Arkansas coach Dave Van Horn, joined by Carson Shaddy and Blaine Knight, along with Oregon State players and coaches talked Sunday about the national championship series.
Fassi, Kim eliminated while Lewis, Lopez advance at NWA
ROGERS — Former Razorbacks Stacy Lewis and Gabriela Lopez advanced to final round play while current players Maria Fassi and Dylan Kim’s weekends came to a close on Saturday at the Walmart NW Arkansas Championship presented by P&G.
Fassi played on a sponsor’s exemption and finished shooting 4-over 73-73=146. The senior-to-be had a colorful scorecard with two eagles, one birdie and five bogeys.
“Two eagles, that’s always good,” said Fassi. “It’s a nice highlight for the tournament.”
The first eagle came on the second hole, a par-5, after she hit a perfect tee shot to set up the finish. Fassi had a little over 200 yards to the hole for her second shot and hit a 5 iron to 25 feet from the pin. She drained the long putt for the eagle.
Fassi hit one of her best drives of the day on No. 7 and left herself an 8 iron to the hole. She hit it close to the pin and tapped in for the second eagle of the round.
Kim played her way in through the Monday qualifier and finished her first appearance at the event with rounds of 70-72=142. She, along with the other Razorback players, began the day on the 10th hole and played the back nine 1-over finishing with seven consecutive pars before the turn.
Lewis and Lopez finished the day tied at 42nd overall and advance to Sunday’s final round. They took different paths to their position with Lewis carding a 1-over 72 on Saturday while Lopez shot a 4-over 75.
Lopez grabbed the tournament lead after the first round firing an 8-under 63. She is in the clubhouse with a 138. Lewis and Lopez had three birdies each on Saturday.
Fassi and Kim will begin preparations for the upcoming Palmer Cup which takes place July 6-8, at Evian Resort Golf Club in France.
Hillitz, Brooks close out Razorback careers at USATFs
DES MOINES, Iowa — A pair of Razorback All-Americans closed out their Arkansas careers Saturday afternoon at the USATF Outdoor Track and Field Championships Saturday afternoon at Drake Field.
Nikki Hiltz closed out her career at Arkansas with a ninth-place finish in the 1,500-meters running 4:15.03. A consummate All-American, Hiltz concludes her career with Arkansas after three years, following a freshman season at Oregon, and is the second-fastest 1,500-meter athlete to come through the Razorback program, holding a personal-best time of 4:09.14, trailing only school record holder Dominique Scott who ran 4:08.65 in 2015.
“It’s been an amazing three years,” said Hiltz. “Not the way I wanted to end it, but I got second at NCAAs and made it to the final at my second USA Championships, so I can’t be too mad. It’s an honor to wear the Razorback uniform and I’m happy I got to do it on the biggest stage in the U.S.”
Taliyah Brooks finished ninth in the 100-meter hurdles running 13.07 (13.063) barely missing out on advancing to the final by two one-thousands of a second (.002) to Jasmin Stowers who grabbed the final spot at 13.061. Brooks caps her career as a Razorback as the No. 3 performer in the 100-meter hurdles with her mark of 12.84 she set at the SEC Outdoor Track & Field Championships earlier this year. Brooks also competed in the long jump, finishing 12th with a best of 6.05m (19′-10.25″). Brooks leaves Arkansas as the No. 1 long jumper in program history having set the school record mark of 6.78m (22′-3″).
Arkansas will return to action tomorrow at 1:55 p.m. where current Hogs Lexi Jacobus and Tori Hoggard will join alum Sandi Morris in the women’s pole vault.
Igobwke gets fifth in 400; Cotton advances to USATF semis
DES MOINES, Iowa — Kenzo Cotton led the way on day three of the USATF Championships for Arkansas Saturday afternoon, advancing to the semifinals of the 200-meters.
Top of the order on day three for Arkansas was the prelims of the 200-meters, featuring senior Kenzo Cotton, who was joined by Razorback alums Marqueze Washington and Jarrion Lawson.
Washington and Lawson ran in heat one finishing in 20.85 and 21.72, respectively. Neither finished in the top-three to earn the auto-q to the semifinal and would have to wait to see if they advanced on time.
Heat two saw Cotton grab an auto-Q spot into the semis with a third-place finish in his heat running 20.72. Washington (20.85q) advanced on time, holding the fastest time-qualifying mark from prelims, while Lawson finished 19th overall in the event. Cotton and Washington will return to the track for semifinal action tomorrow afternoon at 2:00 p.m.
Obi Igbokwe took to the track for his first USATF final in the 400-meters following a spectacular run in the semis last night. Igbokwe, an NCAA All-American in the event, finished in fifth-place running 45.23.
