Arkansas coach Dave Van Horn along with payers Luke Bonfield, Eric Cole and Carson Shaddy talked about the big win over the Gamecocks on Monday night to advance to Omaha.
South Carolina coach, players talk about big loss to Hogs
Gamecocks coach Mark Kingston along with players Ridge Chapman and Jacob Olson after a disappointing loss to Arkansas in the Super Regional on Monday evening.
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.
