Hogs win two matches, advance to SEC championship

ESPN Arkansas News Services
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HOOVER, Ala. — Third-ranked Arkansas was on the course for more than 10 hours on Saturday, winning two matches and advancing to the SEC Match Play Championship.

The Razorbacks take on No. 10 South Carolina in the final day of the week-long event.

Action began on Wednesday with three rounds of stroke play with the top eight teams advancing to match play on Saturday.

The field of eight was cut to four with Arkansas advancing with a 3-2 win over Florida in the morning flight. The Razorbacks defeated Alabama, 3-1-1, in the afternoon to move on to the championship on Sunday.

South Carolina entered the day as the No. 1 seed after finishing first after three rounds of stroke play. They defeated Missouri and Georgia to reach the championship.

SEC individual runner-up Maria Fassi picked up two match play wins as did junior Kaylee Benton to lead Arkansas on the day. Alana Uriell and Cara Gorlei each won a match as well.

Inside The Ropes
When: Sunday, April 22, 2018
Time: 7 a.m. CT
Where: Legacy Course at Greystone Golf and Country Club
Who: No. 3 Arkansas vs. No. 10 South Carolina
Live Scoring: http://bit.ly/2HnANu4
Watch: The SEC Network – coverage begins at 8 a.m. CT

Semifinals – Arkansas def. Alabama, 3-1-1

The second match of the day saw the conditions and course change during the afternoon. Hot temperatures and relatively no wind gave way to cool and windy conditions with overcast skies as the round turned for the final nine holes.

Fassi was out of the gate first and she battled in a back-and-forth match with her opponent. The players turned all square and would remain even until the 14th hole of the afternoon.

Fassi grabbed the lead on the par-5 as she continued to play well on the long holes. She held on for the first win of the match for the Razorbacks.

Uriell and Benton both picked up wins in their matches to clinch the Razorback victory. Uriell opened fast taking the lead on the third hole of the round.

She would go up by as much as three before getting the 2 & 1 win.

Benton also took an early advantage winning the first hole of the match. She never surrendered the lead in the 3 & 2 win. Gorlei added some drama to the match on the 17th hole of her round.

All square to that point, Gorlei hit her tee shot into the bunker on No. 8. A great sand shot saw the junior hole out and take the lead. She moved on to the 18th hole, but her contest was suspended after the Razorbacks won its third match.

Maria Fassi (Ark.) def. Kristen Gillman (Ala.) 1-up
Cara Gorlei (Ark.) vs. Cheyenne Knight (Ala.) Susp.
Alana Uriell (Ark.) def. Lauren Stephenson (Ala.) 2 & 1
Kaylee Benton (Ark.) def. Lakareber Abe (Ala.) 3 & 2
Angelica Moresco (Ala.) def. Dylan Kim (Ark.) 1 & 3

Quarter Finals – Arkansas def. Florida 3-2

Arkansas opened the day at 7 a.m. from the 10th tee against the Gators. Uriell won the first hole of the day and Arkansas was in a good position as they made the turn with all five Razorbacks leading their matches.

Fassi turned with a three-hole advantage and won her 10th hole to go up four with eight holes to play. She gave a hole back but rallied on No. 6, her 15th hole, winning the hole and the match 4 & 3.

Benton was on Fassi’s heels with a 3 & 2 win. She turned with a one-hole advantage and stretched that to three holes winning Nos. 2 and 3. Benton held on to the lead, winning in 16 holes.

Arkansas lead 2-1 at that point needing just one more match to move on. It was Gorlei who clinched for the Razorbacks winning 2 & 1 in 17 holes.

Gorlei’s opponent hit her tee shot into the bunker on No. 8 (the 18th hole of the round). Gorlei followed with a long shot over a ridge. Her second shot was a 35-foot effort down a ridge to the green.

Gorlei’s opponent conceded the putt, needing to make her own 6-footer to win the hole. She missed, and Gorlei sealed the Razorback win.