Larry Donald wrapped up his career as a Razorback with a 19th-place finish in the prelims of the 110-meter hurdles running 14.20.
Arkansas alum Andrew Irwin finished with a best clearance of 5.70m (18′-8.25″) to take fifth-place in the pole vault cleanly clearing his first three bars of the meet.
Arkansas will return to action tomorrow at 2:00 p.m. with Kenzo Cotton and Marqueze Washington in the semifinals of the men’s 200-meters.
Van Horn, players talk about getting to CWS finals
© Video from NCAA
Arkansas coach Dave Van Horn along with Isaiah Campbell, Matt Cronin and Casey Martin talk about the 5-2 win over Florida on Friday night to advance to the CWS finals.
Florida coach, players talk about loss to Razorbacks
© Video from NCAA
Gators coach Kevin O’Sullivan and selected players talk about missing a shot to repeat as national champions after losing to Arkansas on Friday night, 5-2.
PHOTOS: Best pictures from Hogs’ win over Florida
Hogs reach CWS Finals with 5-2 win over Florida
OMAHA, Neb. — For the second time in program history and first time since 1979, Arkansas is headed to the College World Series finals with Friday’s 5-2 victory over top-ranked Florida.
On his way to the win, redshirt sophomore Isaiah Campbel tied a career high with eight strikeouts in 5.1 innings while freshman Casey Martin posted four hits, three runs and an RBI.
With the win, Arkansas improves to 47-19 this season and advances to the championship series which begins Monday at 6 p.m. on ESPN.
The Razorbacks await the winner of the Oregon State-Mississippi State matchup which will be settled Saturday at TD Ameritrade Park.
The Big Inning
Holding on two-run lead through four innings, the Razorbacks scored a pair of runs in the top of the fifth to push its advantage to 4-0.
Once again, Martin started the rally with a double to lead off the inning and after a groundout by Heston Kjerstad, he came around to score on an RBI groundout by senior Luke Bonfield.
With two down, sophomore Dominic Fletcher added a solo shot for his 10th home run and Arkansas’ 98th big fly of the year.
The Hitting
Arkansas had 11 hits Friday, good for the team’s eighth double-digit performance in nine NCAA Tournament games. Along with Martin, the Razorbacks got multi-hit efforts from Bonfield, Fletcher and Jax Biggers.
With his four-hit showing, Martin has at least two in six-straight games and eight of the past nine. The freshman infielder is hitting .571 (8-for-14) during the College World Series.
The Pitching
Making his 16th start of the season, Campbell held Florida without a hit through the first four innings before the No. 1 national seed got on the board with a pair of two-out runs.
Campbell got out of the jam with his eighth strikeout, establishing a new program high for strikeouts in a College World Series game. The previous mark of seven was held by Drew Smyly against Virginia in 2009.
Sophomore Matt Cronin recorded the final six outs of the game for his 13th save of the year which ties the single-season mark set by Colby Suggs in 2013.
Early Advantage
With the help of a RBI single by Bonfield, the Razorbacks scored in the first inning for a fourth-consecutive game.
The Skillman, N.J., native drove in Martin with a base knock to center on the 10th pitch of his at-bat against Florida starter Brady Singer.
Arkansas is now 24-3 this season when scoring in the first inning and 32-8 overall when scoring first.
Game Note
Friday’s game was the fifth meeting of the season between Arkansas and Florida and first between the two programs in the College World Series.
Friday’s win evens the all-time series at 32 wins apiece.
College World Series – Bracket 2 | CWS Bracket
Sunday, June 17
Game 3: No. 5 Arkansas 11, No. 13 Texas 5
Game 4: No. 9 Texas Tech 6, No. 1 Florida 3
Tuesday, June 19
Game 7: No. 1 Florida 6, No. 13 Texas 1
Wednesday, June 20
Game 8: No. 5 Arkansas 7, No. 9 Texas Tech 4
Thursday, June 21
Game 10: No. 1 Florida 9, No. 9 Texas Tech 6
Friday, June 22
Game 12: No. 5 Arkansas 5, No. 1 Florida 2
Quick reaction on social media after Hogs’ win
It didn’t take long after the final out Friday night against Florida for the Razorback Nation and even the SEC to weigh in with congratulations.
