Hogs ready for Super Regional matchup with SC

ESPN Arkansas News Services
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FAYETTEVILLE — Arkansas is set for its seventh Super Regional appearance in program history this weekend, welcoming South Carolina to town with a College World Series appearance on the line at Baum Stadium.

The Hogs and Gamecocks will face off in a best-of-three series starting on Saturday with first pitch set for 5:30 p.m. on ESPN2.

Game two will be at 2 p.m. on Sunday on ESPN. If necessary, game three will be on Monday at 6 p.m., also on ESPN.

Razorbacks pitching coach Wes Johnson gets his group ready for fielding practice Friday in the last workout before Saturday’s Super Regional against South Carolina. PHOTO BY ANDY HODGES | HITTHATLINE.COM

Matchup: No. 1 Arkansas vs. No. 3 South Carolina
TV: ESPN2 (Sat.) & ESPN (Sun.-Mon.) >> WatchESPNApp
Talent: Dave Neal (PXP), Chris Burke (Analyst), Ben McDonald (Analyst)
Radio: Razorback Sports Network from IMG
Probable Starters for Game One: (ARK) RHP Blaine Knight (11-0) vs. (USC) RHP Adam Hill (7-5)

Arkansas is fresh off a clean sweep of the Fayetteville Regional with wins over Oral Roberts (10-2), Southern Miss (10-2), and Dallas Baptist (4-3). The Razorbacks hit six home runs in the regional, four coming in the opener against Oral Roberts.

Freshman Heston Kjerstad notched his second multi-home run game of the year when he went deep twice, giving him 13 for the year.

Pitchers Blaine Knight and Kacey Murphy both worked their longest outings of the year with each going eight innings and locking up victories. Knight remained undefeated at 11-0, the only pitcher in the nation with that record.

On the flip side, South Carolina comes in as the winner of the Greenville Regional, sweeping the field in their own right with wins over Ohio State (8-3), East Carolina (4-2), and UNCW (8-4).

The Gamecocks are appearing in their 13th Super Regional after missing out on the tournament last season.

This will be the fifth time Arkansas and South Carolina have faced off this year, including a three-game series at Baum Stadium and one game in the SEC Tournament.

The Gamecocks are the only SEC team to beat the Razorbacks at home this year, winning the series opener on April 12. Arkansas won both games of a double-header the next day, getting shutout performances from its pitching staff.

What’s At Stake

The winner of the Fayetteville Super Regional will advance to the College World Series in Omaha, Nebraska.

The team that advances will play the winner of the Austin Super Regional between Texas and Tennessee Tech in their first game of the World Series at TD Ameritrade Park.

Saturday’s Probable Starter – RHP Blaine Knight

Arkansas first-day pitcher Blaine Knight goes through fielding drills in the Razorbacks’ final practice Friday before opening the Super Regional on Saturday against South Carolina. PHOTO BY ANDY HODGES | HITTHATLINE.COM

Junior right-hander Blaine Knight will get the ball for Arkansas’ opening game of the 2018 NCAA Super Regional, making his 17th start of the year.

Knight has been the Hogs’ number one starter from the season opener and has solidified himself as one of the best hurlers in the nation.

With an undefeated record and a 2.74 ERA, Knight is the only pitcher in the nation with 11 wins and no losses and his 230 career strikeouts are good for fifth-most all-time in Arkansas history.

Player to Watch – OF Heston Kjerstad

After having a quiet week at the SEC Tournament, freshman Heston Kjerstad broke out the bat again last week at the NCAA Fayetteville Regional, leading the Razorbacks with a .500 average (5-for-10), including two home runs and five RBIs.

Both of his home runs came in the regional opener against Oral Roberts and gives him 13 for the year, which ties for the team lead with Eric Cole and Casey Martin.

Arkansas third baseman Casey Martin goes through fielding practice Friday inside Baum Stadium in the final tuneup before opening the Super Regional against South Carolina on Friday night. PHOTO BY ANDY HODGES | HITTHATLINE.COM

Kjerstad and Martin have tied the Arkansas freshman record for home runs in a season last set by Zack Cox in 2009.

