Auburn slips past Razorbacks, 4-3, in Sunday matches

ESPN Arkansas News Services
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FAYETTEVILLE — No. 17 Auburn held off Arkansas 4-3 on the Razorbacks’ Senior Day on Sunday at George M. Billingsley Tennis Center.

The match came down to the final set at the top spot, where the Tigers (18-9, 6-5 SEC) pulled out a three-set win.

“It was another great match on Senior Day, much like last year, a third-set decider,” Arkansas coach Michael Hegarty said. “I couldn’t be prouder of the efforts across the board today against a great Auburn squad. Both seniors Mia (Jurasic) and Peyton (Jennings) have represented Arkansas in first-class fashion and will no doubt do so in the years to come.”

The Razorbacks (6-14, 2-9 SEC) started strong, clinching the doubles point with wins at the top two spots.

Martina Zerulo and Tatum Rice struck first with a 6-4 win at No. 2, before Auburn won at No. 3. Giulia Pairone and Mia Jurasic delivered the clinch, winning a tiebreaker 7-3 at No. 1.

In singles, Natsuho Arakawa gave the Razorbacks a 2-0 lead when she earned a 7-5, 6-2 win at No. 3. Auburn responded by winning matches at the No. 2 and 4 positions to level the score 2-2.

Zerulo reclaimed the lead for Arkansas with her 6-4, 6-3 win at No. 6. But the Tigers won the final two matches at the No. 5 and 1 spots for the team victory.

Up Next
Arkansas will hit the road for its final two matches of the regular season. The Razorbacks will play No. 7 Georgia at 5 p.m. on April 12 before taking on No. 31 Tennessee at 11 a.m. on April 14.

Incorrect ruling highlights rough Saturday night for umps

ESPN Arkansas News Services
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FAYETTEVILLE — Arkansas’ 13-2 win over Auburn on Saturday night wasn’t really ever close, but it was a rough night for the umpires.

Arkansas’ Jax Biggers hustles back to second base where he was when Auburn let a bunt drop. Biggers was moved to third when the umpire incorrectly ruled the runners could advance on the intentional drop. PHOTO BY ANDY HODGES | HITTHATLINE.COM

Third base umpire Jeff Head let two Arkansas runners advance in the first inning when he ruled that Auburn third baseman Josh Anthony intentionally dropped a bunt that was popped up by the Razorbacks’ Casey Martin.

Anthony picked up the ball, stepped on third and threw to second for an attempted double play.

Confusion ensued.

Head told the base runners, Jax Biggers and Eric Cole, to advance when they should have been told to stay at their respective bases, said Paul Guilli, the SEC’s coordinator of umpires.

“Intentionally dropped ball was called, however they misapplied the rule,” Guilli said in a statement that was read in the pressbox by an Arkansas spokesperson. “Runners should have returned.”

Arkansas’ Luke Bonfield singled in the next at-bat to score both runners, but only Biggers would have been in position to score had the drop rule been applied correctly.

Auburn coach Butch Thompson comes on the field to get an explanation after Arkansas’ runners advanced in the first inning when the Tigers intentionally let a bunt by the Hogs’ Casey Martin drop. PHOTO BY ANDY HODGES | HITTHATLINE.COM

Head, a veteran umpire who worked the College World Series last season, served as the crew chief and had a rough night.

He was summoned to the replay booth three times and overturned a pair of calls, both involving Arkansas hitters who were incorrectly ruled out at first base. The overturned calls led to Arkansas runs in the third and sixth innings.

“Bottom line, you’re supposed to try to get the call right and the umpires have been great about it, to be honest with you,” Arkansas coach Dave Van Horn said. “It’s worked out. We’ve been wrong and we’ve asked for a couple things that haven’t happened. A couple got changed tonight and helped us score a couple of extra runs.

“The umpires have been real professional. They just want to get the call right.”

A foul ball by Bonfield in the second inning was upheld after replay checked to see whether it hit the foul pole for a home run.

The SEC is using replay on an experimental basis this season. The replay rules allow coaches two challenges each game, and various plays can be initiated by umpires during the game.

Hogs wheel, deal way to win, clinching series with Auburn

ESPN Arkansas News Services
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VIDEO FROM ESPN SEC NETWORK
FAYETTEVILLE — It didn’t take long before Arkansas had its series victory over Auburn well in hand.

The Hogs scored eight runs over the first three innings and cruised to a 13-2 win over the Tigers, locking up its second conference series of the season.

