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Neighbors on playing Vanderbilt again in SEC Tourney

ESPN Arkansas News Services
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VIDEO FROM KNWA

FAYETTEVILLE — Arkansas opens play at the SEC Tournament with a familiar foe in Vanderbilt on Wednesday at 11 a.m. in Nashville, Tennessee.

The Razorbacks (12-17, 3-13 SEC) and Commodores (7-23, 3-13 SEC) faced each other in the regular season finale on Sunday with Vanderbilt edging Arkansas, 78-73, on its home court.

The meeting moves across town to Bridgestone Arena and is game one of the tournament. The winner moves on to face Texas A&M on Thursday.

The game will air live on the SEC Network and online at WatchESPN.com.

The First Meeting

Arkansas fell just short of the win in the first meeting after Vanderbilt mounted a second half comeback. A good start by Arkansas allowed the Razorbacks to take the lead into the locker room at the break.

Vanderbilt put together a strong second half behind a career night for Kayla Overbeck.

The Razorbacks got a great effort from junior Malica Monk with 17 points as one of four players in double figures for Arkansas. Monk is in the midst of a career season.

The North Little Rock native has scored in double figures in 27 of 29 games and she has posted single-season personal bests in nearly every statistical category.

The Rematch
Arkansas coach Mike Neighbors and the Razorbacks are excited about the rematch on Wednesday.

The staff plans to add in a few wrinkles both offensively and defensively in an effort win its SEC Tournament first-round game.

Bud Light Morning Rush Podcast: Monday

ESPN Arkansas News Services
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Bud Light Morning Rush Podcast: Monday

Hogs capture 12th straight SEC championship

ESPN Arkansas News Services
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COLLEGE STATION, Texas — Arkansas won its 12th-consecutive SEC title with a victory at the indoor league championships on Sunday evening in College Station.

The Razorbacks amassed 108 points over the two-day competition, propelled to success by a pair of individual conference champions and several other top-eight finishers.

Arkansas has now won eight SEC indoor titles since joining the conference in 1991.

Senior Nikki Hiltz won Arkansas’ second gold medal of the weekend, placing first in the mile in 4 minutes, 34.37 seconds.

Hiltz paced herself off Mississippi State senior Rhianwhedd Price-Weimer for the first seven laps eventually overtaking Price-Weimer with 200 meters to go.

The Oregon transfer was followed by fellow Razorback milers Carina Viljoen (third), Maddy Reed (fifth) and Sydney Brown (sixth). The quartet combined to score 23 points towards Arkansas’ teams score.

Prior to the mile Kingston, Jamaica native Janeek Brown opened the day in phenomenal fashion for the Razorbacks, racing to a silver medal in the 60-meter hurdles.

Brown crossed the finish line in a PR of 8.04, setting a new program record and lifting herself up to No. 6 in the NCAA.

The Arkansas newcomer, now the fastest-freshman hurdler in the country was joined inside the top eight by Payton Chadwick (fourth) and Taliyah Brooks (seventh).

The Razorbacks received more points off the heels of sophomore Taylor Werner in the 5,000-meter run, following her third-place finish in the event.

Werner was joined inside the top-eight by fellow sophomore Rachel Nichwitz who finished in fifth with a personal best of 16:39.90.

Arkansas distance medley relay team of Carina Viljoen, Sydney Hammit, Kailee Sawyer and Devin Clark collectively picked up eight points for the Razorbacks, finishing in second place.

The last points of the weekend came right after DMR secured by 4-x-400-meter relay team of Taliyah Brooks, Jada Baylark, Kiara Parker and Morgan Burks-Magee who finished in seventh place in 3:36.27.

Notables:

• Short sprint duo Jada Baylark and Kiara combined to add four points to the team total, finishing sixth and eighth, respectively in the 60.

• Freshman Morgan Burks-Magee scored five points for Arkansas as the fourth-place finisher in the 400.