2018 NCAA Fayetteville Super Regional Schedule

Saturday, June 9
Game 1 – South Carolina vs. Arkansas (ESPN2) | LIVE STATS | WATCH

Sunday, June 10
Game 2 – Arkansas vs. South Carolina – 2 p.m. CT (ESPN)

Monday, June 11
Game 3 – South Carolina vs. Arkansas – 6 p.m. CT (ESPN)

RAZORBACK PRIME 9

• Arkansas is playing in its seventh NCAA Super Regional in school history and hosting for the third time. Fayetteville last hosted Super Regionals in 2015 (vs. Missouri St.) and 2004 (vs. Florida St.).

• The Razorbacks won a share of the SEC Western Division title this year by finishing with an 18-12 conference record. It’s Arkansas’ first division title since 2011 and fourth under Dave Van Horn.

• The Razorbacks swept through the NCAA Fayetteville Regional last week and has won five of their last six games. Over that stretch, the Hogs are batting .289 and have a 3.06 team ERA.

• During Friday’s win over Oral Roberts, Arkansas hit four home runs, getting two from freshman Heston Kjerstad, his second multi-home run game of the year.

• Arkansas now has 90 home runs for the season, good for second in the SEC and just two less than the school record of 92 in a single season (2010).

• Freshman duo Casey Martin and Heston Kjerstad both tie for the team lead with 13 home runs for the year. That total matches the Arkansas freshman record for home runs in a season (Zack Cox – 2009).

Pitcher Kacey Murphy during practice Friday in the final warmup before facing South Carolina on Saturday night at Baum Stadium. PHOTO BY ANDY HODGES | HITTHATLINE.COM

• The Razorbacks gained control of the Fayetteville Regional last week by getting quality starts from Blaine Knight and Kacey Murphy. Both went eight innings, which were the longest outings by any Razorback starter this season.

• Arkansas and South Carolina have faced off four times in the NCAA Tournament, but this weekend will mark the first such meeting not in the College World Series.

• A Super Regional win this weekend over South Carolina will give Arkansas its ninth College World Series appearance in school history and fifth under head coach Dave Van Horn.

Van Horn after Hogs’ final practice on Friday

ESPN Arkansas News Services
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Arkansas coach Dave Van Horn talked with the media after the final practice Friday before Saturday evening’s Super Regional matchup with South Carolina.

Bud Light Morning Rush Podcast: Friday

ESPN Arkansas News Services
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Bud Light Morning Rush Podcast: Friday

Moore, Jacobus close out decathlon at NCAA Championships

ESPN Arkansas News Services
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EUGENE, Ore. — After finishing day one of the Decathlon in 11th and 14th-place, respectively, Derek Jacobus and Gabe Moore wrapped up the men’s decathlon Thursday afternoon with a ninth and 16th-place finish, respectively, at the 2018 NCAA Outdoor Championships on the campus of the University of Oregon.

Assistant coach Travis Geopfert:

“I think the attitude and the effort of both Derek [Jacobus] and Gabe [Moore] was phenomenal. Both are great young men that are highly motivated and came out here and gave it their best, especially in some adverse conditions. There was literally a third of the decathlon field that didn’t finish the competition, eight of the 24 guys did not get through all 10 events. Those guys came out here today and ran into headwinds in the hurdles but kept competing, kept fighting, kept clawing. I was particularly pleased with Gabe’s hurdle race and then his third attempt in the discus with two fouls so clutch, just an unbelievable high-pressure situation and he stepped up and got it done. he did great. Derek competed great, was dinged up a little bit but just never stopped competing and kept fighting and is the consummate teammate and competitor, I can’t say enough about that guy. I know Gabe is upset with finishing outside the top-eight, but Gabe is a highly motivated young man. He’s a competitor and sometimes life just throws you some challenges, and I’m very confident that he’s going to step up to that challenge in a positive manner. the future is very bright for that young man.”

Name (Place) 100-meters Long Jump Shot Put High Jump 400-meters 110-meter hurdles Discus Pole Vault Javelin 1,500-meters Total Points (Behind Leader)
Gabe Moore (9th) 11.02 7.06m (23′-2″) 14.05m (46′-1.25″) 1.92m (6′-3.50″) 49.51 14.86 45.97m (150′-10″) 4.51m (14′-9.50″) 57.25m (187′-10″) 4:57.73 7,670 (-666)
Derek Jacobus (16th) 10.93 7.36m (24′-1.75″) 13.22m (43′-4.50″) 1.89m (6′-2.25″) 49.29 16.25 36.43m (119′-6″) 4.41m (14′-5.50″) 46.90m (153′-10″) 4:44.61 7,236 (-1100)

Jacobus grabs silver, three advance to NCAA finals

ESPN Arkansas News Services
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EUGENE, Ore. — Arkansas’ women took to the track Thursday afternoon at historic Hayward Field looking to advance to the finals in their respective events with hopes of finishing the NCAA Championship meet this weekend as a National Champion.