Arkansas (23-9, 7-4 SEC) will have a chance to lock up its second sweep of the Southeastern Conference season tomorrow when it faces Auburn (23-9, 4-7 SEC) one more time for the series finale.

First pitch is scheduled for 4 p.m. and will be televised on the SEC Network.

The Razorback offense needed only two innings to drive Auburn starting pitcher Davis Daniel out of the game.

The Hogs scored four runs on four hits off Daniel, three of those hits coming in the first inning.

After the Tigers went to the bullpen, Arkansas plated four more in the third, two from singles, one from a sacrifice fly, and one from a bases-loaded walk to build up its 8-0 lead.

Eric Cole and Dominic Fletcher each turned in three-hit games to lead all Razorbacks. Cole drove in two, both off singles in the third and eighth innings.

He, along with Luke Bonfield and Jordan McFarland each tallied two RBIs in the game, while Jax Biggers drove in three, but none on a base hit. Two sacrifice flies and a bases loaded walk gave Biggers his second highest RBI total in a game this year.

On the mound, lefty pitcher Kacey Murphy locked up his fourth victory of the year after working a strong seven innings with just two earned runs allowed, both off solo home runs.

He scattered five hits and struck out a season-high seven batters on 105 pitches. Saturday’s start was Murphy’s fourth appearance this year that lasted six or more innings.

The Hitting

The Razorbacks totaled 17 hits in the game Saturday night, their fifth game this season of 15 or more and third in SEC play.

Five different players recorded two or more hits, their most in a game since March 29 in the 6-4 win over No. 4 Ole Miss.

Bonfield’s two-hit performance was his first multi-hit performance since going 3-for-4 against No. 4 Kentucky on March 17.

His two-RBI single in the first got the scoring started for the Hogs. He later doubled down the left field line in the sixth to start another rally that led to a three-run frame. His double was his eighth of the year, good for second on the team.

Along with Bonfield’s double, Grant Koch, Dominic Fletcher, and Carson Shaddy each had two-baggers in the game. It was the sixth time this year that Arkansas had totaled four or more doubles.

The Pitching

Arkansas was able to lock up the series with Auburn behind stellar pitching from Murphy, who has been steady throughout the year, allowing no more than three earned runs in any appearance.

Including tonight, the Rogers native has struck out 29 batters over 34.2 innings and has whittled his ERA down to 2.31.

With Murphy’s ERA and Blaine Knight’s 1.93 ERA, the Hogs are the only team in the SEC with two pitchers holding an ERA at 2.35 or lower.

Junior Barrett Loseke finished off the game’s final two innings, allowing just one hit and striking out one in his ninth appearance of the year.

Loseke has yet to allow more than two earned runs in a single outing this year.

Razorback Quotables

“Kacey wasn’t as sharp as he normally is. You can blame it on the cold weather or the temperature, but it was good that he battled through. For him to give us seven innings, that’s what we needed. He went out and did really well in the sixth and seventh. He’d tell you he’s been sharper. He didn’t really have command of his breaking ball, but he came up with some big pitches. He gave up a couple of big flies, but he pitches to contact. He’s not trying to strike too many out.” — Dave Van Horn on Kacey Murphy’s seven-inning performance

“It was real nice. We talked about that after the game and last night. We hadn’t won game two in a while, especially on an SEC weekend. We needed to find a way to win today and they came out and did it.” — Van Horn on locking up a series victory before game three

“Long innings, it was pretty tough, but once you’re out there, you stay pretty warm. You’ve got to fight through it, that’s all. I worked through it and tried to shorten my stride a little bit and adjust like coach (Wes) Johnson was telling me, but I kind of went to the changeup as my primary off speed” — Kacey Murphy on pitching in cold weather

“I think it’s just confidence. It’s funny what gets you going. I think I hit a foul homerun at Ole Miss my second to last at-bat there and I kind of found my swing on that one and it wasn’t even a hit. Baseball’s a game where it comes and goes, you know you don’t have control of things. You can hit the ball hard and right at someone. I just stuck with my approach and preparation before games. I’ve been in this league for four years now. I know I’m a good hitter and everything and it would just come back eventually.” — Luke Bonfield on working through a slump in past weeks

Up Next

The Razorbacks and Tigers will face off for the series finale on Sunday at Baum Stadium with first pitch scheduled for 4 p.m.

It will be televised on the SEC Network with Roy Philpott and Todd Walker calling the action.

Hogs deliver what Morris promised for Red-White game

Andy Hodges
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Chad Morris said it last week, but nobody really wanted to listen.