SEC Scorers (A-Z):

  • Taliyah Brooks (Pentathlon – 1st, 60mh – 7th, 4-x-400 – 7th): 12.5 points
  • Jada Baylark (60m – 6th, 4-x-400 – 7th): 3.5 points
  • Janeek Brown (60mH – 2nd): 8 points
  • Sydney Brown (Mile – 6th): 3 points
  • Morgan Burks-Magee (400m – 4th, 4-x-400 – 7th): 5.5 points
  • Payton Chadwick (60mh – 4th): 5 points
  • Devin Clark (3K – 5th, DMR – 2nd): 6 points
  • Desiree Freier (Pole Vault – 5th): 4 points
  • Sydney Hammit (DMR – 2nd): 2 points
  • Nikki Hiltz (Mile – 1st): 10 points
  • Tori Hoggard (Pole Vault – 2nd)
  • Lexi Jacobus (Pole Vault – 3rd)
  • Rachel Nichwitz (3K – 6th, 5K – 5th): 7 points
  • Kiara Parker (60m – 8th): 1 point
  • Ellie Ramos-Mata (Pole Vault – 8th)
  • Maddy Reed (Mile – 5th): 4 points
  • Kailee Sawyer (DMR – 2nd): 2 points
  • Carina Viljoen (Mile – 3rd, DMR – 2nd): 8 points
  • Taylor Werner (3K – 4th, 5K – 3rd): 11 points

 Up Next

The Razorbacks will break from action next weekend, returning to College Station March 9-10 for the 2018 NCAA Indoor Track and Field Championships.

SEC Indoor Championships
Gilliam Indoor Track Stadium
Feb. 25, 2018

Team Standings
1.  Arkansas – 108
2. Georgia – 84.5
3. Kentucky – 74
4. LSU – 63
5. Texas A&M – 62
6. Florida – 61
7. Ole Miss – 42
8. Alabama – 37
9. Missouri – 35.5
10. Mississippi State – 31
11. Tennessee – 21
12. South Carolina- 17
13. Auburn- 16
14. Vanderbilt- 11

60 Meters Finals
6. Jada Baylark – 7.24
8. Kiara Parker – 7.30

400 Meters Finals
4. Morgan Burks-Magee – 52.42

Mile Finals
1. Nikki Hiltz – 4:34.37
3. Carina Viljoen – 4:43.35
5. Maddy Reed – 4:47.55
6. Sydney Brown – 4:48.65

5,000 Meters
3. Taylor Werner – 16:35.34
5. Rachel Nichwitz – 16:39.90
11.Sydney Brown – 17:04.54
12. Rachel Nichwitz – 17:07.68

60 Meter Hurdles Finals
2. Janeek Brown – 8.04
4. Payton Chadwick – 8.11
7. Taliyah Brooks – 8.22

Distance Medley Relay
2. Arkansas A: Viljoen, Hammit, Sawyer, Clark – 11:14.38

4-x-400 Meter Relay
7. Arkansas A: Brooks, Baylark, Parker, Burks-Magee – 3:36.27

High Jump
Carmen Sitz – NH

Arkansas takes second at SEC Championships behind Tide

ESPN Arkansas News Services
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COLLEGE STATION, Texas — Entering its final day of competition at the 2018 SEC Championships in fourth, No. 3 Arkansas surged to a second-place finish, helped along by two event champions and a number of additional podium finishers.

Arkansas finished the weekend with a final score of 88, edged about by Alabama by a two-point margin.

Fifteen-time All-American Kenzo Cotton was the first Razorback to podium on Sunday afternoon, etching his name in the program and conference record books as the first Hog to ever win the 60-meter dash at the SEC indoor championships.

Cotton matched his season best, clocking 6.59 to earn a gold medal and contribute 10 points to the team total.

Cotton returned just as dominant in the 200 final, running a personal best of 20.61 to score eight more points for Arkansas and earn a silver medal.

His 200-meter performance moved him up from No. 4 to No. 3 in program history.

Cotton was named the SEC Cliff Harper Trophy award winner as the meet’s top individual scorer.