Coach Lance Harter:

“I’m extremely proud of Lexi (Jacobus). That was a very tough competition because of the swirling winds, it took its toll on a lot of good vaulters, but she’s a great competitor and battled hard for a runner-up finish. We got through to the finals in the 1,500-meters and the steeplechase with Nikki (Hiltz) and Devin (Clark), and they both ran really well to advance. We knew with the 4-x-400-meter relay it was an anomaly that they got the chance to be here, but it’s a great experience for those young women. With our sprint relay, we had hoped they’d advance but we ended up as one of the first two out, so that was unfortunate. but now we’re in scoring positions for Saturday and hopefully, we can try to keep ourselves in a top-10 finishing position.”

The first event on the track for Arkansas Thursday afternoon was the 4-x-100-meter relay of Kiara Parker, Jada Baylark, Janeek Brown and Taliyah Brooks.

The third-place team at the SEC Championships, where they set the school record of 43.26, Arkansas finished with a time of 43.57 that equaled the fourth-fastest performance in program history from the relay team of Brooks, Stumbaugh, Harper, and Parker from last season.

Nikki Hiltz’s magical run this spring will continue as the senior sprinted the final 100-meters to assert herself as the heat winner (4:14.09Q) and advances to Saturday’s final in the women’s 1,500-meters.

Hiltz has qualified for the NCAA final in the event in back-to-back seasons following a runner-up finish last season. Arkansas now has a finalist in the 1,500-meters for the fourth time in the last six years.

“I felt really good,” said Hiltz. “I think with 100-meters t0 go I wanted to test my fitness a little bit and it went better than I could’ve ever imagined. I feel really good and very confident going into the final. Last year being two one-hundredths of a second away from it [a national championship], there’s not a day that goes by that I don’t think about that race. Definitely fueling my fire a little bit, but I feel good about it.”

Devin Clark was up next in the prelims of the women’s 3,000-meter steeplechase. The junior from Spring Branch, Texas secured her spot in Saturday’s final by turning in a time of 9:57.19Q finishing fifth in her prelim heat.

Clark returns to the final in the steeplechase for the first time since 2016 where she finished fifth in a lifetime-best 9:49.25.

Freshman Janeek Brown returned to the track after running the third leg of the sprint relay to take on the prelims of the women’s 100-meter hurdles.

Brown, who finished eighth in the 60-meter hurdles during the indoor championships, will look to improve on her indoor performance as she advanced to the final of the 100-meter hurdles running a school record time of 12.80Q taking second in her prelim to grab the second auto-Q spot from the heat.

“Obviously she’s a freshman so you don’t concern yourself with her intensity, you just have to go in there and be mistake-free,” said associate coach Chris Johnson. “She went out there and executed her race, I mean what more can you ask of her, she ran a personal-best as a freshman at one of the biggest meets of her life. I think she went out and executed well, now we just have to get ready for the final on Saturday,” said Johnson.

“[Janeek] is so mature beyond her years in competition,” said Harter. “She was in the lead, they took the lead away from her and she battled back to get that automatic-qualifier finish. She is going to be a great one, she just needs more of that type of experience and to get stronger and faster. She’s going to be re-writing record books, shes truly unique, and she has now asserted herself as a legitimate player in the 100-meter hurdles final. you’re going to have to be on point if you want to beat Janeek Brown in the final on Saturday,” Harter finished.

Alexis Jacobus was clean through first five bars of competition, the only athlete in the field to clear 4.15m, 4.30m, 4.40m, 4.45m, and 4.50m on first attempts. Jacobus, the reigning indoor champion finished the meet at 4.50m (14′-9″) as the NCAA runner-up trailing only Kentucky’s Olivia Gruver who defended her outdoor title from last year. Sister Tori Hoggard finished tied for 12th-place with a best of 4.15m
(13′-7.25″).

Also competing on Thursday afternoon were Jayda Baylark who finished in 22nd-place in the 100-meters running 11.51 seconds, and Rylee Robinson who finished the competition in the pole vault with no height.