Chad Morris on Twitter
Yes Sir!!! @RazorbackBSB keep the HammerDown!! https://t.co/rT2FtxMHV5
Coach Mike Anderson on Twitter
@RazorbackBSB championship game bound! Great win #GoHogsGo
maria fassi on Twitter
Let’s goooooooooooo!!! So proud of our baseball team, the Hogs will be playing for the National title on Monday!!! @RazorbackBSB @ArkRazorbacks #ProudHog #WooooPigSooie #OmaHogs ????❤️
SEC Network on Twitter
THE @ArkRazorbacks ARE IN THE CWS FINALS!!!
Joshua Liddell on Twitter
Let’s goooo!!! #OmaHogs
Hunter Yurachek on Twitter
Let’s go win a National Championship. Congrats @RazorbackBSB # WPS
Coach Justin Stepp on Twitter
We’re going to the ship! Congrats @RazorbackBSB you guys are fun to watch. All of @RazorbackFB & #RazorbackNation are behind you guys! Go win it all! #WPS
Greg Sankey on Twitter
Congratulations @RazorbackBSB on moving in to the @NCAACWS Championship Series! Great season from @GatorsBB…let’s get an @SEC win on Saturday as well!
Arkansas Razorbacks on Twitter
MOOD: https://t.co/5JcXr4D1Yq
Hunter Henry on Twitter
I got chills watching that last out. Omahogs heading to the Natty. Let’s get it! #WooPig
Hjalte Froholdt on Twitter
Unreal! #OMAHOGS #WPS
Frank Ragnow on Twitter
Omahogs!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! ????????????????
Brooks Ellis on Twitter
All gas, no brakes!!! #hawgs
Igbokwe grabs spot in 400 fina at USATF Championships
DES MOINES, Iowa — Day two of the USATF Outdoor Track & Field Championships featured a stellar performance by Obi Igbokwe who advanced to the 400-meter final, and Derek Jacobus wrapping up the decathlon.
Derek Jacobus capped his competition at the USATF meet with a seventh-place finish in the decathlon.
Jacobus, who entered the day with a score of 3,874 through five events, pieced together marks of 15.99 in the 110-meter hurdles (734-points), 37.06m (121′-7″) (605-points) in the discus throw, 4.25m (13′-11.25″) (688-points) in the pole vault, 51.55m (169′-1″) (612-points) in the javelin, and a time of 3:36.33 in the 1,500-meters.
In the semifinals of the 400-meters, Obi Igbokwe advanced on through to the USATF final finishing third in his heat, and fifth overall in the semifinals with his time of 45.21.
Kenzo Cotton wrapped up competition in the 100-meters as a USATF Outdoors semifinalist, posting a time of 10.14 finishing fifth in his semifinal heat and ninth overall. Noah Lyles went on to win the USATF title running a world-leading time of 9.88 seconds.
Over at the Jamaican National Championships, senior Kemar Mowatt, who wrapped up last season with a fourth-place finish at the IAAF World Outdoor Championships, turned in a bronze medal performance in the 400-meter hurdles running 49.16 seconds trailing only Shawn Rowe of Pumpa (49.04) and Annsert Whyte running unattached at 48.80.
Arkansas will return to action tomorrow at 1:10 p.m. with the prelims of the 200-meters where current Razorback Kenzo Cotton, and alums Jarrion Lawson and Marqueze Washington will take to the track.
Lopez goes low, leads field first day at NWA Championship
ROGERS — Arkansas women’s golfers played the day 12-under paced by an 8-under 63 by Gabriela Lopez who leads the Walmart NW Arkansas Championship presented by P&G at Pinnacle Country Club on Friday.
Lopez, a 2016 graduate of the Razorback women’s golf program, came out of the gates on fire with six birdies in her first eight holes. She finished the round without a bogey getting birdies on holes 1, 2, 4, 7, 8, 9, 11 and 14.
Lopez has a one-shot lead with seven players tied for second place at 7-under.
#ProHog Stacy Lewis was also near the top of the leaderboard finishing the day T-15th with a 5-under 66. The mom-to-be had birdies on holes 5, 10, 11, 14, 16, and 17 with one bogey on No. 15 after she over ran her put on the par-3 island green.
Razorback senior-to-be Dylan Kim rallied late finishing 1-under with a 70. Kim, who gained entry via the Monday qualifier, turned 1-over but birdied Nos. 13 and 18 to finish T-79 after first round action.
Rising senior Maria Fassi, playing on a sponsor’s exemption, was solid through the first 13 holes and was even with five holes remaining. Fassi ran into trouble with bogeys on 14, 15 and 17 but finished strong with a birdie on the par-5 18th hole.
Play continues on Saturday with Fassi out of the gates at 9:09 a.m. Lopez is next at 9:20 a.m. followed by Kim at 9:31 a.m. Lewis has an afternoon tie time at 1:47 p.m. with all four players starting from No. 10.
