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Knight’s win lets Hogs split with Flashes before loss

ESPN Arkansas News Services
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FAYETTEVILLE — A fourth-straight strong start by junior pitcher Blaine Knight along with three home runs helped fifth-ranked Arkansas jump on top of Kent State in game one of a doubleheader Friday at Baum Stadium, winning 7-2 for its 10th victory of the year.

The Golden Flashes come back in game two to defeat the Razorbacks, 10-4, forcing a rubber match on Sunday.

PHOTO BY RAZORBACK SPORTS COMMUNICATIONS

Game 1 | Arkansas 7, Kent State 2 (Box Score)

Knight has continued to show why he is Arkansas’ ace as he held Kent State down for six innings, scattering four hits, with just one run crossing the plate, a home run.

He also struck out six batters, his second start with six or more strikeouts.

The Bryant, Arkansas native’s ERA is almost microscopic as he has generated a team-leading 0.78 ERA and has only walked four batters in 23 innings.

Coming into this weekend’s slate of games, Knight was one of only five pitchers in the SEC with a sub-1.00 ERA.

At the plate, Arkansas played long ball as Eric Cole, Grant Koch, and Carson Shaddy all hit home runs.

Shaddy finished game one as the Hogs’ top hitter, going 3-for-4 with two runs scored and two RBI. It’s his first three-hit game of the season and 44th multi-hit game of his career.

Cole’s home run, a three-run shot that was part of a four-run fourth inning to break the game open, give him four for the year, which leads the team and is a top-five total in the SEC.

Cole got a hit in both games of Friday’s doubleheader, extending his hitting streak to six games. Over his last five games, he’s 8-for-18 (.444) with two home runs and six RBIs.

Seven different Razorbacks recorded a hit in game one, including six of their top seven hitters in the order.

Freshman Casey Martin, who was batting in the three-hole for the first time this year, went 2-for-5 in the game.

Catcher Grant Koch hit his second home run of the year in the second inning, getting the Hogs off and running after Kent State jumped out to a 1-0 lead.

Game 2 | Kent State 10, Arkansas 4 (Box Score)
Arkansas didn’t fare as well in the nightcap of the doubleheader as Kent State took advantage of a couple of costly Razorback errors, scoring four unearned runs on starting pitcher Isaiah Campbell.

Kent State scored their first three runs of the game in the first inning, but only one wound up being earned as it was a fielding error from the second batter of the game that helped extend the inning.

After Campbell walked Nick Kanavas to put two on, Pavin Parks doubled to right-centerfield, giving the Golden Flashes their first two runs. Two batters later, a Brad Hamilton single brought in the third run of the inning.

Campbell labored into the fourth inning, but finished with 3.2 innings pitched, giving up five runs on five hits, with only one run being earned, as he was saddled with his second loss of the year.

Kent State led 5-1 going into the bottom of the fourth, but Arkansas was able to claw its way back with two runs of its own from an RBI single from Luke Bonfield and an RBI groundout from Heston Kjerstad, making it 5-3.

Unfortunately, a lone run for Kent State in the seventh and then a four-run eighth extended the lead to its largest of the night at 10-3.

Arkansas’ hitters never seemed to get into any rhythm in game two as it pieced together seven hits, but struck out 11 times.

Bonfield and sophomore Jordan McFarland both finished with two hits apiece. It’s Bonfield’s third multi-hit game of the year.

On the mound, Jake Reindl, Matt Cronin, Cody Scroggins, Caleb Bolden, Jacob Kostyshock, and Zebulon Vermillion all followed Campbell.

Reindl had one of the more effective outings, going 2.1 innings, allowing just two hits, one run, one walk, with three strikeouts on 41 pitches.

Up Next
Arkansas and Kent State will meet for the series finale on Sunday at Baum Stadium with first pitch at 1 p.m.

Due to the forecasted rain and thunderstorms that are expected in the Northwest Arkansas area on Saturday, game two between the Hogs and Golden Flashes was moved to today and played as part of a doubleheader.

Both teams will take Saturday off and play a final game on Sunday. The game will be broadcast on SEC Network+.

Razorbacks open SEC play on road against Georgia

ESPN Arkansas News Services
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ATHENS, Ga. — Having won 16 of 18 through the first month of the season, Arkansas opens SEC play with a weekend series at No. 11 Georgia.

The three-game set begins Saturday afternoon at Turner Stadium in Athens.

All three games will be televised with Pam Ward and Carol Bruggeman in the booth handling the play-by-play and color commentary duties, respectively.

