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Hogs’ seventh-inning rally comes up short at South Carolina

ESPN Arkansas News Services
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VIDEO FROM ESPN SEC NETWORK
COLUMBIA, S.C. — Down to its final three outs, Arkansas pieced together a rally but fell a run short in a 2-1 loss Friday evening to South Carolina.

Senior Autumn Buczek registered the RBI single in the seventh. Tori Cooper and Kayla Green each had two hits in the game.

With the setback, the Razorbacks drop to 28-7 overall and 5-5 in SEC play.

Up Next

Due to rain in Saturday’s forecast, the series will conclude with a doubleheader Sunday. First pitch of the twin bill is set for 12 p.m. with the series finale to follow.

Arkansas’ next home game is Friday, April 13 for the opener of its three-game set with No. 15 Alabama.

After a quiet first inning for both teams, the Razorbacks put together a two-out threat in the second.

Green singled to left for the first hit of the game for either team. Cooper followed with a double down the line in right to put two in scoring position but SC starter Cayla Drotar got a strikeout to end the Razorbacks’ scoring chance.

Arkansas’ next threat came in the top of the fourth inning, once again with Green at the plate and two outs. The freshman catcher knocked a triple off the wall in right field and stood at third with the first three-base hit of her career.

Cooper grounded a ball to deep shortstop and on a close play at first, was called out to strand the runner at third.

Making her 16th start of the year, Autumn Storms allowed just one walk through the first three frames before South Carolina (32-6, 7-3 SEC) loaded the bases with three-consecutive hits to start the bottom of the fourth.

With the help of a 1-2-3 double play and an outfield assist from Cooper, Storms limited the damage to one run on an RBI single by Jana Johns.

The home team added an unearned run in the fifth inning to push its lead to two.

Freshman Mary Haff worked 1.2 innings of relief and tallied four strikeouts to keep the Razorbacks within striking distance.

Cooper started the rally with a one-out infield single and after a base hit by A.J. Belans, Arkansas had runners on first and second.

Buczek poked a two-out single through the infield to plate pinch runner Sydney Parr from second and cut the deficit in half.

But the home team secured the series opener with a ground ball to second for the final out.

Knight, Fletcher, Bonfield talk about win over Tigers

ESPN Arkansas News Services
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Arkansas players Blaine Knight, Dominic Fletcher and Luke Bonfield talked with the media Friday night after beating Auburn, 2-1, to start their big SEC series.

Razorbacks down Alabama for third straight win over Crimson Tide

ESPN Arkansas News Services
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FAYETTEVILLE — Dominant doubles play and a strong singles effort helped Arkansas to a 4-1 victory against Alabama on Friday night.

It was the Hogs’ third straight win over the Crimson Tide.

The Razorbacks (6-13, 2-8 SEC) opened the night picking up the doubles point. Ana Oparenovic and Tatum Rice teamed up for a 6-2 win over Andie Daniell and Smith Hinton at the top spot.

Arkansas picked up the win as the rain began to fall forcing a delay on the outside courts.

The teams moved inside and resumed play after a nearly 20-minute delay. Arkansas dropped the match at No. 2 but finished strong with a 6-2 win at No. 3 by Agne Cepelyte and Natsuho Arakawa to clinch the opening point.

Moving right into singles play, the Razorbacks got a first-set win at No. 1 with Giulia Pairone defeating Daniell, 6-1.

Arkansas dropped the first sets at No. 4 and 5 but rallied with 6-3 first-set wins from Oparenovic and Mia Jurasic as the momentum swung back and forth between the teams.

Pairone continued her strong play taking a quick lead in the second set. She never trailed getting the 6-1, 6-3 win. The center-court victory gave Arkansas a 2-1 lead with four courts still playing.

Jurasic picked up the second singles win of the night with a 6-3, 6-4 victory over Jacqueline Pelletier at No. 3, never trailing.

Courts two, four and six all went to a third set.

Arakawa secured the Arkansas win over the Tide (13-13, 0-10 SEC) with a thrilling come-from-behind win on court four over Ann Selim.

After dropping the first set, 2-6, Arakawa rallied to win 6-2, 6-4 in the final two sets.

Up Next

Seniors Peyton Jennings and Jurasic will be recognized prior to Sunday’s Senior Day match at 1 p.m. against No. 17 Auburn.

