Aggies thump Hogs in final home game of season
FAYETTEVILLE — Arkansas dropped its final home game of the season, 104-60, to No. 17 Texas A&M in Bud Walton Arena on Thursday.
The Razorbacks’ (12-16, 3-12 SEC) opening minutes forecasted a good game with the teams matching each other in pace and score.
But the Aggies (21-8, 10-5 SEC) sprinted out of the media timeout with an 8-0 run that Arkansas struggled to overcome for the rest of the contest.
The Razorbacks had three players in double figures paced by a 15-point effort from sophomore Jailyn Mason. Junior Malica Monk added 13 points and graduate student Devin Cosper dropped in 10 points in her final home game.
The Aggies had a significant height advantage and it show in a couple of key statistical areas as Arkansas was outrebounded 48-28 and gave up 44 points in the paint.
Notes
• Jailyn Mason scored 13 points in the first half. She finished with 15 points and has scored in double figures in 18 games this season and 28 games in her career.
• Texas A&M’s 55 first half points is the most given up in the opening frame this season.
• Malica Monk finished with 13 points, her 26th game of the year in double figures.
• Devin Cosper picked up her 18th game in double figures this season finishing with 10 points.
Up Next
The Razorbacks travel to Vanderbilt for the final game of the regular season on Sunday at 2 p.m. The game is available online on the SECN+.
Road gets tougher for Hogs at Tony Gwynn Invitational
SAN DIEGO, Calif. — After coming out on the winning side of a 1-0 pitchers’ duel against Arizona on Wednesday night, third-ranked Arkansas remains undefeated at 4-0 as it goes into the weekend’s Tony Gwynn Legacy Tournament.
The Razorbacks will face the likes of Cal Poly, San Diego State, and San Diego over the next three days.
Cal Poly will be Arkansas’ first opponent on Friday with first pitch at 3 p.m., followed by San Diego State on Saturday at 8 p.m.
The University of San Diego will be the Hogs’ final opponent on Sunday with first pitch at Noon. Both games against SDSU and USD will be played at each respective team’s home park.
Follow Live
All games will be televised regionally on Cox Sports Television with Brett Dolan (PXP) and Troy Eklund (Analyst) calling the action. Scott Inman (PXP) will have the radio call on the IMG Sports Network. COX SPORTS CHANNEL FINDER
Probable Starters
Fri. | 3 p.m. | (ARK) RHP Blaine Knight (1-0, 0.00 ERA, 4 SO, 2 BB) vs. (CP) RHP Michael Clark (0-0, 5.40 ERA, 3 SO, 2 BB)
Sat. | 8 p.m. | (ARK) RHP Isaiah Campbell (1-0, 2.25 ERA, 7 SO, 2 BB) vs. (SDSU) RHP Harrison Pyatt (0-0, 4.15 ERA, 4 SO, 1 BB)
Sun, | Noon | (ARK) TBA vs. (USD) TBA
Murphy And Kjerstad Will Hogs Past Wildcats — Playing a neutral site game as part of a warmup to the Tony Gwynn Legacy Tournament, Arkansas was able to gut out a 1-0 victory over PAC-12 power Arizona Wednesday night.
Junior pitcher Kacey Murphy showed no drop off from his strong 2017 postseason by throwing six scoreless innings and totaling six strikeouts on 73 pitches.
At the plate, freshman Heston Kjerstad continues to show he belongs by hitting the solo home run that provided the victory. Kjerstad has at least one hit in all four games this year and only one strikeout in 12 at-bats.
Van Horn Closing In On 600 Wins At Arkansas — With Wednesday’s win over Arizona, Arkansas coach Dave Van Horn is now just one win away from 600 as the head Hog.
Van Horn entered 2018 with the third-most wins by a current head coach in the SEC at their current school. With another win, Van Horn will join Vanderbilt’s Tim Corbin and Ole Miss’ Mike Bianco as the only coaches in the conference with 600 or more wins at their current institution.
Overall, Van Horn has 970 wins as a Division I head coach, good for eighth-most among all active coaches.
Knight Makes Third-Straight Opening Weekend Start — For the third-straight season, Bryant, Arkansas native Blaine Knight was part of Arkansas’ starting rotation for the first series of the year.
Knight held Bucknell hitless over five innings in a 14-2 victory. Combined in his three opening weekend starts, Knight has struck out 12 batters in 14 innings, while allowing just two runs and walking two batters.
After last week’s slate of games, Knight was the only starting pitcher in the SEC to not give up a single hit during their outing.
Hogs Plate 49 Runs On Bucknell — Arkansas cruised to a sweep over Bucknell on opening weekend. While the the three wins were impressive enough, it was the amount of runs that was astounding.
Forty-nine Razorback runs crossed the plate combined over the three games including 32 in Saturday’s game two. The 49 runs is the most in the first three games of of a season since 1997.
The sweep is the team’s fifth-straight dating back to 2014, while the 32 runs on Saturday was just one less than the school record for runs scored in a single-game (1984).
Soooieville Sluggers Year Two? — In 2017, Arkansas crushed an SEC-best 83 home runs. It was the most home runs by a Razorback team since 2010.
The Hogs picked up where they left off during opening weekend last week, hitting eight homers, including six in Saturday’s 32-4 victory over Bucknell.
Arkansas currently leads all SEC teams in home runs and is tops in the nation after week one.
Welcome Back Guys! — Multiple Razorbacks who were injured for most of 2017 made their returns last week including: pitchers Isaiah Campbell (bone spurs), Keaton McKinney (elbow), Cody Scroggins (elbow), and infielder Hunter Wilson (leg).
Campbell and McKinney were both part of the starting rotation, combining for six innings and nine strikeouts.
Campbell was able to earn the game two win, while McKinney was making his first competitive appearance since the 2016 season.
Anderson previews Tide matchup on Saturday
Arkansas coach Mike Anderson met with the media Thursday and talked about the matchup with another one of the league’s top teams on the road.
Hogs home for showdowns against Kansas, Purdue
FAYETTEVILLE — After a week without matches, Arkansas will return to George M. Billingsley Tennis Center this weekend to host No.15 Kansas and Purdue.
The Razorbacks (3-4) will face the Jayhawks (4-2) at 5 p.m. CT Friday and then the Boilermakers (5-3) at 11 a.m. CT Sunday.
Promotions
Admission is free. All matches will feature complimentary pizza, Keurig products, popcorn and Pepsi soft drinks for all fans in attendance.
Live Coverage
Fans can follow both matches through live scoring at RazorbackStats.com.
Previous Matches
Kansas edged Arkansas 4-3 earlier this season at ITA Kick-Off Weekend on Jan. 27. Last season, the Razorbacks beat Purdue 6-1 in West Lafayette, Indiana.
Series History
Arkansas leads the overall series against Kansas 12-9, but Purdue owns a 3-2 advantage against the Razorbacks.
In The Rankings
Junior Ana Oparenovic leads the way for Arkansas in singles at No. 76. In doubles, Oparenovic and freshman Tatum Rice are ranked No. 36, while Oparenovic is also ranked No. 55 with senior Mia Jurasic.
Notables
Arkansas has won the doubles point in each of its five matches this season … In singles, Pairone enters the weekend with a team-best 5-0 record, playing at the No. 2, 3 and 4 positions this season … Oparenovic and Rice are a team-best 6-0 in doubles with each win coming at the top spot.