Elin Esborn (Fla.) def. Alana Uriell (Ark.) 1-up
Dylan Kim (Ark.) vs. Marta Perez (Fla.) Susp.
Cara Gorlei (Ark.) def. Sierra Brooks (Fla.) 2 & 1
Kaylee Benton (Ark.) def. Addison Baggarly (Fla.) 3 & 2
Maria Fassi (Ark.) def. Taylor Tomlinson (Fla.) 4 & 3

Up Next

The Razorbacks move on to face South Carolina in the final. Ainhoa Olarra battled in a two-hole playoff with Fassi to win the SEC individual title on Friday.

Maria Fassi (Ark.) vs. Anita Uwadia (SC)
Cara Gorlei (Ark.) vs. Marion Veysseyre
Alana Uriell (Ark.) vs. Ana Pelaez
Kaylee Benton (Ark.) vs. Ainhoa Olarra
Dylan Kim (Ark.) vs. Lois Kaye Go (SC)

Arkansas concludes strong run at SEC Championship matches

ESPN Arkansas News Services
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KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — After winning three SEC Tournament matches for the first time in program history, Arkansas’ impressive run in the 2018 conference tournament ended Saturday.

In the semifinal match against No. 9 ranked and No. 2 seed Florida, the No. 11 seed Razorbacks tested and took the Gators down to the wire but fell short 4-2 at the Dr. Robert L. Barksdale Tennis Stadium.

“For our fourth intense match in four days at this elite level it was incredible to see our team compete better than we have all season long,” Razorbacks head coach Michael Hegarty said. “This was a championship level match and we give great credit to Florida, who we have tremendous respect for.”

Arkansas’ tournament run this week started with a 4-1 win over No. 14 seed Missouri. A 4-2 victory over No. 17 ranked and No. 6 seed Auburn was followed by a 4-2 win against No. 6 ranked and No. 3 seed South Carolina.

The Gators (18-7, 11-2 SEC) got on the board first Saturday, winning the doubles point by earning victories at the No. 2 and No. 3 positions.

The Razorbacks’ No. 40 ranked pair of Tatum Rice and Ana Oparenovic earned their highest-ranked win of the season at the top spot, a 6-4 decision over the Gators’ No. 13 ranked tandem of Anna Danilina and Victoria Emma.

Arkansas (10-16, 3-10 SEC) quickly leveled the match at 1-1 thanks to a 6-2, 6-3 win at No. 4 singles by Natsuho Arakawa over Victoria Emma.

Florida’s Peggy Porter outlasted Rice at No. 5, 4-6, 6-3, 6-1, before Mia Jurasic delivered a three-set win of her own at No. 3, 6-2, 0-6, 6-4, against No. 90 McCartney Kessler.

The Gators closed out the match and secured the victory with a pair of triumphs, including the clincher at the No. 2 position. Katie Kubicz beat Jackie Carr 6-4, 4-6, 6-4 at No. 6, and No. 47 Josie Kuhlman edged out No. 89 Oparenovic 7-5, 7-6 (7-2) at the second spot.

At the clinch, No. 50 Giulia Pairone led 1-0 in the third set against Florida’s No. 14 Danilina after winning a second-set tiebreaker.

Bruce posts NCAA top 20 time in 1,500 meters

ESPN Arkansas News Services
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AZUSA, Calif. — Jack Bruce highlighted action for Arkansas on the west coast as a group of three competed in the 1,500-meters Friday night.

Bruce, who entered the meet with a best time in the event of 3:41.45 from last years John McDonnell Invitational, finished the night with personal best of 3:39.86 – currently No. 16 in the NCAA. Bruce was part of a group of 21 student-athletes that ran below the stadium and meet record of 3:41.17 run by Ross Millington in 2012.

Also in the field for the Razorbacks Friday night were Ethan Moehn (3:45.97) who finished 54th and Colin O’Mara (3:55.90) in 201st-place.