Arkansas staying calm in advance of super regional

ESPN Arkansas News Services
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VIDEO FROM ESPN SEC NETWORK
Arkansas baseball coach Dave Van Horn talks with Paul Finebaum about how the Razorbacks are preparing to host the Gamecocks in the super regionals.

Chad, perception is important offensively for Hog fans

Andy Hodges
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One of the old sayings in football that has more or less held true over the years is defense wins championships.

That was actually true at one point in time. You could win a championship with a shutdown defense. Arkansas actually won in 1964 with a defense that simply didn’t give up many points (they shut out their last five regular-season opponents). For the entire 11-game season (including the Cotton Bowl), they averaged allowing less than six points a game.

Quite simply, that world doesn’t exist anymore.

And it’s not because of the hurry-up, no-huddle spread offenses teams are going to. Nope. The rules changes are the biggest reason why offenses score points in bunches.

Shoot, in my day offensive linemen were taught to block with their hands on their chest with elbows extended. Any time the hands came out wide a flag was soon to follow.

Defensive backs could basically jump on a receiver’s back and take a ride until the ball was in the air. It was all fair game until the quarterback turned loose of the ball.

But Arkansas fans have always loved passing.

And it’s not that there’s necessarily a lot of passing, but the perception counts more than actions.

Don’t believe it? In 1968 when Frank Broyles was coming back from a horrendous 4-5-1 campaign in 1967, he started a ton of sophomores (which was the first year they were eligible back then) and went to a pro-style offense.

On the first play of the 1968 season, quarterback Bill Montgomery dropped back in War Memorial Stadium and fired a bomb to a streaking Max Peacock. Montgomery overthrew the pass. The stadium went wild over an incompletion.

Broyles admitted years later they weren’t changing that much, but it was about the perception for recruiting purposes. The Hogs actually ran more in 1968 than they did in 1967.

It’s ALWAYS about perception.

And Chad Morris, who focuses on the details and appears to be fairly public-relations adept, would do well to take note of the Hogs’ history.

When Lou Holtz was off and running with a 30-5-1 record over his first three seasons and people were all excited about the offense and the thrilling passing game. In truth, Holtz was about running the Veer option.

After Lou came Ken Hatfield with the Wishbone. In 1987, the Hogs were 9-4 and everybody was jumping up and down mad as daylights. A Little Rock columnist pointed out that it took Hatfield something like eight hours to make the normal four-hour drive to Fayetteville because he wouldn’t pass.

Never mind that senior quarterback Greg Thomas had an injured shoulder the entire year and still managed to hit some key passes (and had some big-time drops … like the first play against Texas when Derek Russell flat dropped a perfectly-thrown bomb).

Fast-forward to the Houston Nutt era and fans were smoking hot when the Hogs were 10-4 because they didn’t pass enough. With Darren McFadden, Felix Jones and Peyton Hillis in the backfield the only reason they should have passed was to give those running backs a chance to catch their breath.

Bobby Petrino came in and he admitted he didn’t have the patience to move the ball downfield running it. Fans loved it.

They loved it so much when he flew through the handlebars on his Harley on April 1, 2012, many were quite willing to overlook the facts that came out as a result of that. Just keep flingin’ it.

Never mind that Petrino’s teams lost a couple of games by double digits when they scored over 40 points. In 2011, they only lost two games — to Alabama and LSU, who played in the national title game that year — by a combined 79-31 score. Neither game was close.

The Hogs finished fifth in the nation after the bowl games, so losing to two teams in your own division isn’t the end of the world in terms of having a great season … if that’s the only two games you lose.

And you’re flingin’ the ball all over the field.

Now Morris comes in with an offense that is really a combination of the Wing-T, Veer and Pro-Style passing game. It just comes with a different look and a very different pace.

And, pay close attention Hog fans, every single play has a passing option built into the offense.

As I was talking with another media member Wednesday after Morris’ clinic, we were discussing Razorback fans’ fascination with passing and wide open offenses.

We agreed it’s very easy to reach an almost inescapable conclusion: It often appears Razorback fans would rather lose passing than win running the ball.

But, as Broyles said years ago, it’s all about the perception.

Bud Light Morning Rush Podcast: Thursday

ESPN Arkansas News Services
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Bud Light Morning Rush Podcast: Thursday

Full video of Morris’ clinic for media Wednesday

ESPN Arkansas News Services
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The full video from Razorbacks coach Chad Morris talking football with members of the Arkansas media, breaking down the basics of what he’s wanting to do.