Arkansas junior Gabe Moore, earned a silver medal for his efforts in the heptathlon, finishing with a two-day total of 5,650 points.

Following a solid day one effort, Moore opened day two forcefully, placing first in the hept. 60-meter hurdles with 8.14.

He closed out the day with a pair of top-five finishes in the pole vault and 1,000-meter run, capping the event a mere 66 points behind the top finisher.

Razorback distance medley relay team of Jack Bruce, John Winn, Chase Pareti and Cameron Griffith won Arkansas’ third gold of the weekend, racing to a first-place finish in 9:37.01.

Returning from their night of success in the 3,000 the team was led off by Bruce who ran 1,200 meters and anchored by Griffith who ran 1,600 meters.

Griffith split a 3:59.98 on his leg of the relay, running down Robert Domanic of Ole Miss to seal the deal for the Hogs.

The weekend came to a close following an exciting 4-x-400-meter relay which saw team of Rhayko Schwartz, Obi Igbokwe, Jamarco Stephen and Kemar Mowat finish in third-place off a season best performance of 3:04.53.

The performance qualified the quartet for the national championships, positioning the Hogs as the fifth-fastest team in the NCAA.

Notables:

• Larry Donald scored the first points of the day for Arkansas, placing fifth in the 60-meter hurdles in 7.84.

• Kyle Hosting added two points to Arkansas’ team total off a seventh-place finish in the mile.

• Kieran Taylor raced to an eighth-place finish in the 800 in his SEC debut, contributing one point to team’s total.

• Laquan Nairn and Rubin Owens combined to produce nine points for Arkansas in the triple jump, placing fourth and fifth, respectively.

SEC Scorers (A-Z):

• Jack Bruce (3K – 2nd , DMR – 1st): 10.5 points
• Kenzo Cotton (60m – 1st, 200m – 2nd): 18 points
• Larry Donald (60m – 5th): 4 points
• Roy Ejiakuekwu (200m – 8th): 8 points
• Cameron Griffith (3K – 1st , DMR – 1st): 12.5 points
• Kyle Hosting (Mile – 7th): 2 points
• Obi Igbokwe (400m – 5th, 4-x-400 – 3rd): 5.5 points
• Kyle Levermore (3K – 8th): 1 point
• Gabe Moore (Heptathlon – 2nd): 8 points
• Kemar Mowatt (400m – 8th, 4-x-400 – 3rd): 2.5 points
• Laquan Nairn (Triple Jump – 4th): 5 points
• Rubin Owens (Triple Jump – 5th): 4 points
• Chase Pareti (DMR – 1st): 2.5 points
• Jah-Nhai Perinchief (High Jump – 7th)
• Harrison Schrage (Long Jump – 6th): 3 points
• Rhayko Schwartz (4-x-400 – 3rd: 1.5 points
• Jamarco Stephen (4-x-400 – 3rd): 1.5 points
• Kieran Taylor (800m – 8th): 1 point
• John Winn (DMR – 1st): 2.5 points

Up Next

The Razorbacks will break from action next weekend, returning to College Station March 9-10 for the 2018 NCAA Indoor Track and Field Championships.

SEC Indoor Championships
Gilliam Indoor Track Stadium
Feb. 25, 2018

Team Standings
1. Alabama – 90
2. ARKANSAS – 88
3. Florida – 83.5
4. Texas A&M – 75.5
5. Georgia – 71
6. Kentucky – 45
7. Tennessee – 43
8. Auburn – 36
T9. South Carolina – 34
T9. Ole Miss – 34
11. LSU – 30
12. Mississippi State – 20
13. Missouri – 13

60 Meters Finals
1. Kenzo Cotton – 6.59

200 Meter Finals
2. Kenzo Cotton – 20.61
8. Roy Ejiakuekwu – 21.22

400 Meters Finals
5. Obi Igbokwe – 46.21
8. Kemar Mowatt – 46.74

800 Meters Finals
8. Kieran Taylor – 1:53.11

Mile Finals
7. Kyle Hosting – 4:10.75
9. Ethan Moehn – 4:13.25

5,000 Meters
10. Kyle Levermore – 14:32.95

60 Meter Hurdles Finals
5. Larry Donald – 7.84
Distance Medley Relay
1. Arkansas A: Bruce, Winn, Pareti, Griffith – 9:37.01

