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Hogs look to take control of West in Baton Rouge

ESPN Arkansas News Services
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BATON ROUGE, La. — With just three weeks remaining in the 2018 regular season, Arkansas heads to Baton Rouge this weekend to play an important three-game series with LSU at Alex Box Stadium starting on Friday.

Arkansas (32-13, 13-8 SEC) currently sits atop the SEC West with a one-game lead over Ole Miss and a two-game lead over Texas A&M.

A series win over the Tigers would keep the Hogs in the driver’s seat for a division crown as the season enters its final month and it will also be their first series win over LSU in Baton Rouge since 2004.

The Razorbacks enter the weekend on a four-game winning streak after taking out No. 4 Texas Tech during the midweek and then sweeping the Alabama Crimson Tide, their third conference series sweep of the year.

Against the Red Raiders, the Arkansas pitching staff struck out 17 batters, a single-game high, 10 coming from junior reliever Barrett Loseke.

Loseke had a career week, en route to earning NCBWA National Pitcher of the Week and SEC Pitcher of the Week honors.

He pitched 8.1 scoreless innings combined over three separate appearances and earned one victory with two saves.

Of those 8.1 innings, 4.2 came against Texas Tech where he closed the game out, retiring 13-consecutive batters.

The Razorback offense has also been hot as of late, most notably sophomore Dominic Fletcher. Fletcher finished the month of April with a stellar .448 batting average and is now hitting .305 after hitting under .200 through the first month of the year.

Five of Fletcher’s last six games have been multi-hit performances and he has hit two home runs in his last three games to up his season total to six for the year.

FOLLOW LIVE

Friday and Sunday’s games will be available online only via SEC Network+ on WatchESPN.com and the Watch ESPN app.

Saturday’s second game of the series can be seen on the SEC Network with Clay Matvick (PxP) and Ben McDonald (Analyst) on the call.

Phil Elson will call all three games on the radio for the Razorback Sports Network from IMG. That radio broadcasts are also available on the Razorback Gameday app.

IMPORTANT LINKS (ALL TIMES CENTRAL)

Fri, May 4 – Arkansas vs. LSU – 7 p.m. – LIVE STATS | WATCH (SECN+)
Sat, May 5 – Arkansas vs. LSU – 7 p.m. – LIVE STATS | WATCH (SEC Network)
Sun, May 6 – Arkansas vs. LSU – 2 p.m. – LIVE STATS | WATCH (SECN+)

PROBABLE STARTERS

FRI: ARK RHP Blaine Knight (7-0, 2.45 ERA, 63 SO, 15 BB) vs. LSU RHP Zack Hess (6-4, 3.92 ERA, 77 SO, 31 BB)

SAT: ARK LHP Kacey Murphy (5-3, 2.54 ERA, 53 SO, 8 BB) vs. LSU RHP Ma’Khail Hilliard (8-3, 2.89 ERA, 54 SO, 19 BB)

SUN: ARK TBA vs. LSU TBA

RAZORBACK PRIME 9

• Arkansas will look to break a five-game road-losing streak when it travels to Baton Rouge to take on the LSU Tigers for a three-game set starting on Friday at Alex Box Stadium.

• The Razorbacks are coming off their third conference series sweep of the season after dispatching Alabama. It’s the first time since 2010 that the Hogs have swept three or more conference series in the same year.

• Arkansas pitcher Blaine Knight became the 13th Razorback in school history to strike out 200 or more batters in a career when he struck out Cobie Vance of Alabama last week in the first inning.

• Two wins over LSU this weekend would mark the first series win for the Razorbacks over the Tigers since 2011. It would also be the first series win in Baton Rouge since 2004.

• Heston Kjerstad (.368, 9 HR) and Casey Martin (.336, 10 HR) are the only Division I freshmen with a .330 average or higher and nine or more home runs.

• Kacey Murphy matched his career-high in strikeouts last week against Alabama, even while only working five innings. He also has the second-lowest strikeout-to-walk ratio (6.6) in the SEC.

• The Razorbacks are currently the best hitting team in the SEC with a .310 combined batting average and also leads the SEC in hits (476), RBIs (307), and total bases (771). The 69 home runs is 13 ahead of last year’s pace.

• Junior pitcher Barrett Loseke was named the SEC and NCBWA National Pitcher of the Week after his flawless week with a combined 8.1 scoreless innings and 17 strikeouts, 10 coming against Texas Tech.

• After hitting just .190 in his first 17 games of the season, sophomore Dominic Fletcher has had the hot bat, hitting .370 in SEC games (seventh-highest among SEC hitters), including .389 over his last 10 games overall.

