SEC Now says Arkansas could have tough matchups
Razorbacks’ season ends with 12th-place finish at NCAA
STILLWATER, Okla. — Arkansas again tamed the tough back nine of Karsten Creek, but could not make up any ground in the final round of stroke play at the 2018 NCAA Championship in Stillwater, Oklahoma, on Monday.
The Razorbacks played the challenging back nine 2-over, their best performance on that side of the course all week.
William Buhl paced Arkansas turning 3-under with a bogey-free start to his round. Arkansas was consistent on the front side of the course but couldn’t catch the leaders as their season came to a close.
The normally scorable front nine holes didn’t help Arkansas in the fourth round. Pin positions made it hard for players to get the ball close and teams battled increased winds in the final round.
Arkansas finished the day shooting a 15-over 303 for a four-round 1179 (296-289-291-303) to finish 12th overall.
Individually, Buhl and Luis Garza finished with four-day 296s. Buhl posted rounds of 72-79-71-74, while Garza shot 76-72-70-78. Tyson Reeder and Mason Overstreet also tied each other shooting 299. Reeder’s rounds included 77-67-77-78 and Overstreet carded rounds of 76-76-73-74. Lone senior Alvaro Ortiz rounded out the Razorback scores with a 300 shooting 72-74-77-77.
Notes
• This is the sixth NCAA Championship appearance under coach Brad McMakin
• Mason Overstreet was NCAA runner-up last year at Rich Harvest Farms in Illinois
• Arkansas was the NCAA runner-up in the first year of match play in 2009
• William Buhl turned 3-under with no bogeys
• This is the 14th top-15 finish in 22 NCAA Championship appearances
• Tyson Reeder’s second round 67 ranks T-3rd in program history for a Razorback at the NCAA Championship
The Lineup
| Player | Scores | To Par | Season Stroke Average |
|---|---|---|---|
| William Buhl | 72-79-71-74=296 | +8 | 72.5 |
| Luis Garza | 76-72-70-78=296 | +8 | 72.7 |
| Tyson Reeder | 77-67-77-78=299 | +11 | 74.6 |
| Mason Overstreet | 76-76-73-74=299 | +11 | 71.5 |
| Alvaro Ortiz | 72-74-77-77=300 | +12 | 71.2 |
Van Horn on regional selection, players, home edge
Arkansas coach Dave Van Horn met with the media Monday for the first time in awhile and talked about the Hogs’ regional, the SEC Tournament and more.
Shaddy on big-time atmosphere for regional
Arkansas second baseman Carson Shaddy said he’s been talking about the charged atmosphere at Baum Stadium for regional appearances like the one this weekend.
Knight not worried when he’ll throw in regional
Arkansas pitcher Blaine Knight talked about the Hogs’ NCAA Regional this weekend, but he’s not thinking about where he’ll be in the rotation for pitchers over the weekend.
Martin has seen regional at Baum prior to being a Hog
Arkansas third baseman Casey Martin talked about seeing regionals at Baum Stadium when he was in high school, being on All-SEC Tournament team and more.
Razorbacks get No. 5 national seed for NCAA tourney
FAYETTEVILLE — After receiving its highest seed in program history, the No. 5 Arkansas baseball team now knows its opponents for the upcoming 2018 NCAA Fayetteville Regional as it looks to get back to the College World Series for the first time since 2015.
2018 NCAA Fayetteville Regional
1. (5) Arkansas (39-18)
2. Southern Mississippi (43-16)
3. Dallas Baptist (40-19)
4. Oral Roberts (38-18)
Baum Stadium was announced as a host for the second-straight season Sunday, as the full 64-team field was announced live on ESPNU Monday morning.
No. 1 seed Arkansas is scheduled to play the day game against the No. 4 seed Oral Roberts at 2 p.m. on Friday, June 1 while No. 2 seed Southern Miss will face off against No. 3 Dallas Baptist at 7 p.m.