Arkansas (16-2/0-0 SEC) at #11 Georgia (19-1/0-0 SEC) | Game Notes
Turner Stadium (Athens, Ga.)

Game 1: Saturday, March 10 at 12 p.m. (SEC Network) – SECN+ | Live Stats
Game 2: Sunday, March 11 at 5 p.m. (ESPNU) – SECN+ | Live Stats
Game 3: Monday, March 12 at 6 p.m. (SEC Network) – SECN+ | Live Stats

All-Time Series vs Georgia
Eight of Arkansas’ 18 wins in the series have come in road games.

In last year’s series in Fayetteville, Georgia won two of three but the Razorbacks’ win secured the team’s spot in the SEC Tournament. Overall, UGA leads 34-18.

Ready to Produce
Arkansas enters the weekend with 25 home runs as a team, a mark that is third in the SEC and tied for ninth in the NCAA.

The team’s .548 slugging percentage ranks eighth nationally while its .329 batting average is 15th in the NCAA. Overall, the Razorbacks are averaging 6.11 runs per game, good for 11th in the nation.

Last Time Out
On a windy afternoon in Wichita, the Razorbacks dropped a 1-0 pitching duel to the host Shockers.

Senior Tori Cooper tallied two hits but Wichita State got a second-inning home run as the game’s lone score.

And the Winner is…
Hannah McEwen (.500, 3 HR, 16 RBI, 7 R) was named the SEC Co-Player of the Week on Monday, becoming the third freshman in program history to earn the honor.

McEwen is second in the league and tied for third in the NCAA with 29 RBI.

Twice the Fun
For a second time this season, Mary Haff (4-0, 0.00 ERA, 40 Ks) was named the SEC Freshman of the Week.

She also threw the program’s seventh no-hitter and tallied a save. Haff is third in the SEC and tied for 10th in the NCAA with 90 strikeouts this season.

Bud Light Morning Rush Podcast: Friday

ESPN Arkansas News Services
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Bud Light Morning Rush Podcast: Friday

Morning Rush Hour 3

ESPN Arkansas News Services
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Morning Rush Hour 2

ESPN Arkansas News Services
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Morning Rush Hour 1

ESPN Arkansas News Services
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Hogs hold off Gamecocks; advance to quarterfinals

ESPN Arkansas News Services
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ST. LOUIS, Mo. — No. 6 seed Arkansas turned up the defense Thursday night, holding off No. 11 seed South Carolina, 69-64, in the second round of the SEC Tournament.

Arkansas advances to play No. 3 seed Florida on Friday night at approximately 8:30 p.m. on the SEC Network.

The Razorbacks’ defense was big Thursday night, as Arkansas forced 19 South Carolina turnovers, swiping 10 steals, that all led to 19 points off of miscues for the Hogs.

Another big key for Arkansas was the Razorbacks’ ability to get to the free throw line and take advantage.

The Razorbacks finished 23-of-26 from the free throw line, its best percentage of the season at 88.5 percent.

Arkansas set the tone early with its defense. Despite hitting just one of its first five field goal attempts, the Razorbacks were aggressive on the defensive end and it paid off.

In a span of three minutes, Arkansas forced five turnovers, including three steals, leading to six easy points.

After taking the lead, Arkansas never let the Gamecocks reclaim the advantage.

South Carolina was able to tie the game at 26-26 with 4:02 left in the first half but from that point, the Razorbacks outscored the Gamecocks, 10-2 — all on free throws — to take a 36-28 lead into the locker room.

Free throws were the deciding factor in the first period. Arkansas went 14-of-15 (.933) at the charity stripe, while South Carolina went just 2-of-7 (.286).

The Razorbacks came out of the break on an 11-4 run, as four of their first five field goals were layups to stretch the Arkansas lead to 15.

After scoring 10 points off of turnovers in the first half, seven of Arkansas’ first 11 points in the second period came off of six Gamecocks’ miscues.

South Carolina would not go away, though.

Despite being down 15, the Gamecocks would fight back and cut the Arkansas lead to one with 7:22 left to play.

Up two, Jaylen Barford hit a ridiculous 3 as the shot clock was winding down to put the Hogs back up five.

After Barford added a layup on a steal, South Carolina rattled off five straight to cut the lead to two. Senior guard Daryl Macon was fouled and hit both of his free throws to stretch the Arkansas lead back to two possessions, where the Razorbacks would hold on and win, 69-64.

In the final minute and overtime of games this season, Macon is 32-of-33 (.970) from the free throw line and is 62-of-65 in his career (.925).

