Oklahoma DE Ford impressed with Hogs on visit
FAYETTEVILLE — Defensive end Trace Ford was one of 73 players at Saturday’s Razorback Night Camp 2 and he liked what he saw.
“It’s definitely in my top five, that’s why I got out here,” Ford said to multiple sites. He has been busy playing baseball as well as looking at schools.
“I just wanted to see it more,” he said. “The baseball and all takes up time, so I wanted to get out and see more. That’s why I wanted to come here and see what it’s about.
“I like them a lot. I like Coach (Steve) Caldwell. He’s kind of quirky. He tries to show you how to do things and interacts with you, so I like that a lot. I know the schools I like and the schools I don’t like. Arkansas is definitely up there.”
Ford, 6-3, 220 pounds, came during the bitter cold and freezing weather in February. He didn’t get to see much.
He wanted to see it in warmer weather and got a good look Saturday.
“I got here at around 2 or 3 and we toured around to get a better feel for the school,” Ford said. “That’s why I came. It was like a freeze-out when I came the first time, so I wanted to get around to the facility and the business center and all. It was amazing, I liked it a lot.”
Ford has owned an Arkansas offer for several months and also holds scholarship opportunities with Oklahoma State, Florida State, Oregon, Missouri, Cal and others.
The Razorbacks are still firmly in his top group as he begins to take more visits following the end of his baseball season.
“It’s definitely in my top five, that’s why I got out here,” Ford said. “I just wanted to see it more. The baseball and all takes up time, so I wanted to get out and see more. That’s why I wanted to come here and see what it’s about.
“I like them a lot. I like Coach (Steve) Caldwell. He’s kind of quirky. He tries to show you how to do things and interacts with you, so I like that a lot. I know the schools I like and the schools I don’t like. Arkansas is definitely up there.”
Hogs fall to Gamecocks; decisive game Monday night
FAYETTEVILLE — Carson Shaddy and Casey Martin each had two hits Sunday afternoon, but South Carolina topped Arkansas with an 8-5 victory in game two of the NCAA Fayetteville Super Regional at Baum Stadium.
The Gamecocks win evens up the best-of-three series at 1-1 with a winner-take-all game three set for Monday at 6 p.m. on ESPN.
Shaddy and freshman Heston Kjerstad both homered for the Razorbacks in the setback.
For Shaddy it was his 12th of the year and for Kjerstad, his team-leading 14th of the year. However, the Hogs could never put together the big inning like they had on Saturday as South Carolina built up a six-run lead by the sixth inning.
Tomorrow’s game will mark the fourth time Arkansas will play a deciding third game in a Super Regional in its history and the seventh time the Razorbacks and Gamecocks have faced off this year.
The Hitting
With two big flies Sunday from Shaddy and Kjerstad, the Razorbacks tied the program’s single-season record of 92 home runs set by the 2010 squad.
Individually, Kjerstad snapped a three-way tie for Arkansas’ freshman home run mark that he previously shared with Zack Cox (2009) and teammate Casey Martin. With his solo shot in the seventh inning, the Amarillo, Texas, native now leads the club with 14 home runs.
Martin’s multi-hit effort was his team-leading 25th of the season while Shaddy had his 15th multi-hit game of the season and 14th outing with at least two RBIs.
Shaddy continued his torrid pace in the postseason with two more hits Sunday. The redshirt senior is hitting .467 (7-for-15) with 11 RBI through Arkansas’ first five games of the NCAA Tournament.
As for Kjerstad, he’s also been one of the Razorbacks’ top hitters this postseason. Including today’s homer, Kjerstad is batting .421 over the five-game span with a team-leading eight hits and three home runs.
The home run on Sunday extended his hitting streak to five games, which is the longest current streak on the team.
The Pitching
Junior starter Kacey Murphy battled through 4.1 innings Sunday, allowing six hits and four runs in what tied for his second-shortest outing of the year.
Redshirt sophomore Cody Scroggins was the fourth relief pitcher out of the bullpen for the Razorbacks, and the most effective, as he struck out two over a career-long 2.1 innings. He allowed only one hit and walked two in 10 batters faced.