4-x-400-Meter Relay
3. Arkansas A: Schwartz, Igbokwe, Stephen, Mowatt – 3:04.53

Triple Jump
4. Laquan Nairn – 15.57m/51-1
5. Rubin Owens – 15.35m/50-4½

Shot Put
13. Sam Kempka – 17.12m/56-2

Heptathlon
2. Gabe Moore – 5,650 pts.
(3) 60 Meters – 7.03, 872 pts.
(3) Long Jump – 7.04m/23-1 1/4, 823 pts.
(4) Shot Put – 13.83m/45-4 1/2, 718 pts.
(5) High Jump – 1.88m/6-2, 696 pts.
(1) 60-Meter Hurdles – 8.14, 947 pts.
(5) Pole Vault – 4.55m/14-11, 775 pts.
(5) 1,000 Meters – 2:44.93, 819 pts.

Morris showing he is what was expected in recruiting

Andy Hodges
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When Arkansas turned to Chad Morris back in December, nobody questioned his coaching abilities.

After all, he had coached a record-setting offense at Clemson and everyone from Dabo Swinney to Gus Malzahn praised his coaching abilities.

The skeptics from the Great Unwashed of the bipolar Razorback fan base wondered if he could recruit at the SEC level. They used his classes at SMU as an example, which was ridiculous.

In just over two weeks at Arkansas he put together a better recruiting class than the one he had in Dallas. As of now, the Hogs ended up with the No. 49 class in the 247Sports.com composite, which is startling, considering the number of scholarships available and the shape it was left in by the previous staff.

With Junior Day happening the past two weeks, Morris has been bringing in some big names. No, the Hogs won’t get them all because nobody ever does.

But they did get a commitment over the weekend from a defensive tackle from Memphis, who chose Arkansas over offers from Tennessee, Clemson, Georgia, Auburn, Louisville, Ole Miss, Mississippi State and others, according to published reports from the recruiting guys.

Morris is already getting the Hogs into the mix with the big boys.

It is a much more aggressive approach to recruiting than we saw under the previous coaching regime.

It’s just a different mindset.

Yes, they are getting some big-time players to Fayetteville for a visit. That doesn’t mean they’ll get them all to sign, but the guess is they’ll get some of them.

Especially with in-state players.

The feeling is players in Arkansas that have the opportunity to come but don’t, well, good luck, but you’re missing out on something that hasn’t been seen around here in awhile.

With the current sincere attempts at making Little Rock and everything below the River Valley be part of a Razorback Nation that, quite frankly, hasn’t really existed in their lifetimes.

Oh, there were some good years with Bobby Petrino and several with Houston Nutt, but there was never the overall excitement you saw in earlier years. You’d probably have to be over 40 to really understand what I’m talking about there.

In the spring of 1978, there was a parade in downtown Little Rock for the Orange Bowl-winning team, a huge crowd at War Memorial for the second spring game … and it got stormed out when a serious thunderstorm and tornado watches caused Lou Holtz to just say, “forget it,” and it was cancelled.

There’s no need for a parade before the spring game this year. But it’s a good guess the crowd will be large. Shoot, there may even be tailgating before the game. It wouldn’t be totally shocking if the entire coaching staff and Hunter Yurachek made the tailgate rounds.

And that is something that has never been seen at a spring game that I’m aware of.

Spring practice starts this week in Fayetteville and it will be a busy one. There’s basketball and five baseball games this coming week.

And, with Morris’ open invitation to high school coaches, more recruiting.

Always recruiting.

Which could pay huge dividends much, much faster than even the most enthusiastic fans could image.

Hogs fall to Vandy, but play again in SEC Tournament

ESPN Arkansas News Services
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NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Arkansas dropped its final regular season game at Vanderbilt on Sunday and must face the Commodores in a rematch in round one of the SEC Tournament in Nashville on Wednesday.