The Razorbacks received their highest national seed in program history, coming in at No. 5, as Arkansas will head into tournament play as a top-8 national seed for the third time in program history.
Arkansas is making its 29th overall appearance and 15th in the last 16 years as Baum Stadium was selected as a host site in back-to-back years for the first time since 2006-2007.
Arkansas is 74-63 (.540) all-time in the NCAA Tournament, including a 54-41 (.568) record in regional action. The Razorbacks have advanced to the College World Series eight times and have advanced to a Super Regional six times.
Coach Dave Van Horn has led Arkansas to the NCAA Regional Final in each of his last seven tournament appearances.
The team advancing from the Fayetteville, Arkansas Regional will play the winner of the Greenville, North Carolina Regional.
Martin named third baseman on SEC’s All-Tournament team
HOOVER, Ala. — Arkansas freshman third baseman Casey Martin earned SEC All-Tournament Team honors Sunday afternoon after powering the Razorbacks to the SEC Tournament semifinal for the second-consecutive year and fourth time in the last six seasons.
Arkansas placed three players to the all-tournament team a year ago when Luke Bonfield, Kacey Murphy, and tournament MVP Chad Spanberger led the Hogs to the final.
Martin is the second third baseman in school history to be named to the SEC All-Tournament Team, joining Zack Cox, who made it in 2009, and the first freshman since Tyler Spoon in 2013.
Just one week after being named to the All-SEC Second Team and SEC All-Freshman Team, Martin showed out in, arguably, the toughest conference tournament in the country, when he went 4-for-12 (.333) at the plate with three of his hits being homers.
The Lonoke, Arkansas native led all tournament players with the three long balls and finished second in total bases (13).
Martin now leads the Razorbacks with 13 home runs this year, which also ties Cox for the Arkansas freshman single-season record set in 2009.
Martin went 2-for-5 (.400) in Arkansas’ opening game of the tournament with two home runs, helping the Hogs to the 13-8 win over five-seed South Carolina.
He now has two multi-home run games this year and was one of only two players in this year’s tournament to hit two home runs in the same game.
In the third round game against top-seed Florida, Martin stayed hot, hitting his third home run of the tournament and 13th of the year in the second inning to put the Hogs up early on the Gators.
Martin has 10 hits in his last six games, including a four-hit game on May 17 against Georgia, his second four-hit game of the year.
Martin and the Razorbacks will now wait to see where it lands in the NCAA Tournament field, which will be decided on Monday afternoon at 11 a.m. on ESPN2.
The regional host announcement will come Sunday at 7:30 p.m.
2018 SEC All-Tournament Team
P: John Doxakis, Texas A&M
P: Todd Peterson, LSU
C: Nick Fortes, Ole Miss
DH: Edouard Julien, Auburn
1B: Chris Andritsos, Texas A&M
2B: Michael Helman, Texas A&M
3B: Casey Martin, Arkansas
SS: LT Tolbert, South Carolina
OF: Antoine Duplantis, LSU
OF: Will Golsan, Ole Miss
OF: Thomas Dillard, Ole Miss*
OF: Jay Estes, Auburn*
*Denotes tie
Most Valuable Player: Nick Fortes, Ole Miss
Hogs to host regional for second straight year
FAYETTEVILLE — The NCAA announced tonight that Arkansas will be one of the 16 regional site hosts for next weekend’s NCAA Regionals which are slated to begin Friday.
Fresh off their fourth SEC Tournament semifinal appearance in the last six years, the Razorbacks will be making their 29th appearance overall and 15th in the last 16 years.
It is also the seventh time Fayetteville has been selected and is the first time Baum Stadium has been a regional host in back-to-back-years since 2006-2007.
The Hogs (39-18), currently ranked No. 8 in the country, have not dropped out of the Top 10 for the entire season and finished the regular season with a 30-3 home record.
Of those 30 wins, 29 occurred at Baum Stadium where the Razorbacks never lost a series in the 2018 season and finished with the best home record in the SEC.