What the Hogs said after the game
“It says they’re good. That’s why they’re here in a Super Regional. They battled through another Regional and got through a season. They beat a lot of good teams to have a chance to play in a regional and then win it and then come here. We’ve played a lot of games here and won a lot of games here. We’ve beaten people by 10 runs, we’ve lost by a couple of runs here and there and we’ve played a lot of tight games. We’ve been very fortunate. It just comes down to one game. It doesn’t really matter what we did in the past.” — Head coach Dave Van Horn on South Carolina beating Arkansas twice at Baum Stadium this year
“I feel fine with Isaiah. He has great stuff. If he goes out and does what he can do, he’ll be out there for a while. If he doesn’t, we’ll go to the next guy. You get down to this point – and I’m sure [South Carolina] is the same way – you just have to go with what you see and what you feel. There’s no tomorrow, basically. We’ll give him the ball and let him have it as long as he earns it. Hopefully he’ll give us some innings.” — Van Horn on Isaiah Campbell starting game three
“We’re very confident. We’re going to wake it up. We’re going to get to the yard and get ready to work. They’re not going to give us anything, but we wouldn’t want to have it any other way. We want to be tested. We don’t want to be handed anything; that’s not how we’re raised or how we are. We’re going to come here tomorrow and play our best game of the year and see what happens.” — Carson Shaddy on the team’s mindset going into game three of a Super Regional
NCAA Fayetteville Super Regional | Tournament Central
Series tied 1-1
Game 1: Arkansas 9, South Carolina 3 | Box Score
Game 2: South Carolina 8, Arkansas 4 | Box Score
Game 3: Arkansas (H) vs South Carolina – 6 p.m.
Van Horn, players recap loss to South Carolina
Arkansas coach Dave Van Horn, joined by second baseman Carson Shaddy and third baseman Casey Martin were ready to put Sunday’s 8-5 loss to the Gamecocks behind them.
Kingston, Gamecocks look back at win over Hogs
South Carolina coach Mark Kingston with players LT Tolbert, Justin Row and Sawyer Bridges break down the 8-5 win that forces a decided game Monday night.
Highly-ranked receiver puts Hogs in top three
Trey Knox was delayed in his official visit to Fayetteville on Friday, but it didn’t diminish his attraction to Arkansas, according to multiple reports.
“It went really well,” Knox said to multiple recruiting sites. “With the flight, I missed a couple of things on Friday, but overall it was a great trip. They’re really in my top three, easily. I’ll be back again, most definitely.
“Definitely hanging around my boy (Jonathan) Nance and really just getting to know what the players are all about at the University of Arkansas (were the highlights). Getting around Coach (Justin) Stepp, Coach (Joe) Craddock and Coach (Chad) Morris a lot, eating out with them — we felt like family. They kept it real with me. That’s how they always are, just laid back. I really like that.”
Knox, a 4-star receiver from Murfreesboro, Tennessee, Blackman has Arkansas in his top three along with Ohio State and Alabama.
Knox got his first look at the Razorbacks during an unofficial visit on February 25, but said this weekend’s trip allowed him more time to hang out with the Hogs’ coaches and players.
Knox believes he fits what the Razorbacks are looking for at the wide receiver position in this year’s class.
“Definitely my route-running and my big body (6-5, 215),” he said. “I know how to use my body, and definitely my versatility. I can go anywhere on the field. They like to move receivers around, so the ability to play multiple spots would help the team.”
Knox said a couple of other schools stick out in addition to Arkansas, and that he’ll make a decision “whenever it feels right.”
Big inning leads Razorbacks past South Carolina
FAYETTEVILLE — Carson Shaddy drove in four runs and junior Jax Biggers tallied three hits Saturday evening to lead Arkansas to a 9-3 win over South Carolina in game one of the NCAA Fayetteville Super Regional.
With the victory, the Razorbacks take a 1-0 lead in the best-of-three series with game two scheduled for Sunday at 2 p.m. on ESPN.
