Arkansas guard Hjalte Froholdt talked with the media Saturday about the difference with the offense so far in spring.
Agim on new style of play, dropping weight after practice
Hogs defensive end Sosa Agim talked with the media after Saturday’s practice about the changes on defense with new alignment, style.
Defensive back Pulley on new style for team with changes
Hogs’ defensive back Ryan Pulley talked with the media Saturday about the changes on the defense and the team overall.
Nance excited about Hogs’ new offense after second day
Wide receiver Jonathan Nance on the new offense and how it should be an exciting one.
Harris on Hogs’ new defense after second spring practice
Talking with media Saturday about how things are different with defensive coordinator and linebackers coach John Chavis and the new coaching staff.
Photos from second spring practice for Razorbacks
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Photos by Andy Hodges | HitThatLine.com
Allen takes turn at NFL Combine on Sunday in Indy
INDIANAPOLIS — Austin Allen will be one of 19 quarterbacks to take the field Saturday at Lucas Oil Stadium at the 2018 NFL Scouting Combine.
NFL Network will televise the workouts from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. CT. NFL.com will also live stream events at NFL.com/combine/live.
The players will participate in the 40-yard dash, vertical leap, broad jumps, three-cone drill, shuttle run and position skill drills. Live results will be tracked here.
Allen’s Quick Hits
• Two-year starter, who played in 29 games with 21 starts.
• Team captain as a senior.
• No. 8 in Arkansas history in career passing yards (5,045).
• No. 7 in career passing touchdowns (36).
• No. 3 in career completion percentage (59.1).
• No. 8 in career completions (359).
• Tied for No. 3 in career 300-yard passing games (5).
• No. 3 in career 300-yard passing games in SEC action (5).
• 7th Razorback QB to throw for 5,000-plus yards and 35-plus TD in a career.
Razorbacks’ record score paces win over Arizona on Friday
FAYETTEVILLE — Tenth-ranked Arkansas topped Arizona, 197.275-196.125, en route to a program record score Friday night inside Barnhill Arena.
“It was just a really fun night,” said head coach Mark Cook. “This team has a lot of energy and a lot of personality and they were just rocking tonight. It was exciting to see these guys break some records, that doesn’t happen often.”
The Razorbacks have now scored multiple scores of 197 or higher twice in one season for just the second time in program history, joining the 2012 season. Arkansas posted a 197.175 against Georgia earlier this season.
First Rotation: Arizona Bars: 49.375, Arkansas Vault: 48.975
The Razorbacks got off to a slow start in the first rotation, but rebounded with three solid scores in the heart of the order. Freshman Sarah Shaffer along with seniors Amanda Wellick and Braie Speed all posted scores higher than a 9.825 in the third, fourth and fifth spots in the rotation. Speed led Arkansas with a 9.875 in the fifth spot, her first of two big scores on the night. Arkansas would trail by the slightest of margins headed to the uneven parallel bars.
Second Rotation: Arkansas Bars: 49.575, Arizona Vault: 48.850
The Razorbacks took a lead it never relinquished in its second rotation while posting its highest score on bars in team history, and second highest overall on any event, with a 49.575. The bottom of the Razorbacks’ rotation all posted massive scores over 9.900 with Speed leading once again with a career high 9.950, tying the record on the event. Freshman Sydney Laird and sophomore Hailey Garner posted 9.925’s while Wellick tallied a 9.900.
“You’ve got to get better every week,” said Cook. “They’re really going after the high scores and doing the best gymnastics they can do.”
Third Rotation: Arkansas Beam: 49.400, Arizona Floor: 48.375
Freshman Sophia Carter tied a program record that she set earlier this season against Georgia with another 9.975 on Beam, becoming the only gymnasts in program history to post a 9.975 twice on the same event. Wellick and Laird were just behind Carter with a 9.900 and a 9.875, respectively, as the Razorbacks tallied the third highest beam score in team history.
“It was such an incredible feeling,” said Carter. “I wasn’t focused on the score, I just wanted to go out there and do my very best work and be me. I knew if I did that I could hit that score again.”
Fourth Rotation: Arizona Beam: 49.525, Arkansas Floor: 49.325
The Razorbacks recorded three scores of 9.900 or higher in its final rotation, leading them to their highest score in program history. Shaffer led the Razorbacks once again on the event, posting her second-straight 9.925. Shaffer has posted a 9.900 or higher on the floor in five of the last six meets. Carter gave Arkansas the high score it needed in the anchor spot with a 9.900 to secure the Razorbacks’ second 197 of the season.
In her second meet this season in the all-around, Wellick won the individual all-around title with a 39.425. Yamzon posted a 39.275 while Garner received a 39.075 to round out the Razorbacks in the event.
Haff throws seventh no-hitting in Razorback history
FAYETTEVILLE — Capping Arkansas’ second win of the day, freshman Mary Haff tallied the seventh no-hitter in program history in a 9-0, six-inning triumph over Northern Colorado.
Haff matched her season high with 12 strikeouts and benefitted from a pair of home runs from fellow freshmen Kayla Green and Hannah McEwen.