Arkansas finished the 2018 conference season as co-champions of the SEC Western Division, claiming a share of the title for the first time since 2011 and fifth division title in school history.
It’s the seventh time under head coach Dave Van Horn that the Razorbacks have won 18 or more games in conference play and fourth division title under Van Horn as well.
Each regional field features four teams, playing a double-elimination format. The field of 64 will be announced on Monday at 11 a.m. in a show airing on ESPN2.
By virtue of being awarded a regional, all 16 host institutions have also been selected to the 64-team field.
Tickets
All-session Hog Pen tickets are now on sale for the NCAA Regional coming to Baum Stadium this weekend. All-session tickets are $75. All reserved seating is sold out.
Students
University of Arkansas students will have the opportunity to purchase $15 general admission Hog Pen tickets on a game-by-game basis.
Tickets for Game 1 and Game 2 of the regional will go on sale to students at 8:30 a.m. on Wednesday, May 30. Tickets for Games 3 and Game 4 will be available on Saturday at 8:30 a.m.
CLICK HERE to purchase tickets.
The 16 regional sites, with host institutions and records are as follows:
- Athens, Georgia – Georgia (37-19)
- Austin, Texas – Texas (37-20)
- Chapel Hill, North Carolina – North Carolina (38-18)
- Clemson, South Carolina – Clemson (45-14)
- Corvallis, Oregon – Oregon St. (44-10-1)
- Conway, South Carolina – Coastal Carolina (42-17)
- DeLand, Florida – Stetson (45-11)
- Fayetteville, Arkansas – Arkansas (39-18)
- Gainesville, Florida – Florida (42-17)
- Greenville, North Carolina – East Carolina (43-16)
- Minneapolis, Minnesota – Minnesota (41-13)
- Lubbock, Texas – Texas Tech (39-17)
- Oxford, Mississippi – Ole Miss (46-15)
- Raleigh, North Carolina – NC State (40-16)
- Stanford, California – Stanford (44-10)
- Tallahassee, Florida – Florida St. (43-17)
Hogs improve on back nine to advance at NCAA’s
STILLWATER, Okla. — Arkansas played the challenging back nine of Karsten Creek Golf Club 5-over climbing up the leaderboard and advancing to round four of the 2018 NCAA Championship in Stillwater, Oklahoma, on Sunday.
Arkansas came off the course moving up two spots to 11th overall making the first cut to the top-15 teams in the 30-team field. The Razorbacks tee it up for the final round of stroke play Monday afternoon with the top-8 teams advancing to match play. Arkansas has used third round heroics to advance in its last three events this season.
Arkansas finished the round shooting a 3-over 291. That moved them up two spots into 11th place overall with rounds of 296–289–291—876. Arkansas is just four shots back of the coveted eighth spot on the leaderboard. Duke posted a course record 12-under 276 on Sunday. The Blue Devils are in first with an 854.
Oklahoma State, playing on their home course, remains in second followed by Texas Tech, Vanderbilt and Oklahoma in the top-5.
The Razorbacks were 9-over in the first round and 7-over in round two counting some big numbers on the back side of the course in the opening days of play. Sophomore Luis Garza posted his best round of the weekend shooting a 2-under 70. Garza was 1-under on each side and birdied the 18th hole helping the Razorbacks remain in front of Clemson who is 12th overall.
William Buhl and Mason Overstreet also had their best rounds of the tournament on Sunday. Buhl was 1-under with a 71 while Overstreet was 1-over shooting 73. Buhl turned 3-under, birding his final two holes on the front side. He battled back from a misstep on No. 10 picking up birdies on Nos. 12 and 16 to finish strong for Arkansas.
Overstreet’s 73 came after he played the front side 1-under. He survived the back nine coming into the clubhouse with five consecutive par holes. Redshirt sophomore Tyson Reeder and senior Alvaro Ortiz both carded 77s. Reeder’s second round 67 allowed Arkansas to make its first move up in the standings and make today’s cut.