The men’s team will continue to compete this weekend, taking part in the 2018 Michael Johnson Invitational hosted by Baylor University in Waco, Texas Apr. 21.

The Michael Johnson Invitational will be LIVE streamed by FloTrack.

RamosMata captures Kansas Relays title in pole vault over Hartsell

ESPN Arkansas News Services
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LAWRENCE, Kan. — The 91st Kansas Relays featured a trio of top-three performances from Arkansas, including a Kansas Relays title by Elizabeth Ramos Mata.

Ramos Mata finished the Kansas Relays clearing 3.90m (12′-9.50″), the same height that teammate Morgan Hartsell cleared.

Ramos Mata grabbed the win on jumps clearing her first three bars of the day clean, while Hartsell needed three attempts to clear 3.90m.

Thr 1-2 finish in the pole vault accounted for two of the three top-three finishes on the day for Arkansas. The third came in a third-place finish by Carmen Sitz in the women’s high jump. Sitz took third clearing 1.65m (5′-5″) on her fifth jump of the day.

On the west coast at the Cardinal Classic in Palo Alto, Calif., Arkansas continued to compete on the track.

In the 800-meters, Kailee Sawyer (2:15.35) finished sixth in section three of the event while   Ruth Wiggins (2:13.39) took eighth in section two.

Moving up the ladder of distance disciplines, a trio of Razorbacks closed out the competition day with their run in the 5,000-meters.

A fourth-place finish by Maddy Reed (16:20.38) was followed up by  Rachel Nichwitz (16:33.27) in sixth-place and Abby Gray (16:38.60) in ninth-place.

Arkansas will split competition on Saturday between the Cardinal Classic in Palo Alto, Calif. and the LSU Alumni Gold meet in Baton Rouge, La.

Hogs stumble in opener of series at Auburn, falling 11-1

ESPN Arkansas News Services
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VIDEO FROM ESPN SEC NETWORK
AUBURN, Ala. — No. 16 Arkansas lost game one of its series with No. 11 Auburn on Friday night, falling 11-1 in five innings.

With the setback, the Razorbacks drop to 33-10 overall with an 8-8 mark in SEC play.

Up Next

With Sunday’s forecast of inclement weather, the series will conclude Saturday with a doubleheader. First pitch is scheduled for 3 p.m. with approximately 30 minutes between games.

Both games will be streamed live on SEC Network+ through the WatchESPN app. Arkansas is back home April 28-30 to host Ole Miss at Bogle Park.

FINAL: #11/13 Auburn 11, #16 Arkansas 1 (5 inn.) | Box Score

Down to its final three outs, the Razorbacks put together their first sustained rally of the game beginning with consecutive, one-out hits by seniors A.J. Belans and Loren Krzysko, respectively.

After a walk to Haydi Bugarin, the bases were loaded for freshman Hannah McEwen who delivered her 44th RBI of the year with a sacrifice fly to center field.

Pinch runner Keely Edwards scored on the play.

With Friday’s effort, McEwen extends her freshman-class mark and is now tied with Miranda Dixon for sixth on the program’s single-season RBI list.

The San Diego native also had a single in the third inning to tie senior Autumn Buczek for the team lead in hits.

Single-Season RBI Leaders
1. 50 – Sandra Smith (2010)
2. 49 – Nicole Schroeder (2017)
3. 47 – Miranda Dixon (2008)
4. 46 – Kasey Fagan (2014)
5. 45 – Sandra Smith (2008)
6. 44 – Miranda Dixon (2010) / Hannah McEwen (2018)

After a quiet first inning for both offenses, Auburn (37-10, 10-8 SEC) broke through with a seven-run second to take control of Friday’s opener.

The home team had just three hits in the frame but took advantage of six walks given up by starter Mary Haff and Caroline Hedgcock.