Arkansas’ (12-17, 3-13) strong start to the game was undercut by a second half surge by Vanderbilt (7-23, 3-13) on their home court on Senior Day.

The Razorbacks held a 36-32 lead at the half but were outscored 46-37 in the final 20 minutes.

Four players scored in double figures for Arkansas paced by a 17-point effort from junior Malica Monk.

The North Little Rock native did most of her work in the second half scoring 14 of her 17 points in the final 20 minutes. She had a 10-point fourth quarter for Arkansas.

Kiara Williams added 15 points followed by 14 points from Jailyn Mason and 13 points from graduate student Devin Cosper.

The Razorbacks held a six-point lead after the first half, but Vanderbilt went on a 7-0 run to open the third period and take the lead. It was a back-and-fourth battle from that point on with four ties and 10 lead changes in the third and fourth quarters.

Monk gave Arkansas its final tie hitting a 3-pointer at the 7:33 mark of the fourth quarter. That basket knotted the game at 56 all. Vanderbilt answered with a 3-pointer of their own and would never trail again in the game.

Notes

• Arkansas shot 44% in the first half. That is the best since the Razorbacks defeated Alabama in Tuscaloosa on Feb. 4. Arkansas shot 45% in that game.

• Arkansas led 36-32 at the half. It is the first time since the Alabama game (Feb. 4) that the Razorbacks have led at the break and the 10th time all season. Arkansas is 9-1 when leading at the half.

• Kiara Williams was the first Razorback in double figures. She has scored in double figures 11 times this season.

• Malica Monk (17) has scored in double figures in 27-of-29 games while Devin Cosper (13) and Jailyn Mason (14) have scored double figures in 19 games this year.

Up Next

Arkansas returns to Nashville on Tuesday taking on Vanderbilt in game one of the SEC Tournament on Wednesday at 11 a.m. in Bridgestone Arena.

Arkansas finishes in ‘Last Chance’ meet in Missouri

ESPN Arkansas News Services
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COLUMBIA, Mo. — Action at the NCAA Last Chance meet came to a conclusion here Sunday night for Arkansas.

In Sunday’s prelims, seniors Chelsea Tatlow and Jessie Garrison, along with junior Marlena Pigliacampi competed in the 200 butterfly.

Tatlow touched in the fastest time, clocking a 1:57.37. In the final, Tatlow touched first, narrowly missing her season best (1:56.42) that she set Saturday, finishing in 1:56.46.

Garrison recorded the third-fastest time in prelims, touching in 1:59.49. In the finals, Garrison improved that time to 1:57.42, .01 seconds off her personal best.

Pigliacampi touched fifth in prelims in 2:00.26 and finished in 2:00.37 in finals.

After setting a personal best (1:54.67) in the 200 backstroke time trials yesterday, Chloe Hannam touched first in prelims in 1:55.02.

In the finals, Hannam improved that time, but did not quite beat her personal best, finishing second in 1:54.78.

In a time trial of the 100 breast, junior Madison Strathman touched in 1:01.87, after recording a personal-best 1:01.30 a day ago.

Sophomore Ayumi Macias swam a trial time of 16:27.77 in the 1650 free, 5.84 seconds more than her season best.

After swimming a heat of 55.09 and 54.37 yesterday in the 100 fly, Olivia Weekly touched in 53.02 in a time trial, just .01 seconds shy of tying her personal best.

Hogs fail to hold lead in final game at ‘Tony Gwynn’

ESPN Arkansas News Services
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SAN DIEGO, Calif. — After jumping out to a three-run lead in the second inning Sunday morning against San Diego, third-ranked Arkansas ended up playing catch-up in the final four innings as errors and missed opportunities at the plate proved costly with the Toreros defeating the Razorbacks, 7-6, on the final day of the Tony Gwynn Legacy.

Arkansas (5-2) looked to be in control early on, scoring three times on the backs of an RBI single from Casey Opitz and a two-RBI double by Jax Biggers.