Razorbacks close out regular season on road at LSU

ESPN Arkansas News Services
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BATON ROUGE, La. — Arkansas closes its 2018 regular season with a road trip to take on 13th-ranked LSU.

The three-game series begins Friday with first pitch scheduled for 6:30 p.m. at Tiger Park.

In addition to being streamed online, game one will be part of the Bases Loaded coverage on the SEC Network. This weekend marks the program’s first trip to Baton Rouge since the 2015 season.

No. 16/15 Arkansas (37-11/12-9 SEC) at No. 13/14 LSU (37-13/10-10 SEC) | Game Notes
Tiger Park (Baton Rouge, La.)

Game 1: Friday, May 4 at 6:30 p.m. – SEC Network+ | Live Stats
Game 2: Saturday, May 5 at 6 p.m. – SEC Network+ | Live Stats
Game 3: Sunday, May 6 at 3 p.m. – ESPNU | Live Stats

All-Time Series vs LSU

Friday’s opener will be the 66th meeting in the series and the 30th game played in Baton Rouge.

The Razorbacks are looking for their first win in the series since 2013 and first on the road since 2005. This weekend’s series will be the first with both teams ranked inside the top 20.

Last Time Out

Arkansas completed its second SEC sweep of the year with a 7-1 win over Ole Miss. The Razorbacks scored four in the fifth inning to break the game open.

The win clinched the program’s first sweep of Ole Miss since the 2001 season.

Rankings Watch

The Razorbacks are up one spot to a program-best No. 15 in this week’s ESPN.com/USA Softball poll while remaining at No. 16 in the USA Today/NFCA rankings.

The team sits at No. 18 in the RPI for the second-straight week.

A Look at the Stat Sheet

The Razorbacks carry top-50 national marks in strikeout to walk ratio (seventh/5.08), home runs (T23/50), team ERA (27/2.05), slugging percentage (31/.467) and runs per game (T48/5.29).

That’s a Record

With a sixth-inning single against Ole Miss (April 30), Hannah McEwen broke the program’s single-season RBI record and enters the weekend with 51 RBI.

She sits fourth in the SEC and tied for 26th in the NCAA in RBI. After hitting .636 with two home runs, seven RBI and four runs against Ole Miss, McEwen was named the SEC Freshman of the Week.

Single-Season RBI Leaders

1. 51 – Hannah McEwen (2018)
2. 50 – Sandra Smith (2010)
3. 49 – Nicole Schroeder (2017)
4. 47 – Miranda Dixon (2008)
5. 46 – Kasey Fagan (2014)

An Eye on 200

Freshman Mary Haff became the fourth Arkansas pitcher to register 200 strikeouts in a season with six strikeouts in the series opener against Ole Miss (April 28).

She is second in the SEC and tied for 18th nationally with 211 strikeouts which stands as the fourth-highest total by an Arkansas pitcher and the program’s freshman-class record.

Single-Season Strikeouts Leaders

1. 305 – Heather Schlichtman (2004)
2. 224 – Katy Henry (2007)
3. 219 – Katy Henry (2006)
4. 211 – Mary Haff (2018)
5. 203 – Heather Schlichtman (2001)

Be at Bogle

The Razorbacks beat Ole Miss (April 28) in front of a record crowd of 3,448 fans at Bogle Park.

Game two of the series was played in front of 1,401 fans which stands as the No. 6 home-attendance figure in program history.

Arkansas tallied a 24-2 record in home games during the 2018 season.

One-Hit Wonder

Freshman Mary Haff’s complete-game performance versus Ole Miss (April 28) doubled as her sixth one-hit effort of the season, and second in SEC play.

The game also marked her ninth complete-game shutout of the year.

One Thru Nine

Arkansas is fourth in the SEC and tied for 23rd nationally with 50 home runs.

With Hannah McEwen’s two-home run outing at Saint Louis (April 10), the team has hit a home run from each spot in the lineup.

Salazar picks up first team All-SEC honors for second time

ESPN Arkansas News Services
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BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — Arkansas senior Jose Salazar picked up First Team All-SEC honors from the league office on Thursday.

It marks the second straight year that Salazar has earned first team conference honors, after being named to the second team 2016.

Salazar becomes just the second Razorback (Mike Redlicki – 2016 and 2017) to earn first team honors back-to-back years since Oskar Johansson in 2000 and 2001.

Earning an at-large selection to compete in the 2018 NCAA Division I Men’s Singles Tennis Championships, Salazar enters postseason with a career mark of 86-30 (.741) in singles, the third-best career winning percentage in school history.