Arkansas began its weekend with a 12-3 victory over Dartmouth.
“Mary has been knocking on that door for a couple of games now,” coach Courtney Deifel said. “To see her finally get the no-hitter today was really exciting. Offensively, it seems like every game we’re seeing someone new step up and produce for us. I really liked the way we played in both games today.”
Game 1: Arkansas 12, Dartmouth 3 (5 inn.) | Box Score
Game 2: Arkansas 9, Northern Colorado 0 (6 inn.) | Box Score
Up Next
Day two of the Razorback Invitational features Arkansas’ second game of the weekend against Dartmouth with first pitch at 4 p.m. with the team’s first-ever meeting with Central Connecticut State to follow.
Both games will be streamed through SEC Network+ and the WatchESPN app.
Between the two games, McEwen finished the day with five hits, eight RBI and three runs scored. She leads the team with 25 runs driven in and is second in the lineup with her .444 batting average. During her current nine-game hitting streak, she has seven multi-hit efforts.
Haff’s no-hitter is Arkansas’ first since the 2014 season when Grace Moll blanked Eastern Michigan. She struck out the first four hitters she faced and Northern Colorado didn’t advance a runner to second base at any point in the game.
In the fourth, Haff walked the lead-off hitter but after a fly out and strikeout, Green threw out the runner trying to steal second. Haff is now 7-0 on the season.
Arkansas No-Hitters
Tammy Kincaid and Rachel Talley vs CSUN – Feb. 19, 2000 (W, 1-0)
Jennifer Bottoms vs Ohio State – March 4, 2000 (W, 2-0)
Katy Henry vs Centenary – March 5, 2006 (W, 1-0)
Kimmy Beasley vs Savannah State – March 21, 2013 (W, 10-0)
Hope McLemore and Chelsea Cohen vs Kentucky – April 20, 2013 (W, 4-0)
Grace Moll vs Eastern Michigan – Feb. 21, 2014 (W, 13-0)
Mary Haff vs Northern Colorado – March 2, 2018 (W, 9-0)
In Arkansas’ first game of the day, neither team scored in the first inning but Dartmouth broke through with three runs in the top of the second.
The Razorbacks’ offense responded with 12 unanswered runs over the next two innings. Each player in the lineup had at least one hit or one runs scored.
Arkansas has scored at least five runs in five innings this season including the team’s five-run second and seven-run third against the Big Green.
Arkansas opens SEC play with win over LSU
FAYETTEVILLE — Arkansas improved to 6-4 overall and 1-0 in conference play, defeating LSU, 6-1, Friday night to open SEC play.
Arkansas would pick up the doubles point for just the fourth time this season with wins on court two and three.
On court two, Oscar Mesquida and Adam Sanjurjo won in convincing fashion, defeating Rafael Wagner and Agie Moreno 6-3.
On court three, Alex Reco and Pedro Alonso had to fight back after being down 5-3 to defeat Shane Monroe and Stewart Block 7-5. Jose Salazar and Josh Howard-Tripp were down 6-5 at the clinch to Gabor Csonka and Julian Saborio.
At the top spot in singles, No. 78 Salazar made quick work of LSU’s Shane Monroe, winning 6-0, 6-1 to give Arkansas the 2-0 lead. Salazar improved to 14-6 this season, including an 8-2 mark in the spring.
Following Salazar’s lead, Howard-Tripp closed out Rafael Wagner 6-4, 6-0 to push Arkansas’ lead to 3-0. The freshman now is 13-9 this season, including 6-4 in the spring.
At court two, Sanjurjo fell to Gabor Csonka 6-2, 6-4 to get LSU on the board, as the Razorbacks led 3-1.
At the No. 4 spot, Mesquida defeated Julian Soborio 7-5, 6-4 to give Arkansas the 4-1 lead and the match win. The win brings Mesquida back to even in the spring, as the junior is now 4-4 this spring and 9-8 overall.
After the clinch, courts five and six played out their matches. On court six, Reco took care of Agie Moreno to pick up three-set win, defeating Moreno 4-6, 6-2, 6-1. On court five, Pedro Alonso went to a third-set tiebreaker with Nikola Samardzic, defeating the Tiger 4-6, 6-4, 10-6.
The Razorbacks will return to action on Sunday, as the Razorbacks host No. 7 Texas A&M at 1 p.m., followed by a doubleheader with UMKC.