Hogs’ moves? Consistent inconsistency at fast pace

Andy Hodges
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You got the idea Wednesday from Chad Morris’ coaching clinic for the media he views football much like a chess match.

But he wants to keep opponents on their heels and, to sum it up, he’ll do it with consistent inconsistency. Not the bad kind of inconsistency, but the kind that keeps other teams guessing what’s coming next.

“We could run the same play five times,” he said. “If it’s working, it’s common courtesy to keep running it,” he said.

That’s refreshing to hear. I hear from old coaches all the time about guys today out-coaching themselves, assuming the other team is automatically going to change something to stop what they’re doing offensively.

They often don’t because they’re guessing the offensive playcaller is going to change things.

Just because it’s the same play, though, doesn’t always mean it will look the same. There will be different speeds.

“Tempo is about how fast I can go, but also, can I stop and get them on their heels then we can stop and check the sidelines, stop, check the sidelines again?” Morris said.

Oh, and that may include a huddle, but don’t look for it to resemble a detailed committee meeting with a leisurely stroll to the line of scrimmage.

“”We may huddle, but when we break out, we break out in a fire alarm,” he said. “It’s at a fast pace.”

Remember, it’s like a chess match.

“There’s always a weakness somewhere,” Morris said. “It’s just whether or not they hide their pressures good enough to where it’s too late to get to your answer. That’s the question that we’ll find out with a lot of our quarterbacks.”

Don’t holler about playcalling. That’s because until somewhere seconds on either side of the center snap, nobody knows exactly what’s going to happen, which is about the best way I can put into layman’s terms the RPO. That’s the Run-Pass-Option that’s popular these days.

“We’ll have an RPO on every play,” Morris said.

That’s why the quarterback position is going to be so critical. Cole Kelley isn’t the answer. There are questions about his skillset and whispers in the locker room from other players. He hasn’t stepped up as a leader either on or off the field.

Of the quarterbacks who were on campus when Morris got the job, walk-on Jack Lindsey picked up the offense the quickest. Reportedly, when offensive coordinator Joe Craddock asked questions in the quarterback room, Lindsey had the answer so fast they had to tell him to give somebody else a chance to answer.

All of that’s why many are interested to see what freshman Connor Noland can do. He’s been running Morris’ offense for years down at Greenwood because his coach, Rick Jones, was in on all those visits with Morris and Gus Malzahn years ago.

With Morris, it’s all about the details. Like some other championship coaches, he’s got folks paying attention to every little detail. They even scout the officials.

“The officials come in and we’ll meet and we’ll talk about, ‘Hey, this is what we look for. How quick do you spot the ball?’” Morris said. “I’m communicating with the down box, because they usually don’t set (the ball) until that down box gets set. Once that gets set, everything can work after a first down, so you kind of make sure to eye the guy working the down box.

“Does he look like he can run? Are his shoes tied up good?”

That’s getting down to the details, which is something not seen around these parts in a few years. Maybe longer than you think.

Morris spent a great deal of the clinic Wednesday talking about defensive schemes. During warmups you see offensive coaches going to defensive players … defensive coaches going to offensive players.

Didn’t see that before, even during a 21-5 run over 2010-11.

Offensive and defensive staffs will watch spring clips together and bounce ideas and tips off each other. In some instances, Morris or offensive coordinator Joe Craddock may pass on a defensive tip to defensive coordinator John Chavis, and vice versa.

“We’ll say, ‘Hey, Coach Chavis, you brought pressure right there, but man, if you would bring it from there like this and disguise this look … that free safety gave it away, which allowed our quarterback to make that check and push the front to the right,’” Morris said. “’But if he would have kept his hat down or his stance squared a little bit more, Coach, he would have never seen it.’

“I said to him that night when I called him, ‘I can help you. I can help you as much as you can help me as far as communicating. And if you can defend us offensively, then you can defend a lot of teams because of how fast we play and what we do.”

Chavis has bought into Morris’ system maybe as much as any stop he’s made.

And it should be interesting to watch it play out.

Van Horn on playing Gamecocks again, MLB draft

ESPN Arkansas News Services
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Arkansas coach Dave Van Horn talked with the media Wednesday about facing South Carolina for the third time this season and the second at Baum Stadium.

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