Barford led Arkansas with 17 points and three steals, while Macon was the only other Razorback to finish in double figures with 12 points, going 8-of-8 from the free throw line, adding four rebounds and four assists.

Anton Beard had a quiet night offensively with just seven points but brought down four rebounds and had a team-high five assists and three steals.

Adrio Bailey posted nine points to go along with four rebounds, three steals and two blocks.

Game Notes
• Arkansas has advanced to the quarterfinals of the SEC Tournament in three of the last four years.

• The Razorbacks improve to 25-25 all-time in the SEC Tournament and 3-2 against South Carolina in the tournament.

• Arkansas is 5-6 in the SEC Tournament since the league went away from divisions after the 2010-11 season, with two victories coming in 2015 and two more in 2017.

• During the Mike Anderson era, Arkansas is 124-7 in games it led at the half, including 39 consecutive victories. This year, the Razorbacks have led by an average of 9.8 points at the break in 22 wins.

Hogs play two Friday, then Sunday against Kent State

ESPN Arkansas News Services
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FAYETTEVILLE — The 13-game homestand continues for fifth-ranked Arkansas as it welcomes in Kent State for a three-game set starting with a doubleheader on Friday at Baum Stadium.

First pitch of the doubleheader is set for 3 p.m. with the second game set to begin approximately 30 minutes after the conclusion of the first game.

Due to the threat of rain and thunderstorms in the Northwest Arkansas area on Saturday, the Hogs and Golden Flashes agreed to play two nine-inning games on Friday and then conclude the series on Sunday with a day off in between.

Arkansas (9-3) is coming off a four-win weekend, sweeping a two-game series from Dayton and winning two-out-of-three against USC.

The Hogs won the series over the Trojans in style getting a walk-off pinch-hit single from sophomore Dominic Fletcher on Sunday, their first walk-off win of the year.

As a team, Arkansas hit a combined .339 over the last five games with 41 runs scored and 59 hits. Freshman Casey Martin led all of those hitters after going 8-for-18 (.444) with two home runs and seven RBIs en route to earning his first SEC Freshman of the Week honor.

On the pitching side, the rotation continues to be led by junior Blaine Knight and redshirt sophomore Isaiah Campbell, who each will get a start this weekend.

Knight has been nearly unhittable as he has generated a 0.53 ERA, tied for the lowest in the SEC, two victories and 15 strikeouts.

Campbell isn’t far behind as 1.88 ERA is just outside the top 10 in the league and he’s one of 15 pitchers with three earned runs or less this year.

Follow Live
All three games will be available on SEC Network+ and the WatchESPN app with Benjamin Kelly (PXP) and Troy Eklund (Analyst) calling the action on Friday.

Brett Dolan will return for Sunday’s game. Phil Elson (PXP) and former Razorback Bubba Carpenter (Analyst) will have the radio call on the IMG Sports Network all weekend.

Important Links
Fri, March 9 – Arkansas vs. Kent State (Game 1) – 3 p.m. – LIVE STATS | WATCH
Fri, March 9 – Arkansas vs. Kent State (Game 2) – 30 minutes after Game 1 – LIVE STATS | WATCH
Sun, March 11 – Arkansas vs. Kent State (Game 3) – 1 p.m. – LIVE STATS | WATCH

Probable Starters
Game 1: ARK RHP Blaine Knight (0.53 ERA, 2-0, 15 K, 4 BB) vs. KSU LHP Eli Kraus (8.53 ERA, 1-1, 8 K, 4 BB)

Game 2: ARK RHP Isaiah Campbell (1.88 ERA, 1-1, 16 K, 6 BB) vs. KSU RHP Joey Murray (2.20 ERA, 1-1, 19 K, 4 BB)

Game 3: ARK RHP Bryce Bonnin (0.00 ERA, 1-0, 8 K, 1 BB) vs. KSU LHP Jared Skolnicki (6.92 ERA, 1-0, 14 K, 2 BB)

No Place Like Home – The Razorbacks have been stellar at home so far this season, building up a 7-1 record in series wins over Bucknell, Dayton, and USC. As a team, Arkansas is hitting .362, while the pitching staff has garnered a 1.52 ERA in games played at Baum Stadium. The starting pitchers have picked up four of the seven victories, while the staff as a whole is holding batters to a .202 average. At the plate, the Hogs have smashed 14 of its season’s 17 homers at Baum Stadium and are slugging a combined .589.

