Razorbacks continue spring schedule with unique matchup Friday
FAYETTEVILLE — Arkansas plays its next installment of its 2018 spring exhibition schedule Friday and the opponent will be a unique one.
The Razorbacks face off with the Tulsa Soccer Club’s U15 Boys Team at Razorback Field with first kick set for 6:30 p.m.
Friday’s exhibition is the second of four spring matches for the Razorbacks with two coming against SEC opponents (Mississippi State, Ole Miss), and one against a team from the Big 12 (Kansas State).
Arkansas is fresh off a 1-0 win over Mississippi State earlier in the month, getting a 31st minute header goal from sophomore-to-be Taylor Malham.
It’s been a banner month for Malham as she was invited to train with the U.S. Women’s National U19 Team earlier this spring and will be traveling with Switzerland with the U18 team for a two-match tour overseas next week.
Arkansas is coming off an 11-win season last fall, which included a berth in the NCAA Tournament for the fourth time in five years.
Arkansas also reached its second-straight SEC Tournament final, winning three matches in five days to become the lowest-seeded team ever to reach the tournament’s final match.
Kick-off Friday is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. at Razorback Field and will be free admission.
| Date | Opponent | Location | Time/Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| March 3 | Mississippi State | Razorback Field | W, 1-0 |
| March 30 | Tulsa Soccer Club U15 Boys | Razorback Field | 6:30 p.m. |
| April 15 | Ole Miss | Conway, Ark. | TBA |
| April 22 | Kansas State | Manhattan, Kan. | TBA |
Hogs battle to take game one win over Ole Miss, 6-4
OXFORD, Miss. — It was a back and forth battle between No. 5 Arkansas and No. 4 Ole Miss on Thursday night at Swayze Field.
But the Razorbacks were able to get two big runs in the sixth inning to break a 4-4 tie and beat the Rebels, 6-4, for their fifth conference win of the year.
Arkansas (19-7, 5-2 SEC), with the win, claims its fifth victory over a top-five team, and has yet to lose the first game of a weekend series this year.
The win over Ole Miss (23-4, 4-3 SEC) also allows the Hogs take over sole possession of first place in the SEC Western Division.
Sophomore Jordan McFarland provided the big swing to break the tie in the sixth, hitting his third home run of the year to right-centerfield, one of two long balls hit in the game by Arkansas.
McFarland was one of five Razorbacks to turn in a multi-hit performance. Joining him were Jax Biggers, Eric Cole, Casey Martin, and Carson Shaddy.
Shaddy came away as the Hogs’ top hitter, going 3-for-4 with two runs scored, two RBIs, and a two-run home run, tying him for the team lead with seven on the year.
Arkansas’ starting pitcher Blaine Knight picked up his fifth win of the year, staying undefeated this season.
The junior gutted out six innings with seven hits scattered, two earned runs, one walk, and seven strikeouts on 97 pitches.
Knight was spotted four runs after two innings, but Ole Miss scored four right back, two of them unearned after an error to tie the game after three innings.
Knight was able to settle back down and throw scoreless fourth, fifth, and sixth innings to notch his fifth quality start this season.
The Hitting
Arkansas got production up and down its lineup, especially in the eight and nine spots where McFarland and Shaddy combined to go 5-for-8 (.625) with two home runs, driving in half of the Razorbacks run total on Friday night.
Shaddy’s long ball came in the second inning after Arkansas had already scored two runs in the first off Ryan Rolison.
His seventh home run of the year extended his hitting streak to five games and was his first round tripper since his two homer game against Kentucky on March 17.
In conference play, Shaddy has been one of the Hogs’ most consistent hitters.
The Fayetteville native is leading the team with a .520 average after seven SEC games and completes the slash line with a 1.000 slugging percentage and a .567 on-base percentage.
Over his last nine games, Shaddy has five multi-hit games with 12 runs driven in and a .486 average (17-for-35).
The top of Arkansas’ lineup was strong too as the first three hitters (Biggers, Cole, Martin) all finished with two hits each.
Catcher Grant Koch was the only starter to not record a hit in the game as the team finished with 14 hits, its most in its last six games.
The Pitching
Knight had trouble locating his fastball early on as he gave up a solo home run to Cole Zabowski in the second inning.
He wasn’t out of the woods in the third inning, either, as Ole Miss scored three more runs on four hits, including one coming off a throwing error from a sacrifice bunt attempt.
Knight picked up two strikeouts in the third and was able to prevent the Rebels from taking the lead.