Arkansas 6, LSU 1
Singles Results – Order of finish (1,3,2,4,6,5)
1. #78 Jose Salazar (AR) def. Shane Monroe (LSU) 6-0, 6-1
2. Gabor Csonka (LSU) def. Adam Sanjurjo (AR) 6-2, 6-4
3. Josh Howard-Tripp (AR) def. Rafael Wagner (LSU) 6-4, 6-0
4. Oscar Mesquida (AR) def. Julian Saborio (LSU) 7-5, 6-4
5. Pedro Alonso (AR) def. Nikola Samardzic (LSU) 4-6, 6-4, 10-6
6. Alex Reco (AR) def. Agie Moreno (LSU) 4-6, 6-2, 6-1
Doubles Results – Order of finish (2,3)
1. Gabor Csonka/Julian Saborio (LSU) vs. Jose Salazar/Josh Howard-Tripp (AR) 6-5, unfinished
2. Oscar Mesquida/Adam Sanjurjo (AR) def. Rafael Wagner/Agie Moreno (LSU) 6-3
3. Alex Reco/Pedro Alonso (AR) def. Shane Monroe/Stewart Block (LSU) 7-5
Razorbacks open series with USC getting shutout
FAYETTEVILLE — A Luke Bonfield homer coupled with another strong outing from pitcher Blaine Knight helped fifth-ranked Arkansas to a 4-0 shutout of USC on Friday night in Baum Stadium to open the three-game series.
Arkansas (8-2) has won three in a row since coming home from its San Diego road trip and remains undefeated in Baum Stadium this year at 6-0. The loss for USC (7-2) breaks a seven game win streak it had coming into the game as the Hog pitchers handed the Trojans their first shutout of the season.
Bonfield’s homer came in the first inning, a two-run blast that was his second of the year, but turned out to be his only hit of the game. As a team, Arkansas scattered eight hits, six off USC starting pitcher Chris Clark. Seven different Razorbacks recorded at least one hit in the game, but it was Grant Koch who came away with the only multi-hit performance of the day, his first of the year.
On the mound, Knight wasn’t as nearly as dominant as he had shown in recent outings, but was able to work around nine baserunners in six innings to not give up any runs and only allow one walk with four strikeouts on 98 pitches. The win moves his record to 2-0 and drops his ERA to 0.53, his lowest after his first three starts in his career.
Freshman Jackson Rutledge came in to pitch the seventh and shut the door on the Trojans, picking up his first collegiate save. Rutledge gave up one hit over three innings and struck out one on 43 pitches.
Moments That Mattered
Arkansas puts runs on the board in the first inning for the fourth time this year after Bonfield unloaded an 0-1 pitch that was up over the plate and sent into the Hog Pen, giving the Razorbacks a 2-0 lead. Junior Jax Biggers had set the table three batters earlier with a lead-off single and then a steal of second.
With Bonfield’s long ball, Arkansas has hit 16 home runs this year, one more than it had through the first 10 games of the 2017 season.
With the two-run cushion, Knight settled in to throw five more shutout innings as he allowed just one runner to reach third base throughout the rest of his outing. Besides giving up the lone run in the second inning against Cal Poly last week, Knight has thrown scoreless frames in 16 of his 17 innings this year and has built up a 3.75 strikeout-to-walk ratio.
The Razorbacks added two more runs in the fifth after freshman Heston Kjerstad knocked an RBI single through the right side, scoring Biggers. In the next at-bat, Bonfield hit a groundball that was deep enough in the hole at short to score Cole from third, making it 4-0 Arkansas.
Kjerstad has at least one RBI in eight of 10 games this year and continues to lead the team with a .424 average and 12 RBIs.
Razorback Quotables
“I thought Blaine Knight didn’t have his command today and USC did a great job laying off a lot of pitches and getting his pitch count up. That’s a big part of their offense. They have an older team and a lot of guys that have great feel at the plate. Defensively, we made some good plays. They hit some balls right at us. On the offensive end, we only struck out a couple times. Their starter didn’t strike us out. We found a way to win, bottom line. I thought Jackson Rutledge came in and did exactly what we wanted him to do and that’s throw the ball over the plate with a little velocity.” – Head coach Dave Van Horn on the shutout over USC
“With our lineup, we had a lot of left-handed hitters. With Luke (Bonfield), it was good to see him leave a slider, but he got one he liked. It was a fastball or a cutter that was up in the zone. I didn’t know if it was going to get out of the park, but I knew it was going to get over the outfielder’s head and score a run. It was nice to see it get out. He’s a veteran in the middle of the lineup. You need that presence in there, especially with a right-handed hitter when you have all the lefties. It’s nice to have one that can pick up some RBIs.” – Head coach Dave Van Horn on Luke Bonfield’s three-RBI day
“In the fifth inning I kind of figured out what I had to do to throw more consistent strikes. My arm felt good, my body felt good. I figured I could get one more out of it. I just finally linked everything up. I told them ‘Hey, give me one more.’ They didn’t fight me too bad on it and sent me back out and it worked out.” – Blaine Knight on battling a tough USC lineup
“I knew he was a sinkerball pitcher, so I was kind of looking for something up over the plate. I got it and I was able to put a good swing on it and catch a barrel.” – Luke Bonfield on his first inning home run
“That was huge. To be able to come back, pump strikes, and be able to have some success as compared to last time, that was big for me. I’m happy with the way it went.” – Jackson Rutledge on rebounding from last week
Up Next
The Razorbacks continue their series with USC on Saturday with game two’s first pitch at 2 p.m. at Baum Stadium. The game will be televised on SEC Network+.