A win Sunday gives Arkansas its ninth trip to the College World Series in program history.
Saturday’s game was played in front of 11,722 fans, the third-largest attendance mark ever recorded at Baum Stadium.
The Razorbacks improved to 43-18 overall and 34-4 on their home field.
Junior Blaine Knight turned in a quality start, moving to 12-0 with Saturday’s outing, while fellow junior Barrett Loseke struck out four Gamecocks in a three-inning save, his third save of the year.
The Big Inning
With the Razorbacks nursing a one-run advantage and the bases loaded in the bottom of the seventh, Shaddy delivered a bases-clearing double to left center to push Arkansas to a 7-3 lead.
Freshman Casey Martin led things off with a double down the left-field line and after a pair of one-out walks, the bases were juiced. Senior Jared Gates added a sacrifice fly to score Shaddy later in the inning to cap the Razorbacks’ four-run frame.
The Hitting
Martin and Heston Kjerstad both had two-hit games on Saturday, continuing their strong 2018 seasons, but Jax Biggers led all hitters with a 3-for-4 day at the plate. All three of his hits were singles and he drove in his 23rd RBI of the season in the sixth inning to tie the game at 3-3.
As for Martin and Kjerstad, the two Hogs have combined for 12 hits in the NCAA Tournament with Kjerstad leading the team with seven after four games. Kjerstad upped his average to .346 after the two-hit night, which still leads the team, and he is second with 23 multi-hit games.
The Pitching
Blaine continued his dominant junior campaign, remaining undefeated (12-0) after a six-inning outing with only three earned runs allowed and four strikeouts.
Knight did have to labor in the early innings, but settled down to give up only three hits in his final four innings.
Junior Barrett Loseke made his first appearance of the NCAA Tournament a strong one as he closed out the final three inning with no-hit ball and only one baserunner via walk.
Loseke struck out three of the final five batters and only allowed three earned runs in his last 24.1 innings dating back to April 24.
Postseason vs South Carolina…
Including its May 23 outing against the Gamecocks in the SEC Tournament, Arkansas has now pounded out 21 hits and 22 runs against South Carolina in two meeting this postseason. The Razorbacks posted a 13-8 win in Hoover last month.
From Van Horn
“I think most teams that are pretty offensive, when they get a roll a little bit, they can put up some runs real quick. You walk us and you hit us and you gave up a single to us, a lot of times this year we hit a ball out of the park. This is two games in a row that we’ve won that we haven’t hit a home run which is a good thing. You have to be able to win a game without hitting a home run every now and again. Just a credit to the depth of our lineup. Kind of like Jax Biggers said, once we get it going, it builds some confidence and it bothers the other teams’ pitchers when they feel like we’re putting a little heat on them. We’ve got a good offensive team.” — Coach Dave Van Horn on his team’s big inning
From The Players
“I didn’t really try and put too much pressure on myself. There was a guy behind me that was saying they had no respect for you. I hit a fastball in. His fastball takes off when it’s on the outside corner. I was just telling myself not to let him sneak one by you on the outside corner, work out to in. He threw me a fastball in. I wasn’t trying to do too much, I was just trying to put the bat on the ball. We had less than two outs. I was just trying to put the ball in play, hopefully to the outfield.” — Carson Shaddy on his bases-clearing double in the seventh
“The team and this lineup is really deep. When one guy gets going, it transitions to the other guy. The phrase of hitting is contagious really is true. When one guy gets a hit it builds your confidence and the pitcher kind of sits on it and you can take off on a team real quick.” — Jax Biggers on the strong lineup and depth for Arkansas
NCAA Fayetteville Super Regional | Tournament Central
Arkansas leads 1-0
Game 1: Arkansas 9, South Carolina 3 | Box Score
Game 2: Arkansas vs South Carolina (H) – 2 p.m.
Game 3 (if necessary): Arkansas (H) vs South Carolina – 6 p.m.