Upon coming back for the fourth inning, Knight proceeded to allow only three base runners for the rest of his outing and got some help from his defense, which turned double plays in the fourth and sixth innings.
Sophomore Matt Cronin finished the final three innings of the game, striking out five batters, to earn his team-leading fifth save of the year.
He struck out the side in the eighth and two of the final three batters in the ninth to lock up the victory.
It’s the second time this year that Cronin has totaled five strikeouts and he has four saves in his last five outings.
Up Next
Game two between the Razorbacks and the Rebels is set for Friday back at Swayze Field with first pitch at 6:30 p.m.
The game will be televised online on SEC Network+.
Storey on improving technical aspects of game in spring
Razorbacks quarterback Ty Storey talked about improving his technique in the spring and how he has learned a lot and it’s a new start for him.
Kelley says competition with Storey is nothing new
Arkansas quarterback Cole Kelley talked with the media Thursday after practice about another competition with Ty Storey, this time for the starting QB spot.
Chavis talking about Razorbacks’ defense, players improving
Arkansas defensive coordinator John Chavis talked about the details of making the defense better with players in new positions and their handling the changes.
Craddock on how Hogs’ offense is improving
Hogs offensive coordinator Joe Craddock met with the media Thursday and talked about how things are coming together for the Razorbacks’ offense.
Razorbacks drop road match against No. 48 Florida on Friday
GAINESVILLE, Fla. — No. 12 Florida defeated No. 48 Arkansas, 4-1, on Thursday at the Ring Tennis Complex.
The Razorbacks (5-12, 1-7 SEC) won the doubles point with wins at the No. 2 and No. 3 spots, but the Gators (13-5, 8-1 SEC) earned four singles victories for the team win.
Razorbacks Giulia Pairone and Mia Jurasic continued their strong play in doubles clinching the opening point with a 6-4 win at No. 2 over Gators Josie Kuhlman and McCartney Kessler.
The Arkansas duo improved to 11-3 this spring with a 6-1 mark in SEC action.
Natsuho Arakawa and Agne Cepelyte scored the other doubles victory 6-3 at No. 3 against Florida’s Katie Kubicz and Peggy Porter.
Razorbacks hosting Top 25 matchup against Mississippi State
FAYETTEVILLE — Closing out its three-week home stand, No. 23 Arkansas hosts 20th-ranked Mississippi State in a three-game series that begins Friday at Bogle Park.
First pitch of the opener is scheduled for 6 p.m.
Admission is free with gates opening one hour prior to the start.
No. 23 Arkansas (25-6/2-4 SEC) vs No. 20/18 Mississippi State (28-6/3-3 SEC) | Game Notes
Bogle Park (Fayetteville, Ark.)
Game 1: Friday, March 30 at 6 p.m. – SEC Network+ | Live Stats
Game 2: Saturday, March 31 at 1 p.m. – SEC Network+ | Live Stats
Game 3: Sunday, April 1 at 1 p.m. – SEC Network+ | Live Stats
All-Time Series vs Mississippi State
Arkansas and Mississippi State have played 64 times prior to this weekend’s series.
The Razorbacks have only played Alabama and LSU more times (65). Mississippi State owns a 16-13 edge in games played in Fayetteville.
Last Time Out
The Razorbacks rallied for a 10-7 win over Missouri (March 25) to secure the series win at Bogle Park. Arkansas tallied seven runs in the fifth inning to erase a 7-3 deficit.
Kayla Green tied the game with a three-run homer while Autumn Buczek drove in the go-ahead run with a double to center.
The win was also the 100th-career victory for head coach Courtney Deifel.
What an Inning
Arkansas’ seven-run fifth against Missouri (March 25) was the program’s highest-scoring inning in SEC play since an eight-run inning against South Carolina in 2014.
The runs came by way of five hits, three walks and an error.
RPI Watch
Taking two of three from Missouri last weekend helped the Razorbacks move up five spots to No. 25 in the most recent (March 26) NCAA RPI.
All 13 SEC teams are positioned within the top 35. Mississippi State, this weekend’s opponent, sits at No. 15 in the RPI.
A Look at the Stat Sheet
Arkansas enters the weekend with 39 home runs, good for ninth in the NCAA.
The Razorbacks also carry top-50 NCAA marks in slugging percentage (.502), team ERA (1.91) and scoring (5.77 runs per game).
Individually, Mary Haff ranks seventh in ERA (0.74) and 15th in strikeouts (140). Fellow freshman Hannah McEwen is tied for 21st nationally with 35 runs driven in this season.