Doors will open at noon with the ceremony slated to begin at approximately 12:50 p.m.

Spring schedule starts Saturday at home against Kansas State

ESPN Arkansas News Services
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FAYETTEVILLE — As part of its spring schedule, Arkansas plays three of four spring dates at Barnhill Arena beginning with Saturday’s scrimmage against Kansas State.

The doors open at 12:30 p.m. All spring home matches are free and open to the public.

2018 Arkansas Volleyball Spring Schedule (all times central)
April 7 vs Kansas State – 12:30 p.m.
April 12 vs Drury – 7 p.m.
April 21 at Oklahoma – TBA
April 26 vs Missouri State – 6 p.m.

Rising seniors Kelly O’Brien and Okiana Valle will lead the Razorbacks into the 2018 campaign.

Arkansas finished the 2017 season with 19-11 overall record its second year under coach Jason Watson.

The team’s record was a 10-win increase from the previous season.

The Razorbacks’ roster also features Elizabeth Pamphile and Rachel Rippee who attended the USA Volleyball Open Tryouts in early March.

Bud Light Morning Rush Podcast: Friday

ESPN Arkansas News Services
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Bud Light Morning Rush Podcast: Friday

Hogs set for final regular-season home matches this weekend

ESPN Arkansas News Services
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FAYETTEVILLE — Arkansas returns home to the George M. Billingsley Tennis Center this weekend for its final two home matches of the regular season.

Match Days & Times

The Razorbacks (5-13, 1-8 Southeastern Conference) will host Alabama (13-12, 0-9 SEC) at 5 p.m. CT Friday before they welcome No. 17 Auburn (16-9, 4-5 SEC) for Senior Day at 1 p.m. CT Sunday.

Senior Day

Seniors Peyton Jennings and Mia Jurasic seniors will be recognized prior to Sunday’s match. Doors will open at noon with the ceremony slated to begin at approximately 12:50 p.m.

Live Coverage

Fans can follow both matches via live scoring at RazorbackStats.com.

Promotions

Admission is free. All matches will feature complimentary pizza, Keurig products, popcorn and Pepsi soft drinks for all fans in attendance.

Last Season Against The Crimson Tide And Tigers

n 2017, during the regular season and for the second straight year Arkansas picked up wins at Alabama and then-No. 11 Auburn.

The Razorbacks topped the Tide 4-3 and then beat the Tigers 4-2, each on the road.

Series History

The Razorbacks own a 20-18 advantage all-time against the Tigers, while the Crimson Tide hold an 18-15 edge over the Razorbacks.

In The Rankings

In singles, Giulia Parione is ranked No. 51 and Ana Oparenovic is ranked No. 81. In doubles, Oparenovic and Tatum Rice are ranked No. 51.

Dominant Doubles

Rice and Oparenovic are among the SEC’s best doubles duos with an 11-4 record at the No. 1 spot. Rice is also ranked No. 54 with Jackie Carr. Pairone and Jurasic have also been dominant in doubles at 11-4 this spring, the second-most wins among all SEC doubles duos at the No. 2 position. The pair is 6-2 in SEC play.

Pitching matchup in first game highlights Hogs-Auburn series

ESPN Arkansas News Services
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FAYETTEVILLE — Coming off a two-game midweek sweep of ULM earlier this week,Arkansas hopes to continue its good play at home when it faces Auburn this weekend for a key three-game series at Baum Stadium.

Auburn will be the fourth-consecutive top-15 team that Arkansas has had to face to open SEC play.

The Razorbacks are 5-4 in league play through the first three weekends and sit just one game back of SEC Western Division leader Ole Miss.

Friday night’s matchup is expected to be one of the best pitching duels in the nation this year as Arkansas’ Blaine Knight will face off against Auburn’s Casey Mize.

Knight has two consecutive victories under his belt for the Razorbacks, winning at No. 2 Florida and No. 4 Ole Miss.

In seven starts this year, Knight has garnered a 2.01 ERA with just nine earned runs allowed in 40.1 innings. His ERA is the fourth lowest in the SEC and his earned run total is the fifth lowest.

On the opposing side, Mize comes in as one of the best pitchers in the nation.

With a 2.11 ERA, Mize has struck out a conference-best 70 batters and leads the nation in strikeout-to-walk ratio (23.33).