Van Horn, players recapping Super Regional victory
Arkansas coach Dave Van Horn with shortstop Jax Biggers, pitcher Blaine Knight and second baseman Carson Shaddy talking about the 9-3 win.
South Carolina coach, players talk about loss to Hogs
Gamecocks coach Mark Kingston along with shortstop L.T. Tolbert and pitcher Adam Hill talk about the 9-3 loss to Arkansas in the first game of the Super Regional on Saturday night.
Nash, Soli commit to Hogs on big recruiting weekend
Chad Morris had a big weekend recruiting with two key commitments from defensive end Matai Soli shortly after wide receiver Shamar Nash flipping from Missouri to Arkansas.
Soli, from Douglasville, Georgia, chose the Razorbacks over Florida and Auburn, the other two finalists. His offer list included Alabama, Clemson, Florida State, Oregon and more than 40 others.
Soli is the son of former Razorback defensive lineman Junior Soli, who had a standout career for the Hogs in the mid-1990s before he was drafted in the fifth round of the 1996 NFL Draft by the San Diego Chargers with the No. 155 pick.
“It’s the best fit for me,” Soli told Richard Davenport of WholeHogSports.com. “I love Coach Morris and I love the staff. They have big things planned for Arkansas. I had a great time on the official visit.”
Soli is rated a three-star by the 247Sports Composite Rankings. Soli’s chief recruiters were defensive line coach John Scott and defensive ends coach Steve Caldwell, who visited Douglasville High during the spring evaluation period.
Arkansas is also in the mix for other defensive line targets, according to multiple reports:
• Four-star defensive end Collin Clay of Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, Putnam City
• Pulaski Robinson four-star defensive end Zach Williams
• Pearland, Texas, defensive end Gilbert Ibeneme
• Lufkin, Texas, defensive tackle Carl Williams
• Mansfield, Texas, Legacy defensive tackle Enoch Jackson
• Warren defensive tackle Marcus Miller
The Hogs now have five commitments in Soli, Sardis (Miss.) North Panola quarterback KJ Jefferson, Trussville (Ala.) Hewitt-Trussville offensive lineman Joseph Stone, Tyler (Texas) Lee offensive lineman Beaux Limmer, and Rison (Ark.) defensive back Malik Chavis.
Nash, from IMG Academy in Bradenton, Florida, committed during an official visit Saturday.
“It’s the coaches and the players, the atmosphere and the city,” Nash told Dudley Dawson of WholeHogSports.com on Saturday. “I love the vibe and the entire thing it is about. It is all about football. It is all about Arkansas football.”
Nash is rated a 4-star recruit on the 247Sports.com composite ranking.
Arkansas now has six commitments and has moved up to No. 45 in the county in the 247Sports.com composite rankings of all teams.
Hogs ready for Super Regional matchup with SC
FAYETTEVILLE — Arkansas is set for its seventh Super Regional appearance in program history this weekend, welcoming South Carolina to town with a College World Series appearance on the line at Baum Stadium.
The Hogs and Gamecocks will face off in a best-of-three series starting on Saturday with first pitch set for 5:30 p.m. on ESPN2.
Game two will be at 2 p.m. on Sunday on ESPN. If necessary, game three will be on Monday at 6 p.m., also on ESPN.
Matchup: No. 1 Arkansas vs. No. 3 South Carolina
TV: ESPN2 (Sat.) & ESPN (Sun.-Mon.) >> WatchESPNApp
Talent: Dave Neal (PXP), Chris Burke (Analyst), Ben McDonald (Analyst)
Radio: Razorback Sports Network from IMG
Probable Starters for Game One: (ARK) RHP Blaine Knight (11-0) vs. (USC) RHP Adam Hill (7-5)
Arkansas is fresh off a clean sweep of the Fayetteville Regional with wins over Oral Roberts (10-2), Southern Miss (10-2), and Dallas Baptist (4-3). The Razorbacks hit six home runs in the regional, four coming in the opener against Oral Roberts.
Freshman Heston Kjerstad notched his second multi-home run game of the year when he went deep twice, giving him 13 for the year.