The Return Of The Soooieville Sluggers – In 2017, Arkansas crushed an SEC-best 83 home runs. It was the most home runs by a Razorback team since 2010. The Hogs have picked up where they left off with 17 home runs after 12 games this year, equaling last year’s total after 12 games. Junior Eric Cole and freshman Casey Martin are currently tied for the most on the team with three home runs and seven different Razorbacks have two or more.

Martin’s Offense Earns Him SEC Freshman Of The Week Honor – Freshman infielder Casey Martin was named the SEC Freshman of the Week on Monday after his huge weekend at the plate against Dayton and USC. The Lonoke, Arkansas native led all Razorback hitters with a .444 average over the five-game span and slugged .474. For the year, his .414 average is currently ninth best in the Southeastern Conference and his .793 slugging percentage is sixth best. Among freshmen in the league, his average is the third highest and his slugging is the best.

Bonfield And Shaddy Near 150 Starts As Razorbacks – 12 games into their senior seasons, Luke Bonfield and Carson Shaddy are both nearing 150 starts for their Razorback careers. Bonfield currently sits at 140 starts, while Shaddy is at 139 starts. Once they reach 150, they will become the first Razorbacks to reach that mark since Michael Bernal finished his career with 167 starts. Danny Hamblin still holds the record for 245 starts in his career.

As Dark As Knight – There’s been no daylight for opposing hitters that step into the box against junior right-hander Blaine Knight. The Bryant, Arkansas native has racked up two wins in three starts this season with a team-leading 0.53 ERA, which is also good for second in the SEC and top-50 in the nation. Knight has thrown five or more innings in all three of his starts and given up just one earned run over 17.0 innings.

Pitchers Shine In Early Weeks – Arkansas has shown its depth on the mound through the first three weeks of the season. Of the 12 games played, Arkansas starters have gone five or more innings seven times and have given up a combined seven earned runs and struck out 53 batters. As a staff, the 1.78 ERA is the best in the league and best 12-game start by a Razorback pitching staff under Dave Van Horn.

NCAA ERA Leaders (Team)

Rank Team ERA
1. Hofstra 1.55
2. St. John’s (NY) 1.67
3. Pittsburgh 1.68
4. Hawaii 1.74
5. Arkansas 1.78

No. 2 Hogs facing best at NCAA Championships this weekend

ESPN Arkansas News Services
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COLLEGE STATION, Texas — Fresh off winning its 12th-consecutive SEC Championship No. 2 Arkansas returns to College Station this weekend for the 2018 NCAA Indoor Championship.

Arkansas is one of four ranked SEC programs that top the national polls, including No. 1 Georgia, No. 3 Kentucky and No. 4 LSU.

“Georgia jumped ahead of us in the polls,” coach Lance Harter said. “They had a great SEC meet by their key individuals. As everyone knows, at the national meet the caliber of talent rises according to the competition and they have a few more stars than a lot of us do.

“I think we’ve got to do what we can do and that’s make sure we take care of business in the events that we’re favored in and capitalize on other events where we’re in the mix.”

Events to Watch (Friday):

• 12:15 p.m. | Pentathlon
Razorback Entry: Taliyah Brooks (PR: 4,580 points)

• 5:50 p.m. | Mile Semifinal
Razorback Entry: Nikki Hiltz (PR: 4:33.44)

• 6:15 p.m. | 60 Meters Semifinal
Razorback Entry: Jada Baylark (PR: 7.22)

• 6:40 p.m. | 400 Meters Semifinal
Razorbacks Entry: Morgan Burks-Magee (PR: 52.20)

• 7:05 p.m. | 60 Meter Hurdles  Semifinal
Razorback Entries: Janeek Brown (PR: 8.04) | Payton Chadwick (PR: 8.08)

• 7:10 p.m. | Long Jump Final
Razorback Entries: Taliyah Brooks (PR: 6.57m/21-6 3/4) | Payton Chadwick (PR: 6.30m/20-8)

• 7:50 p.m. | 200 Meters Semifinal
Razorback Entries: Payton Chadwick (PR: 22.99)

Friday Scoring Opportunities
Redshirt senior leader Taliyah Brooks will look to position the Razorbacks for strong contention for team gold on Friday as an individual contender for gold in both the pentathlon and the long jump. Although currently ranked second in the pentathlon Brooks is the top returning performer in the event from the 2017 season and boasts the strongest PR (4,580 points), which she scored at last year’s indoor national meet. Additionally she is one of only nine women to mark a 21-foot jump this season, with her best of 6.57m/21-6 3/4 trailing national leader Kate Hall of Georgia by 2 3/4 inches. Arkansas will hope to pick up additional points in the long jump off the heels of Payton Chadwick who enters the event with a best of 6.30m/20-8. It will be one of three events on the weekend in which Chadwick hopes to contribute points to the Hogs in.

