left, though, nothing is for certain.

He will be the fourth player from Pulaski Academy on the roster along with junior linebacker Hayden Henry. Incoming freshman tight end Hudson Henry and freshman wide receiver John David White are the others.

Jones was a heavily-recruited three-star with offers from Arkansas, Notre Dame, Missouri, Oregon, Virginia and over a dozen others.

Former Razorback Johnny Ray to SEC Baseball Legends for 2019

ESPN Arkansas News Services
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Former Razorback Johnny Ray to SEC Baseball Legends for 2019

FAYETTEVILLE — Former two-time All-SWC selection and Major League veteran Johnny Ray has been named one of four Southeastern Conference legends that were announced by the conference office Thursday morning.

The Razorbacks baseball legend will be recognized at the 2019 SEC Baseball Tournament May 21-26 at Hoover Metropolitan Stadium in Hoover, Alabama.

A two-time All-Southwest Conference second baseman for the Razorbacks, Ray was a standout on the diamond in 1978 and 1979.

The two-year letterman helped lead the Razorbacks to a combined 80-28 record in his tenure including a national championship runner-up finish in 1979.

The Chouteau, Oklahoma, native led the team in numerous offensive categories in both seasons as a Razorback including at bats (154-1978, 235-1979), runs (27-1978, 55-1979) and hits (47-1978, 77-1979).

He also led the team in doubles in 1978 (8), triples in 1979 (12) and in RBI in 1979 (47).

Ray was drafted by the Houston Astros in the 12th round of the 1979 MLB Draft, and in 1982 he was named the Sporting News Rookie of the Year.

He played 10 seasons in Major League Baseball with the Pittsburgh Pirates and the California Angels. He made one All-Star game appearance as a member of the Angels in 1988.

Joining Ray in this year’s class is Doug Duke from Alabama, Josh Fogg from Florida and Jeremy Sowers from Vanderbilt.

Ray is the third Razorback to be named an SEC Legend since the inaugural year in 2012 as former Razorback All-American Kevin McReynolds was part of that first class, followed by hall of fame head coach Norm DeBriyn in 2016.

???? Thursday Halftime Pod — featuring Aaron Torres of Fox Sports Radio

Tye Richardson
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???? Thursday Halftime Pod — featuring Aaron Torres of Fox Sports Radio

Phil Elson & Tye Richardson hit if Mus/Morris will recruit better than Bielema/Anderson, plus Aaron Torres and Halftime Homework!

Tyler Wilson shares where Bobby Petrino is coaching right now

Tye Richardson
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Tyler Wilson shares where Bobby Petrino is coaching right now

Bud Light Morning Rush Podcast: Thursday

Tye Richardson
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Bud Light Morning Rush Podcast: Thursday

John, Tommy and Tyler Wilson play an Easter game, talk about getting better players on campus and more!

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