Pitchers Blaine Knight and Kacey Murphy both worked their longest outings of the year with each going eight innings and locking up victories. Knight remained undefeated at 11-0, the only pitcher in the nation with that record.
On the flip side, South Carolina comes in as the winner of the Greenville Regional, sweeping the field in their own right with wins over Ohio State (8-3), East Carolina (4-2), and UNCW (8-4).
The Gamecocks are appearing in their 13th Super Regional after missing out on the tournament last season.
This will be the fifth time Arkansas and South Carolina have faced off this year, including a three-game series at Baum Stadium and one game in the SEC Tournament.
The Gamecocks are the only SEC team to beat the Razorbacks at home this year, winning the series opener on April 12. Arkansas won both games of a double-header the next day, getting shutout performances from its pitching staff.
What’s At Stake
The winner of the Fayetteville Super Regional will advance to the College World Series in Omaha, Nebraska.
The team that advances will play the winner of the Austin Super Regional between Texas and Tennessee Tech in their first game of the World Series at TD Ameritrade Park.
Saturday’s Probable Starter – RHP Blaine Knight
Junior right-hander Blaine Knight will get the ball for Arkansas’ opening game of the 2018 NCAA Super Regional, making his 17th start of the year.
Knight has been the Hogs’ number one starter from the season opener and has solidified himself as one of the best hurlers in the nation.
With an undefeated record and a 2.74 ERA, Knight is the only pitcher in the nation with 11 wins and no losses and his 230 career strikeouts are good for fifth-most all-time in Arkansas history.
Player to Watch – OF Heston Kjerstad
After having a quiet week at the SEC Tournament, freshman Heston Kjerstad broke out the bat again last week at the NCAA Fayetteville Regional, leading the Razorbacks with a .500 average (5-for-10), including two home runs and five RBIs.
Both of his home runs came in the regional opener against Oral Roberts and gives him 13 for the year, which ties for the team lead with Eric Cole and Casey Martin.
Kjerstad and Martin have tied the Arkansas freshman record for home runs in a season last set by Zack Cox in 2009.
2018 NCAA Fayetteville Super Regional Schedule
Saturday, June 9
Game 1 – South Carolina vs. Arkansas (ESPN2) | LIVE STATS | WATCH
Sunday, June 10
Game 2 – Arkansas vs. South Carolina – 2 p.m. CT (ESPN)
Monday, June 11
Game 3 – South Carolina vs. Arkansas – 6 p.m. CT (ESPN)
RAZORBACK PRIME 9
• Arkansas is playing in its seventh NCAA Super Regional in school history and hosting for the third time. Fayetteville last hosted Super Regionals in 2015 (vs. Missouri St.) and 2004 (vs. Florida St.).
• The Razorbacks won a share of the SEC Western Division title this year by finishing with an 18-12 conference record. It’s Arkansas’ first division title since 2011 and fourth under Dave Van Horn.
• The Razorbacks swept through the NCAA Fayetteville Regional last week and has won five of their last six games. Over that stretch, the Hogs are batting .289 and have a 3.06 team ERA.
• During Friday’s win over Oral Roberts, Arkansas hit four home runs, getting two from freshman Heston Kjerstad, his second multi-home run game of the year.
• Arkansas now has 90 home runs for the season, good for second in the SEC and just two less than the school record of 92 in a single season (2010).
• Freshman duo Casey Martin and Heston Kjerstad both tie for the team lead with 13 home runs for the year. That total matches the Arkansas freshman record for home runs in a season (Zack Cox – 2009).
• The Razorbacks gained control of the Fayetteville Regional last week by getting quality starts from Blaine Knight and Kacey Murphy. Both went eight innings, which were the longest outings by any Razorback starter this season.
• Arkansas and South Carolina have faced off four times in the NCAA Tournament, but this weekend will mark the first such meeting not in the College World Series.
• A Super Regional win this weekend over South Carolina will give Arkansas its ninth College World Series appearance in school history and fifth under head coach Dave Van Horn.