The Lineup
| PLACE | PLAYER | SCORE | TO PAR |
|---|---|---|---|
| T32 | Luis Garza (5) | 76–72–70—218 | +2 |
| T55 | Tyson Reeder (4) | 77–67–77—221 | +5 |
| T63 | William Buhl (2) | 72–79–71—222 | +6 |
| T75 | Alvaro Ortiz (1) | 72–74–77—223 | +7 |
| T93 | Mason Overstreet (3) | 76–76–73—225 | +9 |
Hogs cap NCAA Prelims on strong note for NCAA
SACRAMENTO, Calif. — On the final day of the NCAA West Prelims, Arkansas secured three individual and two relay spots to the NCAA Championships in Eugene.
Kenzo Cotton, Larry Donald, and Cameron Griffith, as well as the men’s sprint and mile relay teams, will represent the Razorbacks at Hayward Field June 6-9.
In the opening event on the track, the 4-x-100-meter relay, the combination of Kristoffer Hari, Kemar Mowatt, Kevin Harris and Kenzo Cotton carried the baton to the tune of 39.56Q winning section two and posting the fifth-fastest time in the event on the day to punch their ticket to NCAA’s.
Saturday night was the first time this season that Arkansas had run that combination.
Cameron Griffith will make a trip to Eugene in the 1,500-meters after earning an auto-Q to the NCAA meet Saturday afternoon. Griffith crossed the line in 3:43.14Q to finish third in his heat and fifth overall.
Larry Donald will make his first appearance at the NCAA Championships in the 110-meter hurdles after a gutsy run in the quarterfinal.
Donald, who ran in the 400-meter hurdles at the NCAA meet back in 2016, will make a return trip to the great northwest running the high hurdles. The senior earned a spot to the big show as the fastest time-qualifier sprinting to a time of 13.88q.
Kenzo Cotton, who punched his ticket to the championships earlier in the day as the anchor leg of the sprint relay and yesterday in the 100-meters, added another event to his schedule in Eugene with a birth to the semifinal of the 200-meters running 20.74Q finishing runner-up in his section and eighth-overall.
The final event of the meet, as is traditional in track & field, was the 4-x-400-meter relays that featured the Razorbacks of Arkansas.
The Hogs took the first heat in 3:04.51Q to earn an auto-Q trip to Eugene where they were runner-up last season. On the carry for Arkansas were Jamarco Stephen, Kemar Mowatt, Hunter Woodhall and Obi Igbokwe.
All-in-all, Arkansas advanced nine individuals and both relays as well as decathlons Gabe Moore and Derek Jacobus who will all compete in the NCAA Championships.
The NCAA Championships will be held at Hayward Field in Eugene, Ore. June 6-9.
For more information on Arkansas track and field including in-meet updates, follow @RazorbackTF on Twitter.
NCAA West Preliminary
Saturday Results
Men’s 4-x-100-meter relay
5. Arkansas – 39.56Q – Advanced to NCAA’s
Men’s 1,500-meters
5. Cameron Griffith – 3:43.14Q – Advanced to NCAA’s
Men’s 110-Meter Hurdles
10. Larry Donald – 13.88q – Advanced to NCAA’s
Men’s 200-meters
8. Kenzo Cotton – 20.74Q – Advanced to NCAA’s
16. Roy Ejiakuekwu – 20.96
Men’s 5,000-Meters
15. Gilbert Boit – 13:56.34
17. Austen Dalquist – 13:56.73
34. Jack Bruce – 14:19.02
39. Cameron Griffith – 14:36.92
Men’s 4-x-400-Meter Relay
7. Arkansas -3:04.51Q – Advanced to NCAA’s
Men’s Javelin
29. Alex Springer – 61.74m (202?-7?)
Men’s High Jump
40. Brendon Rivera – 2.01m (6?-7?)
— Rubin Owens – NH