However, the Hogs were unable to tack on any more as San Diego starting pitcher Nick Sprengel found his control to escape the second inning with the bases loaded and pitch lights out for two more innings.

USD pulled within one in the third after a Tyler Herburger home run to right-centerfield and then took a big 7-3 lead in the fifth after Arkansas, once again, fell victim to the error bug.

A Kevin Collard single to right field eventually led to two runs scoring on two separate throwing errors from the Arkansas defense.

It was the third straight game Arkansas suffered two or more errors in a game.

The Hogs nearly made a great comeback after scoring once in the seventh on an Erc Cole single to bring in Opitz and then twice in the eighth on a two-RBI bloop single to center by pinch hitter Grant Koch.

Unfortunately, the Hogs went down in order in the ninth to fall to the Toreros, 7-6.

Opitz and Cole finished the game with two hits each.

For Opitz, he was making his first collegiate start at catcher and responded well, going 2-for-3 at the plate with two runs scored and an RBI. As for Cole, Sunday marked his third multi-hit game of the season, which leads all Razorbacks.

On the mound, junior right-hander Barrett Loseke got the start and pitched well for two innings before running into trouble in the third after the home run by Herburger.

Sophomore Evan Lee, who followed Loseke, ended up taking the loss on Sunday after giving up two earned runs in 1.1 innings with one walk and one strikeout.

Sophomore Jacob Kostyshock pitched the final innings and gave his team a chance with three scoreless innings, three hits allowed, and three strikeouts on 39 pitches.

As a team, Arkansas finishes the week in San Diego with a 2-2 record, winning games over Arizona and San Diego State.

The pitching staff had a stellar week, combining for a 2.31 ERA  with just nine earned runs allowed over 35 innings and 39 strikeouts.

Opposing teams batted just .202 against the Arkansas hurlers over the last four games.

Up Next
Arkansas returns to Baum Stadium for a five-game stretch over five days starting on Wednesday against Dayton with first pitch at 3 p.m. The Flyers and Razorbacks will meet again on Thursday to finish the two-game series and it will also start at 3 p.m. Both games will be televised online on SEC Network+ via the Watch ESPN app and WatchESPN.com.

Hogs drop close match to Purdue on Sunday, 4-3

ESPN Arkansas News Services
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FAYETTEVILLE — Arkansas fell in a 4-3 decision to Purdue on Sunday at George M. Billingsley Tennis Center.

The Razorbacks (4-5) started strong, winning the doubles point and the first two singles matches for a 3-0 lead, but the Boilermakers (6-4) stormed back with wins at the bottom four spots to earn the overall match victory.

In doubles, the No. 36 ranked tandem of junior Ana Oparenovic and freshman Tatum Rice clinched the point with a 6-4 win at No. 1, improving to 8-0 this season.

Arkansas carried that momentum into singles play, winning the first two matches. No. 76 Oparenovic was first with a 6-3, 6-0 win at No. 2. Sophomore standout Giulia Pairone was next, besting her opponent 6-2, 7-5 at the top spot to improve to 7-0 on the season.

The Boilermakers then began their furious rally, getting a win in three sets at No. 4, a double-tiebreaker victory at No. 5, another three-set win at No.3, and the clinching victory at No. 6.

Up Next
Arkansas will open SEC play March 2 when it takes on Missouri at 4 p.m. CT in Columbia.

Diaz homers in finale loss against McNeese in Florida

ESPN Arkansas News Services
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MADEIRA BEACH, Fla. — Junior Ashley Diaz hit her second home of the season and was one of three Razorbacks to tally two hits Sunday, but Arkansas dropped a 6-5 decision to McNeese in the team’s finale at the Madeira Beach Invitational.

Freshmen Hannah McEwen and Linnie Malkin each had a pair of hits and drove in a run.

With the setback, Arkansas stands at 9-1 through the first 10 games of the 2018 campaign.

McNeese was the Razorbacks’ third opponent of the season that played in last year’s NCAA Tournament.

The team’s 9-0 start to the season established the best start in program history.