Mize will have to face one of the hottest hitters in the league in Razorback freshman Heston Kjerstad.

Kjerstad is currently on a team-best 14 game hitting streak and is hitting an even .400 this season, good for a tie for second among all SEC players.

Since the streak started on March 14 against Texas, Kjerstad has hit .439 with 25 hits, 15 RBIs, five doubles, six home runs, and only 11 strikeouts.

FOLLOW LIVE
Games one and two will be streamed via SEC Network+, the online-only arm of the SEC Network on WatchESPN.com and the Watch ESPN app.

Brett Dolan (PxP) and Troy Eklund (Analyst) will have the call. Sunday’s series finale will be broadcast on the SEC Network with Jason Benetti (PxP) and Todd Walker (Analyst) calling the game.

Phil Elson will call all three games on the radio for the Razorback Sports Network from IMG and he’ll be joined by former Razorback Bubba Carpenter.

The radio broadcasts are also available on the Razorback Gameday app.

IMPORTANT LINKS (ALL TIMES CENTRAL)
Fri, April 6 – Arkansas vs. Auburn – 6:30 p.m. – LIVE STATS | WATCH (SECN+)
Sat, April 7 – Arkansas vs. Auburn – 6 p.m. – LIVE STATS | WATCH (SECN+)
Sun, April 8 – Arkansas vs. Auburn – 4 p.m. – LIVE STATS | WATCH (SEC Network)

PROBABLE STARTERS
FRI: ARK RHP Blaine Knight (2.01 ERA, 5-0, 43 K, 10 BB) vs. AU RHP Casey Mize (2.11 ERA, 6-0, 70 K, 3 BB)

SAT: ARK LHP Kacey Murphy (2.25 ERA, 3-2, 26 K, 6 BB) vs. AU RHP Davis Daniel (3.34 ERA, 2-1, 30 K, 15 BB)

SUN: ARK TBA vs. AU TBA

RAZORBACK PRIME 9

• Arkansas hosts its first home SEC series in three weeks as the 13th-ranked Auburn Tigers visit Baum Stadium for a three-game series. Auburn will be Arkansas’ fourth-consecutive top-15 conference opponent.

• The Hogs picked up their fourth shutout of the season Wednesday against ULM after utilizing a seven-inning scoreless performance from freshman pitcher Caleb Bolden.

• Freshman Heston Kjerstad is on a team-best 14-game hitting streak going into Friday’s game against Auburn. During the streak. Kjerstad is hitting .439 with an .842 slugging percentage and six home runs.

• Kjerstad’s second-inning home run Wednesday against ULM was a tape-measure shot, traveling 430 feet well over the right-centerfield scoreboard at Baum Stadium.

• Arkansas still leads the SEC and ranks second in the nation with 55 home runs, 15 ahead of its SEC-leading pace last year.

• The Razorbacks have played nine one-run games this season, winning four of them. Most recently, Arkansas won its first extra-inning affair against ULM, 10-9, on Tuesday.

• Blaine Knight won his second-consecutive start last week against No. 4 Ole Miss, moving to 6-0. In five of his seven starts, Knight has thrown six or more innings and struck out four or more.

• Arkansas is 16-2 in games played at Baum Stadium this year. As a team, the Hogs are hitting .351 inside the friendly confines with 38 home runs hit. The pitching staff has a combined 2.61 ERA and a .229 opposing batting average.

>> In 18 games this year, Arkansas has totaled 10 or more hits. In those games, the Hogs are 15-3 with 13 of those wins coming at Baum Stadium.

Nance on playing faster and making big plays in new offense

ESPN Arkansas News Services
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Arkansas wide receiver Jonathan Nance talks about how the new offense will generate big plays and put more points on the scoreboard.

Pettway on wide receivers’ strong efforts in Thursday practice

ESPN Arkansas News Services
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Arkansas running back La’Michael Pettway on playing in Little Rock again and how receivers are handling new offensive terminology and more.

Whaley on how new offense helping Hogs’ running game

ESPN Arkansas News Services
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Arkansas running back Devwah Whaley talked with the media after Thursday’s practice and talked about how the new offense is opening up the running game.

Gibson on offensive line’s progress through spring practice

ESPN Arkansas News Services
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Arkansas offensive lineman Johnny Gibson talked with the media after Thursday’s practice on the progress of the line and spring game.

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