Auburn added four runs over the next two innings on its way to the run-rule win.

Razorbacks can’t hold off late Mississippi State rally

ESPN Arkansas News Services
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VIDEO FROM ESPN SEC NETWORK
STARKVILLE, Miss. – Even after jumping out to a 5-0 lead, Arkansas couldn’t hold off a late rally by Mississippi State and lost, 7-6, in the series opener at Dudy Noble Field.

The Hogs built that lead off a grand slam by Eric Cole, but couldn’t get a baserunner over the final four innings.

The loss drops Arkansas’ overall record to 28-11 and is just it’s second loss in its last 11 games.

In conference play, the Hogs are now 10-6 and still leading by a half-game in the SEC West over surging LSU.

Mississippi State upped its record to 20-19 overall and 6-10 in league play.

Cole’s grand slam capped a four-run, four-hit second inning that had the Hogs cruising early over the Bulldogs. They added a sacrifice fly in the fifth inning that led to the eventual early exit for MSU starting pitcher Konnor Pilkington.

However, that was the end of Arkansas’ offense for the rest of the game as Bulldog reliever J.P. France retired 12-straight batters to end the game, striking out nine.

As for Cole, his slam was Arkansas’ second grand slam of the season, joining sophomore Jordan McFarland as the only Razorbacks to hit a grand slam this year.

He finished the game 1-for-4 with the grand slam as his only hit. He now has eight home runs on the year and is one of four Hogs with eight or more home runs this season.

Blaine Knight was sharp through his 5.2 innings of work, but gave up a three-run home run in the bottom of the sixth inning before being relieved by sophomore Matt Cronin four batters later.

Knight finished with the no decision and remains undefeated this season  It’s only his fourth in 10 starts that Knight hasn’t gone six innings or more and he’s struck out four or more in all 10 his outings this year.

Cronin ended up taking the loss, giving up three earned runs over two innings, striking out five, but only giving up one hit.

Cronin struck out the first four batters he faced, but ran into trouble in the eighth when he walked the first two batters in the inning before and then allowed a two-out two RBI single to Jordan Westburg, which tied the game at 5-5.

Offensively for the Hogs, Heston Kjerstad, Grant Koch, and Jax Biggers all turned in two-hit games, but only Cole and Dominic Fletcher drove in runs.

Four of Arkansas’ five runs came off Cole’s grand slam, while Fletcher had the sacrifice fly in the fifth inning. The four RBIs are a career-high for Cole and his eighth multi-RBI game of the season.

Up Next

Arkansas and Mississippi State will play a doubleheader on Saturday at Dudy Noble Field to complete the series due to severe weather that is forecast for the Starkville area on Sunday.

Both games of the doubleheader will be nine innings and both games will be televised on SEC Network+.

First pitch on Saturday is set for noon and the second game will start approximately 45 minutes at the conclusion of the first game.

Fassi just short of individual title in playoff at SEC Championship

ESPN Arkansas News Services
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HOOVER, Ala. — Fifty-four holes wasn’t enough to decide the individual winner of the 2018 SEC Women’s Golf Championship as Arkansas junior Maria Fassi forced a playoff in Hoover, Alabama, on Friday.

Fassi and South Carolina’s Ainhoa Olarra were neck-and-neck playing together in the final group on the Legacy Course at Greystone Golf and Country Club.

They remained tied through 19 greens before Olarra was able to take advantage of an errant tee shot by Fassi to win on the second playoff hole.

The third-ranked Razorbacks finished third in the stroke play portion of the championship. They move on to face Florida in the 3 seed-6 seed contest in the first round of match play action on Saturday morning beginning at 7 a.m.

The first playoff hole was a nail-biter with Fassi out-driving Olarra by 50 yards off the tee. She dropped her second shot to 20 feet from the pin, slightly closer than her opponent.

Her first putt attempt picked up speed and slid passed the hole about four feet. Olarra two-putted meaning Fassi would have to make the long putt to force another playoff hole.