Up Next
After two weekends on the road to start the season, the Razorbacks will play their next six games at Bogle Park beginning with Wednesday’s game against Missouri State.

First pitch of the midweek matchup is scheduled for 5 p.m. Arkansas is also set to host the Razorback Invitational next weekend.

Final: McNeese 6, Arkansas 5 | Box Score

After a scoreless first inning, Diaz put the Razorbacks on the board with a two-run shot to left field in the top of the second.

Malkin led off the inning with a walk and scored on the big fly. Diaz led the team with a .583 batting average (7-for-12) over the five-game, three-day event.

Arkansas pushed it lead to 3-0 with an unearned run in the third inning.

Sophomore Autumn Storms got the start and retired nine of the first 10 hitters she faced, allowing just a single the first time through the order.

With the bases loaded in the top of the fourth, McEwen registered an RBI infield single to plate Arkansas’ fourth run. The San Diego, Calif., native posted 11 hits including two home runs with 10 RBI in Madeira Beach.

Behind the defense’s third double play of the weekend, Storms faced just one over the minimum through four innings.

Malkin drove in the Razorbacks’ fifth run of the game with an RBI single to left field. Freshman Kayla Green doubled down the line in left to start the inning.

Pinch runner Keely Edwards moved up to third on a fly out and trotted home on the Malkin base knock. Malkin has at least one hit in seven of nine games played this season with three multi-hit showings.

McNeese (13-3) broke through with a pair of runs in the fifth.

With runners at the corners, the runner at first stole second on a throw cut off by Haydi Bugarin who threw back to the plate to get the runner from third trying to score. The tag was applied but the would-be third out was ruled obstruction and the runner was called safe. McNeese added a second run with a double to left.

Mary Haff came in to relieve Storms and loaded the bases after two free passes but the freshman got out of the jam with a pop up in front of the plate gloved by Green.

After a 1-2-3 sixth inning for Haff including two strikeouts, McNeese put together a rally in the seventh. The game was tied after two home runs off Haff which brought Storms back in the game.

The Cowgirls went on to load the bases and complete the rally with a single to right field that plated the game-winning run.

Arkansas rebounds at ‘Tony Gwynn’ with 5-2 win

Andy Hodges
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Arkansas’ 5-2 win over San Diego State on Saturday night didn’t come in a way fans should expect to see very often.

In reality, the Aztecs blew the game as much as the Razorbacks won it.

The Hogs found hitting a struggle again in California. Something about balls not carrying in the streams of wind close to the ocean or somesuch.

Heading into the top of the ninth they were tied at 2-2, didn’t get a single hit and still put three runs on the board.

Dave Van Horn earned his 600th win as coach of the Razorbacks. He gets a $75,000 bonus, but it’s a good bet that wasn’t on his mind in a game where even he probably had to be shaking his head if he felt nobody was watching.

Arkansas won the game by drawing four walks, a hit by pitch, a sacrifice fly and an error. San Diego State may have thrown that last one in just to try and fill out the scoresheets with every possible screwup.

It happened when Casey Martin dropped down a sacrifice bunt just to move a runner to third, then the Aztecs sailed the throw past first base.

That opened the door for a sacrifice fly by Jax Biggers and a bases-loaded walk to freshman Heston Kjerstad leading to what amounted to insurance runs.

By then Matt Cronin had come on to relieve starter Isaiah Campbell and he wasn’t going to blow a three-run lead.

Cronin has retired 18 straight batters if you want to go back to Wednesday in the win over Arizona. He took over from Campbell with no outs in the sixth, then proceeded to ring up five strikeouts in four perfect innings.

The Hogs had three hits in the game. One was a mammoth home run by Eric Cole in the sixth (it might have been in a street at Baum Stadium).

Arkansas’ only other run came on a sacrifice fly by Dominic Fletcher after Biggers started the game with a double.

 

The Razorbacks’ four-game trip to San Diego wraps up Sunday against San Diego with first pitch schedule for noon locally. It will be televised by CST.

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