“We’ll be pretty vanilla,” he said in Thursday’s press conference about what to expect from Arkansas’ offense in the Red-White game in Little Rock on Saturday.

That’s exactly what was delivered.

For accuracy purposes, the offense beat the defense, 27-25. In one of these games, the score is almost meaningless considering the way they are scored tends to fluctuate.

No, those expecting to see offensive fireworks are going to have to wait until September 1 against Eastern Illinois. It wasn’t happening Saturday in front of an intimate (estimated) gathering of 7,000 hardy folks braving the miserable weather.

“I wish it was raining or snowing harder, that’s what it’s all about,” Morris said later.

There’s an old-school touch to Morris and he embraces it. You get the idea he wouldn’t complain about a good ol’ muddy field in bad conditions.

He held up the postgame press conference for a few minutes while he visited with some of the fans. As small as the crowd was he almost could have visited with every one of them personally.

“It was important for me to show my appreciation to our fans here today,” he said, apologizing the media for being a little tardy. “Your energy and passion was felt. Our team had a chance to spend some time out there with them.”

The weather was part of the story. Some of the fans were expecting all sorts of bells and whistles offensively, but that was never going to happen.

“We stayed healthy today,” Morris said. “When you can line them up at the end and they’re all still walking, you’ve had a successful day.”

No one got hurt, but there weren’t any obvious answers to questions about personnel, particularly on the offensive side of the ball. Specifically quarterback.

“We asked our quarterbacks to be present,” Morris said. “You can’t be perfect. That means play one play at a time, be in the moment.”

You got the idea he felt Cole Kelley and Ty Storey were pressing a little.

“Guys want to do it all,” he said. “They want to make every check, every throw, and be perfect every play, but it just can’t happen. We tell our guys to play through the system, the system has answers.”

There were players that got your attention, though.

Defensive end Randy Ramsey has been talked about by coaches all spring after his move. He had three tackles in the game, including two sacks for 14 yards in losses.

“Randy Ramsey continued what he’s shown all spring long,” Morris said later. “He has a chance to be really special.”

He is one of the players with new life after the position change with the new coaching staff.

“I just am thankful that they believe in me and putting me in situations that I can play up to my abilities,” Ramsey said later. “They sat me down and told me what they wanted me to do, and I believed in them.”

At times Saturday he looked like playing out wide and coming after the quarterback is what he’s always been doing.

The same couldn’t be said for the quarterbacks.

Ty Storey started and alternated possessions with Cole Kelley. They both were about 50 percent on completions for the same yardage and each was sacked twice.

As Morris said, both did some good things. Both are still struggling at times.

Despite it all, though, Morris doesn’t appear too concerned with the way things are shaping up at quarterback.

It’s not a given the starting quarterback is on campus yet. Coaches aren’t afraid to play freshmen anymore and it doesn’t prevent you from having a championship-caliber team.

Morris wasn’t afraid to put freshman Deshaun Watson in at Clemson when he was a freshman. That’s not saying Connor Noland or John Stephen Jones are the second coming of Watson, but it does say don’t rule out the possibility.

In my opinion, both are better options than anybody on campus now. That’s based on what I’ve seen at practices in drills.

No, Saturday was about getting more film on players for the personnel decisions that will begin in earnest after Wednesday.

“Hammer Down is a culture,” Morris said. “it’s a lifestyle for us. We’ve got a long way to go, but we’ve come a long way.”

There will be some that won’t be expecting much. The typical knee-jerk reaction and evaluation process the yammering national experts use will have the Hogs fighting to become bowl eligible.

They will be better than that.

And the guess here is that long way Morris is talking about isn’t a .500 record being where he’s talking about going on that long trip.

It’s higher. Much, much higher than that.

Van Horn on Hogs’ series-clinching win over Auburn

ESPN Arkansas News Services
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Arkansas coach Dave Van Horn talked about the win over Auburn to clinch the series and how they’ll be going hard to sweep the series on Sunday.

Bonfield, Murphy talk about key points in win over Tigers

ESPN Arkansas News Services
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Razorback pitcher Kacey Murphy and designated hitter Luke Bonfield talk with the media after the series-clinching 13-2 win over Auburn on Saturday night.

Play suspended at Aggie Invitational due to darkness Saturday

ESPN Arkansas News Services
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BRYAN, Texas — On a 36-hole day at the Aggie Invitational, Arkansas moved up three spots during the second round to sit T-8th before play was suspended due to darkness at Traditions Club.