And she did.

The players and the growing gallery of fans moved across the cart path to the No. 9 tee box for the second playoff hole.

Olarra hit a good tee shot to the middle of the fairway but Fassi’s first attempt pulled to the left. The ball struck a large drainage area filled with flat stones and bounced further away into the thick pine needle mulch.

After a long look at the shot, Fassi made her move but her ball came out low and sailed over the green into a bunker. She flew her third shot up onto the green leaving herself about eight feet to the pin.

She made the long putt counting a four putting pressure on Olarra but the Gamecock made her eight-footer for birdie and the win.

From Maria Fassi

“I love the adrenaline and the shaky hands. I hit the putt a little too hard (on the first playoff hole) and had a four-footer coming back. The hole looks awfully tiny with a four-foot putt to force another playoff hole. I was to the left on the second (playoff) hole and she (Ainhoe Olarra) hit a good tee shot. I gave it my best effort, but it went her way.”

From Shauna Taylor

“I’m really proud of the way our team fought the last two days. Getting off to a slow start put us behind big early but we played some fantastic golf these last two days. It was fun to watch the players rebound and play well.

“Standing with Maria on the 18th fairway, we knew that if we made eagle we would win, and a birdie would probably tie. Fortunately, she has a lot of length and we were able to put together a plan, so Maria could hit a wedge in there to about 30 feet. It’s a pretty tough golf shot but she did an amazing job of execution under those conditions. I thought she had a great opportunity on the first playoff hole and obviously drove it a little funky on the second hole. She made an amazing recovery and a good up-and-down to put a lot of pressure on Ainhoe (Olarrra) who made an eight-footer to birdie and get the win.

“Overall, it’s pretty incredible to have three players in top 15 at the SEC Championship. I’m really proud of their efforts. I’m excited for our matches tomorrow. I think we match up with Florida really well. Alana (Uriell) and Dylan (Kim) lead us out of the gate with Cara (Gorlei) and Kaylee (Benton) in the middle followed by Maria (Fassi) in the anchor. We’re in a good spot and can’t wait to get out and tee it up for match play.”

Stroke Play
No. 10 South Carolina was first after three rounds of stroke play leading the field with a 3-over 867. Second-ranked Alabama posted an 872 followed by No. 3 Arkansas with 875. The rest of the top-8 include No. 44 Georgia (895), No. 20 Auburn (896), No. 13 Florida (896), No. 24 Vanderbilt (899) and Missouri (907).

Fassi finished regulation play with a 4-under 209 (70–70–69). Razorback junior Dylan Kim picked up a top-5 finish, tying for fourth place overall with a 2-over 216 (70–73–73) and senior Alana Uriell rallied from a slow start to tie for 15th overall with a 221 (79–72–70).

It is the first time in program history Arkansas has placed two players in the top-5 and the first time the Razorbacks have had three players finish in the top-15 at the league championship.

Juniors Cara Gorlei and Kaylee Benton also finished strong. Gorlei was nine shots better in her final round and finished 46th shooting 231 (80–80–71). Benton tied for 49th but dropped seven shots off her round one score to shoot 233 (81–78–74).

Razorback Lineup

PLACE PLAYER SCORE TO PAR
T1 Maria Fassi (1) 70–70–69—209 -4
T4 Dylan Kim (3) 70–73–73—216 +2
T15 Alana Uriell (2) 79–72–70—221 +7
46 Cara Gorlei (5) 80–80–71—231 +17
T49 Kaylee Benton (4) 81–78–74—233 +19


Match Play

The quarterfinal matches will feature No. 1 South Carolina vs. No. 8 Missouri, No. 2 Alabama vs. No. 7 Vanderbilt, No. 3 Arkansas vs. No. 6 Florida and No. 4 Georgia vs. No. 5 Auburn. Play begins at 7 a.m. CT on Saturday the semifinals to follow later in the day.