Survive and Advance
Arkansas will try and push through several Razorbacks to Saturday event finals starting with another senior leader, Nikki Hiltz in the mile semifinal at 5:50 p.m. CT. Freshmen Janeek Brown (60-meter hurdles) and Morgan Burks-Magee (400 meters) will look to hold their own with the upperclassmen and advance out of the first round in their national debuts in their respective events. Along with Brown the 60-meter hurdles with feature Payton Chadwick who will be pulling double duty for Arkansas on the track between the hurdles and the 200.

Pole Vault Power
Following Friday’s competition, Arkansas will look for a score boost from pole vault trio Desiree Freier, Tori Hoggard and Lexi Jacobus. The four-time All-Americans finished 2-3-5 at the SEC championships led by Jacobus. All three hogs are seasoned competitors at the national level and return as top-eight finishers from the 2017 competition.

First Up
The Razorbacks will kick off the weekend tomorrow afternoon with Taliyah Brooks in the pentathlon 60-meter hurdles at 12:15 p.m. The two-day event will be live streamed on ESPN3 with Friday’s stream beginning at 5:30 p.m. and Saturday’s stream beginning at 4 p.m..

Razorbacks hosting pair of Top 20 teams this weekend

ESPN Arkansas News Services
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FAYETTEVILLE — Arkansas will look to build on its 1-0 start in Southeastern Conference play when it hosts No. 17 Kentucky and No. 4 Vanderbilt this weekend.

The Razorbacks (5-5, 1-0 SEC) will play the Wildcats (9-3, 1-1 SEC) at 5 p.m. CT Friday before they take on the Commodores (9-2, 2-0 SEC) at noon CT Sunday. Both matches will take place at the George M. Billingsley Tennis Center.

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. Students in attendance will also have the opportunity to win an Apple Watch courtesy of University of Arkansas Associated Student Government.

Last Time Out
Arkansas opened league play with a 4-1 win over Missouri last Friday. The Razorbacks started fast and finished strong, earning the doubles point with back-to-back wins at the top two spots and securing three of four singles victories. Junior Ana Oparenovic, who is the No. nation’s No. 87 ranked singles player, delivered the clinch with a 6-3, 6-4 win at the No. 2 spot. Vanderbilt is coming off a 4-0 win against Alabama, while Kentucky is coming off a 4-3 loss to No. 18 Auburn.

League Leaders
Moving up six spots in the latest national doubles rankings, the Razorbacks’ No. 30 nationally ranked duo of Oparenovic and freshman Tatum Rice, leads all SEC No. 1 doubles pairs with a 9-0 record at the top spot. Overall, Oparenovic and Rice’s record ranks No. 2 in the conference.

Singles Success
In singles, sophomore No. 66 Giulia Pairone boasts an 8-0 record, including a 3-0 mark at the top spot. Pairone’s 8-0 singles record is fifth best in the SEC.

Dominant Doubles
The Hogs have won the doubles point in nine of its 10 matches this season.

More Notables
Rice is also ranked No. 51 in doubles with sophomore Jackie Carr, while Oparenovic is ranked No. 67 with senior Mia Jurasic.

Hogs ready for first conference weekend on road

ESPN Arkansas News Services
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FAYETTEVILLE — After splitting its first two conference matches of the season last weekend at home, Arkansas hits the road for the first time in conference this weekend, traveling to Kentucky and Vanderbilt.

The Razorbacks will open the weekend on Friday in Lexington, Kentucky, facing the Wildcats at 4 p.m. Following that match, Arkansas will head south to Nashville to face the Vanderbilt Commodores on Sunday at 12 p.m.

Arkansas has won seven of its last nine matches, bringing its overall mark to 8-5 this season and 1-1 in SEC play, after splitting a pair of SEC matches last weekend.

The Razorbacks hosted the LSU Tigers last Friday, defeating the Tigers 6-1 to open conference action. On Sunday, No. 7 Texas A&M came into Fayetteville and swept Arkansas 7-0.

The Razorbacks are led by senior Jose Salazar, who is 15-7 overall this season in singles, including a 9-3 mark this spring. Freshman josh Howard-Tripp is right behind with 14 singles victories, holding a 7-5 record this spring.

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