This season, Salazar is 24-10 overall, including an 18-6 mark in dual matches this spring. Salazar is 9-4 against ranked opponents, winning seven of his last eight against ranked foes. Overall, he has won nine of his last 10 matches.

Razorbacks collect all-conference awards from league Thursday

ESPN Arkansas News Services
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FAYETTEVILLE — Arkansas collected some hardware this week with players and coach Shauna Taylor earning All-SEC honors the league office announced Thursday.

In addition to the team title, Arkansas earned three major individual awards including SEC Coach of the Year, SEC Player of the Year and SEC Scholar-Athlete of the Year.

SEC Honors (Arkansas)
SEC Coach of the Year: Shauna Taylor
SEC Player of the Year: Maria Fassi
First-Team All-SEC: Maria Fassi, Dylan Kim, Alana Uriell
SEC Scholar-Athlete of the Year: Dylan Kim
SEC Women’s Golf Community Service Team: Cara Gorlei

Taylor and the Razorbacks won the program’s first SEC title in Birmingham, Alabama, two weeks ago and are enjoying a record-setting year.

Taylor’s selection as coach of the year is her second (2014) in five seasons.

Fassi picked up SEC Player of the Year honors joining former Razorback Stacy Lewis as the only student-athletes in program history to earn the award.

Fassi also earned her third all-conference honor with her first-team selection this season.

Junior Dylan Kim and senior Alana Uriell join Fassi as First-Team All-SEC selections.

It is Kim’s second All-SEC honor after the Plano, Texas, native earned SEC Scholar-Athlete of the Year honors which were announced at the conference championship.

Uriell moves up to the first-team this year after a second-team selection as a junior.

The Razorbacks earned the No. 1 seed in the Austin (Texas) NCAA Regional.

The three-day event takes place at the University of Texas Golf Course May 7-9, with the top six teams from the four NCAA Regional sites advancing to the NCAA Championship May 18-23.

Razorbacks wrap up regular season hosting Arkansas Twilight

ESPN Arkansas News Services
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FAYETTEVILLE — No. 8 Arkansas hosts the Arkansas Twilight this Friday at John McDonnell Field.

The meet will be the last of the regular season before the Razorbacks travel to the Southeastern Conference Outdoor Championships next Friday-Sunday in Knoxville, Tenn.

The Razorbacks are up two spots in the USTFCCCA’s weekly poll, heading into this weekend with a No. 8 national ranking following last weekend’s National Relay Championships.

Arkansas is one of five teams ranked team from the Southeastern Conference, with Florida holding the No. 1 overall spot followed by Alabama at No. 3, Texas A&M at No. 4, and Georgia at No. 6. Full rankings can be found here.

Jack Bruce will also compete at the Payton Jordan Invitational at Stanford University and will run the 5,000-meters in Stanford, California Thursday. The race is scheduled to begin at approximately 11:52 p.m.

Date/Time: Friday, May 4 | Field Events Begin at 12:30 p.m., running events begin at 6 p.m.
Venue: John McDonnell Field
Tickets: $5 for Adults, 17 and under free
Important Links: Meet Schedule | Entries/Heat Sheets | Live Results | SEC Network+ Stream

Events To Watch

100-meters
Entries: Kristoffer Hari

200-meters
Entries: Jalen Brown, Kristoffer Hari, Kevin Harris, Obi Igbokwe,

400-meters
Arkansas Twilight Entries: Jalen Brown, Roy Ejiakuekwu, Britt Sease, Jamarco Stephen, Hunter Woodhall

800-meters
Ethan Moehn, Chase Pareti, Kieran Taylor, Reese Walters

1500-meters
Colin O’Mara

5,000-meters
Payton Jordan Entries:
Jack Bruce

110-meter hurdles
Travius Chambers, Shakiel Chattoo, Larry Donald

4-x-100-meter relay
Arkansas
1) Hari, Kristoffer 2) Schrage, Harrison
3) Mowatt, Kemar 4) Donald, Larry

4-x-400-meter relay
Arkansas
1) Walters, Reese 2) Pareti, Chase
3) Taylor, Kieran 4) Woodhall, Hunter
5) Stephen, Jamarco

High Jump
Rivera, Brendon

Pole Vault
Stokes, Brandon

Long Jump
Trae Carey

Shot Put
Sam Kempka
Jeff Rogers

Discus
Gabe Moore
Erich Sullins

Hammer Throw 
Erich Sullins

Javelin
Andrew Henn
Alex Springer

No. 4-ranked Razorbacks set to host regular-season finale

ESPN Arkansas News Services
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FAYETTEVILLE — No. 4 Arkansas will host the Arkansas Twilight this Friday inside John McDonnell Field.