The 2018 event will mark the first in which the championship will extend to five days, with match play on Saturday and Sunday. The championship match on Sunday, April 22 will also be televised live on SEC Network.

No. 3 Seed Arkansas vs. No. 6 Seed Florida
Alana Uriell (Arkansas) vs. Elin Esborn (Florida)
Dylan Kim (Arkansas) vs. Marta Perez (Florida)
Cara Gorlei (Arkansas) vs. Sierra Brooks (Florida)
Kaylee Benton (Arkansas) vs. Addison Baggarly (Florida)
Maria Fassi (Arkansas) vs. Taylor Tomlinson (Florida)

Razorbacks’ turnaround season ends at NCAA in St. Louis

ESPN Arkansas News Services
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ST. LOUIS, Mo. — Arkansas saw its improbable turnaround season come to an end inside Chaifetz Arena in St. Louis, Mo. as the Razorbacks finished sixth in the first session of the NCAA Gymnastics Championships with a score of 196.425.

The Razorbacks, who finished last season 27th in the country and saw its 2017 campaign end at the NCAA Fayetteville Regional, rebounded this season despite 17 of 24 competed routines coming from underclassmen.

The team was making its first appearance at the NCAA Championships since 2013, and eighth overall.

After starting the meet on a bye, the Razorbacks began the meet on the floor. Senior Amanda Wellick recorded a 9.825 in what would be her final floor routine of her career.

After a 9.7875 from sophomore Jessica Yamzon, sophomore Michaela Burton and freshman Sophia Carter posted 9.8625’s each to lead the Razorbacks to a 49.125 on the event.

On the vault, Yamzon began the rotation with a 9.725. The Razorbacks, who stuck 23 of 24 routines, had its only mishap in the two position as sophomore Hailey Garner fell and was scored a 8.8875.

The Razorbacks recovered and had three straight scores over 9.800, including a 9.875 from senior Braie Speed. Speed has been one of the more consistent vaulters in program history and will finish her career scoring a 9.8 or higher in 36 of 40 vault routines.

Burton, who had vaulted just once in her career before today, was forced into the anchor spot on vault due to injuries and tallied a 9.5125 on a 9.7 start value.

The Razorbacks ended the meet strong, posting a 49.2875 on bars, its highest score on the event in its eight appearances at the NCAA Championships.

All six in Arkansas’ rotation scored over a 9.8. The lowest counted score was from freshman Sydney Laird who tallied a 9.8375, while Speed and Garner recorded a 9.850 each.

Wellick and freshman Sarah Shaffer posted scores of 9.8875 and 9.8625, respectively, to lead the Hogs on that event.

Beam proved once again to be one of Arkansas’ better events, as they posted four scores over 9.8, including a 9.8875 from Garner. Wellick was just behind Garner with a 9.875 in the two spot while Burton and Yamzon each posted 9.850’s.

Amanda Wellick put up a 39.400 in the all-around in the final meet of her career. Wellick was making her first appearance at the NCAA Championship with the team, as she qualified as an individual all-arounder in 2014 and 2016.

She was the first Arkansas freshman all-arounder to make the NCAA Championships in 2014.

FINAL RESULTS (Session I) 
UCLA- 197.5625 (VT-49.1875, UB- 49.3750, BB- 49.5375, FX- 49.4625)
LSU- 197.4750 (VT-49.3500, UB-49.5000, BB- 29.2250, FX- 49.4000)
Nebraska- 197.0125 (VT-49.2375, UB- 49.0625, BB- 49.3750, FX- 49.3375)
Georgia- 196.6875 (VT-49.1250, UB- 49.3125, BB- 49.2375, FX- 49.0125)
Alabama- 196.6250 (VT-49.1375, UB- 49.1625, BB- 49.0750, FX- 49.2500)
Arkansas- 196.4250 (VT-48.7500, UB- 49.2875, BB- 49.2625, FX- 49.1250)

Weather causes Hogs-Dogs to play doubleheader Saturday

ESPN Arkansas News Services
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STARKVILLE, Miss. — With the strong probability of thunderstorms in the forecast for Sunday in Starkville, Mississippi State and Arkansas will shift their series schedule to conclude with a doubleheader on Saturday at Dudy Noble Field.