Playing against five of the top 10 teams in the country, the Razorbacks opened play with a 24-over 312, but bounced back in the afternoon and are 8-over with one hole to play before action was halted.

No. 8 Alabama leads the field at 7-over, while Kent State (+15) is second and top-ranked Oklahoma State (+16) is third. Arkansas is T-8th overall and leads No. 10 Baylor by two shots and No. 6 Texas Tech by five strokes.

Alvaro Ortiz leads the way at 4-over for the tournament at T-15th overall, while William Buhl is T-30th at 8-over following a 1-over 73 in the afternoon.

Tyson Reeder carded the team’s low round of the day with an even-par 72 in the afternoon and is T-37th overall. Mason Overstreet is T-50th, Luis Garza is T-56th and Landon Ernst is T-47th playing as an individual.

The Razorbacks return to the course Sunday morning as Ortiz has one hole to play to complete the second round, before action continues into the third and final round.

Hogs place second at regional, advance to NCAA Championships

ESPN Arkansas News Services
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COLUMBUS, Ohio — Arkansas placed second at the NCAA Columbus Regional on Saturday with a score of 196.775, advancing to the NCAA Championships in St. Louis, Missouri.

It will mark the program’s seventh trip to the National Championships and first since 2013.

Columbus Regional Team Results
(3) UCLA- 197.650
(10) Arkansas- 196.775
Ohio State- 196.500
(15) Boise State- 196.225
Pittsburgh- 195.125
Kent State- 194.900

First Rotation: Arkansas Beam: 49.175
Sophomore Jessica Yamzon gave the Razorbacks a solid start on beam with a 9.825 to begin the rotation. After a fall in the second spot by sophomore Hailey Garner, the Razorbacks recovered with three scores over 9.800 including a pair of 9.900s from senior Amanda Wellick and sophomore Michaela Burton. The two 9.900s tied for the second-highest scores on beam at an NCAA Regional by a Razorback. Arkansas has now posted beam scores of 49.000 or higher in 12 of 13 meets this season.

Second Rotation: Arkansas Floor: 49.200
Following a bye before floor, the Razorbacks started the rotation with a 9.800 from senior Mia Bargiacchi. Wellick followed that up with a 9.850, her highest score on the event since Jan. 7, 2017. Yamzon and Burton each posted a 9.850 in the three and four spots before freshman Sarah Shaffer recorded a 9.900, her seventh score over 9.900 on floor this season. All six Razorbacks tallied a 9.800 or higher as the Razorbacks were able to post a 49.200 on the event, putting Arkansas in second place with a running score of 98.425.

Third Rotation: Arkansas Vault: 49.175
Yamzon led off the Razorbacks with a career high 9.850, while Wellick and Shaffer posted 9.850s of their own. Speed anchored the rotation with a 9.900, her fourth vault score of 9.900 or higher this season. Arkansas posted a 49.175 on the event, despite competing just five athletes, en route to its second-highest vault score of the season. Arkansas’ last scorer in Garner tallied a 9.725 in the second spot.

Speed’s 9.900 was good enough to take the Columbus Regional vault title, her second-consecutive regional vault title after taking first at the NCAA Fayetteville Regional a year ago. The title is Arkansas’ 15th individual event regional title and the fifth on vault.

Fourth Rotation: Arkansas Bars: 49.175
After a 9.775 from Yamzon in the lead-off spot, the Razorbacks posted five-straight scores over 9.800. The Razorbacks led by just 0.05 points at one point in the rotation and had little room for error. Four-straight scores of 9.825 from Wellick, Speed, Shaffer and freshman Sydney Laird gave way to Garner who anchored the rotation with a 9.875 to secure Arkansas’ second-place finish.

Wellick took the all-around title with a score of 39.425 while Yamzon posted a 39.300.

The Razorbacks will take a two-week break from action before the NCAA Championships are contested April 20-21 at Chaifetz Arena in St. Louis, Mo.

Storey on offense looking ‘okay,’ despite holding back

ESPN Arkansas News Services
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Arkansas quarterback Ty Storey said the offense didn’t do that badly, considering they were simply focusing on the basic things.

Morris recapping Saturday’s Red-White game in Little Rock

ESPN Arkansas News Services
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Arkansas coach Chad Morris talked about the fans that showed up in Little Rock for the Red-White game and quick impressions.

Harris, Hogs appreciate fans that showed up for spring game

ESPN Arkansas News Services
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Hogs linebacker Scoota Harris said the team wasn’t surprised by the bad weather Saturday morning and how the defense has progressed during spring drills.

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