The meet will be the last of the regular season before the Razorbacks travel to the SEC Outdoor Championships next Friday-Sunday.

The Razorbacks are up one spot in the USTFCCCA’s weekly poll, heading into this weekend with a No. 4 national ranking following last weekend’s National Relay Championships.

Arkansas is second-highest ranked team from the Southeastern Conference, with LSU holding the No. 1 overall spot, while Georgia is ranked No. 5.

Full rankings can be found here.

Two Razorbacks will also compete at the Payton Jordan Invitational at Stanford University as Devin Clark and Carina Viljoen will run in the 1,500 meter run in Palo Alto, California Thursday. The race is scheduled to begin at approximately 11:10 p.m.

Date/Time: Friday, May 4 | Field Events Begin at 12:30 p.m., running events begin at 6 p.m.
Venue: John McDonnell Field
Tickets: $5 for Adults, 17 and under free
Important Links: Meet Schedule | Entries/Heat Sheets | Live Results | SEC Network+ Stream

Events To Watch

100 Meter Dash
Entries: Jada Baylark, Janeek Brown, Morgan Burks Magee, Tamara Kuykendall, Kiara Parker

Baylark holds the No. 9 time in the country in the 100 Meter Dash this season, clocking in a time of 11.09 at the Texas Relays on March 28.

Baylark has been stellar in the race all season, but has not been able to record wind legal times since the relays in Austin, Texas.

The Razorbacks hold two more top-48 times, with Kiara Parker and Janeek Brown clocking the 28th and 43rd best times, respectively.

200 Meter Dash
Entries: Morgan Burks Magee, Sydney Davis, Tamara Kuykendall

Baylark again leads the Razorbacks in the 200 meter dash, recording a season best time of 23.00 at the LSU Alumni gold meet two weeks ago.

Parker’s time at the Arkansas Spring Invitational ranks 79th nationally, as she will look to shave off some time to place in the top-48 to qualify for the NCAA Prelims.

1,500 Meter Run
Arkansas Twilight Entries: Kristen Larkan, Alex Ritchey, Greta Taylor, Ruth Wiggins
Payton Jordan Entries: Devin Clark, Carina Viljoen

Head coach Lance Harter will send his top two runners in the 1,500 Meter Run to the Payton Jordan Invite at Stanford University in Palo Alto, Calif.

Viljoen ranks comfortably in top-20 nationally with the 16th-best time of 4:16.07, while Clark will look to improve of her time of 4:21.21 recorded at the Stanford Invitational in March.

Knight on big series with LSU on road this weekend

ESPN Arkansas News Services
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Arkansas pitcher Blaine Knight talked Monday about a big series with LSU this weekend and catches by centerfielder Dominic Fletcher this year.

Van Horn knows series at LSU will be big one

ESPN Arkansas News Services
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Arkansas coach Dave Van Horn met with the media Wednesday and talked about how the Tigers are playing well at home and it will be a tough series.

Fletcher can’t pick favorite of big catches

ESPN Arkansas News Services
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Arkansas centerfielder Dominic Fletcher said he really doesn’t have a favorite among his many big catches this season and knows going to LSU will be tough.

Cole on Fletcher’s big plays, going to Baton Rouge

ESPN Arkansas News Services
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With Arkansas headed to play an LSU team that is tough on the road, rightfielder Eric Cole knows they are going to face a strong opponent in a key SEC series.

Williams suing insurance agency, Lloyd’s of London

ESPN Arkansas News Services
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FAYETTEVILLE — Apparently Rawleigh Williams III hasn’t been paid after suffering a second neck injury in 2017 and he’s going to court to resolve the matter.

Attorneys representing Williams filed a lawsuit in Washington County Circuit Court on Monday. Several underwriters were named, including Lloyd’s, International Speciality Insurance and local agent Justin B. Boeving of Prairie Grove as defendants.

Willians is claiming they have not paid off on a $1 million disability policy taken out in March 2017. The lawsuit, obtained by the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette in a story Tuesday says the lawsuit alleges bad faith, deceit and civil conspiracy.

Williams, 21, is suing the parties for breach of contract, claiming they have not paid on a $1 million disability insurance policy taken out in March 2017, bad faith, deceit and civil conspiracy, according to the lawsuit, which was obtained by the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette.

Williams retired from football May 8, 2017, after suffering a second neck injury during the Razorbacks’ Red-White spring practice inside Walker Pavilion on April 29, 2017.

Williams is demanding a jury trial and seeking payment of the $1 million policy as well as more than $3 million in punitive damages, court costs, attorney’s fees and statutory damages of 12 percent of the total loss.

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