The two teams will play two nine-inning games on Saturday with first pitch of game one set for Noon.

Game two will begin approximately 45 minutes after the conclusion of the first game. Gates at Dudy Noble Field will open at 10 a.m. on Saturday.

All games for this weekend’s series will still be available on SEC Network+, including Saturday’s doubleheader.

All games can still be heard on the radio on ESPN Arkansas 95.3FM in the River Valley, 96.3FM in Hot Springs and 104.3FM in Harrison-Mountain Hoe, via the Razorback Sports Network and can also be heard on the Razorback Gameday app.

Saturday reserved-seating ticketholders will take priority for the doubleheader at Dudy Noble Field.

General admission tickets for Sunday will still be valid for general admission to both games. Please contact the MSU Ticket Office at 662-325-2600 for any additional information.

First day of ‘Bryan Clay’ sees Hogs get personal bests

ESPN Arkansas News Services
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WALNUT, Calif. — Arkansas wrapped up day one of competition on the west coast bringing home multiple personal bests across multiple distance events.

At the Bryan Clay Invite, Kyle Hosting was up first in the 3,000-meter steeplechase running a personal best time of 8:53.73 for fifth-place.

Hosting was joined in the event by Kyle Levermore who also posted a personal best running 9:01.16 for 24th-place.

Both Hosting and Levermore finished ahead of the meet record of 9:01.40 set by Arkansas’ Cale Wallace in 2016, while the top-five finishers in the event ran well below the old APU Stadium record of 8:55.19 set by Chuck Schwartz of Adams State in 1988.

In the men’s 5,000-meters, the group of Gilbert Boit (13:50.36), Austen Dalquist (13:50.87),  Cameron Griffith (13:58.61), and Andrew Ronoh (14:14.51) finished 15th, 16th, 18th, and 22nd, respectively. Both Boit and Dalquist finished with new personal best times.

Freshman Ryan Murphy rounded out competition at the Bryan Clay Invite on Thursday running 14:39.12 in the 5,000-meters finishing 26th in his heat.

Over at the Mt. SAC Relays, Preston Cates took on the 10,000-meters finishing 13th in his section running 31:02.34.

Arkansas will continue competition on the west coast tomorrow as Razorbacks Jack Bruce, Ethan Moehn, Kyle Levermore, Colin O’Mara and Kyle Hosting are set to run in the 1,500-meters at the Bryan Clay Invitational starting at 9:15 p.m.

Razorbacks start second half of SEC play in Starkville

ESPN Arkansas News Services
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STARKVILLE, Miss. — Third-ranked Arkansas team begins the second half of its conference season this weekend when it starts a three-game series with Mississippi State on Friday at Dudy-Noble Field.

Arkansas is fresh off a 10-game homestand, winning nine of those games.

Junior pitcher Blaine Knight will get the call for the Friday night start, once again, and will be going opposite Konnor Pilkington.

It’s the same pitching matchup that fans saw on SEC opening night one year ago where Knight outdueled Pilkington to lead the Razorbacks to a 3-1 victory and the eventual three-game sweep.

Knight will be making his tenth start of 2018 on Friday and has yet to allow more than three earned runs in any appearance.

He currently has the fourth-lowest ERA in the SEC and will be going for his seventh win of the year. His 6-0 record is one of only three undefeated records in the league (M. Kilkenny, Texas A&M; S. Hunley, Tennessee).

After last week’s series win over South Carolina, the Razorbacks seem to have found their three-man rotation in Knight, Kacey Murphy, and Isaiah Campbell.

In game one of last week’s doubleheader against the Gamecocks, Murphy took a perfect game into the seventh inning of a seven-inning game.

Even though he gave up a lead-off single in the seventh, he was untouchable all day to earn his fifth win of the year.

Had he gotten the final three outs, Murphy would have been the first Razorback to ever throw a perfect game.

In the back end of that doubleheader, Campbell looked to be back to form after missing the Ole Miss series.

The Olathe, Kansas, native threw five scoreless innings and only allowed two hits while walking one. It was his fourth start of the year of five innings or more and lowest hits allowed in a game this season.

Arkansas hopes to continue its strong offense that it’s shown over the last homestand led by freshmen Casey Martin and Heston Kjerstad.

Martin is coming off a 2-for-3 game against Missouri State with four RBIs. Kjerstad, who also homered in Tuesday’s win, leads the Hogs with a .373 batting average and is tied for the team lead with nine home runs.

FOLLOW LIVE

All games this weekend will be available on SEC Network+ via the Watch ESPN app and WatchESPN.com.

Phil Elson will call all three games on the radio for the Razorback Sports Network from IMG. That radio broadcasts are also available on the Razorback Gameday app.

IMPORTANT LINKS (ALL TIMES CENTRAL)
Fri, April 20 – Arkansas vs. Mississippi State – 6:30 p.m. – LIVE STATS | WATCH (SECN+)
Sat, April 21 – Arkansas vs. Mississippi State – 6 p.m. – LIVE STATS | WATCH (SECN+)
Sun, April 22 – Arkansas vs. Mississippi State – 1 p.m. – LIVE STATS | WATCH (SECN+)

PROBABLE STARTERS

FRI: ARK RHP Blaine Knight (1.95 ERA, 6-0, 52 K, 11 B) vs. MSU LHP Konnor Pilkington (2.57 ERA, 2-5, 64 K, 9 BB)

SAT: ARK LHP Kacey Murphy (2.00 ERA, 5-2, 39 K, 6 BB) vs. MSU LHP Ethan Small (2.94 ERA, 3-3, 69 K, 15 BB)

SUN: ARK RHP Isaiah Campbell (3.44 ERA, 3-3, 34 K, 17 BB) vs. MSU RHP Jacob Billingsley (4.08 ERA, 2-2, 37 K, 23 BB)

RAZORBACK PRIME 9

• Arkansas goes on the road this weekend to face Mississippi State, as it looks for its first road conference series win of the year. The Hogs have won four of the last five against Mississippi State.

• The Razorbacks have won seven of eight game ones of a three-game series this year. Last week’s loss to South Carolina was the only blemish to that record.

• In 21 games this year, Arkansas has totaled 10 or more hits. In those games, the Hogs are 17-4 with 16 of those wins coming at Baum Stadium.

• Sophmore Matt Cronin has nine saves on the season, which is currently second in the SEC. He needs just four more to tie the single-season Arkansas record set by Colby Suggs (13) in 2013.

• Heston Kjersad (.373, 9 HR) and Casey Martin (.331, 8 HR) are the only Division I freshmen with a .315 average or higher and eight or more home runs.

• With his RBI-single in the first game of the doubleheader with South Carolina last week, Carson Shaddy hit the 200-hit mark for his career. Now at 202 hits, he needs just 27 more to crack the Arkansas all-time top 10.

• Arkansas ranks first in the SEC with 36 double plays and turned three against Missouri State on Tuesday. In 10 games this year, the Hogs have turned a double play two or more times.

• The Razorbacks are 11-7 in games decided by two or less runs this year. With Thursday’s 3-2 loss to South Carolina as the only drawback, Arkansas has won four of its last five one-run games.

• In Sunday’s doubleheader against South Carolina, Arkansas pitchers combined for 14 scoreless innings, allowing on four total hits, and walking no batters.

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