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.

Hogs find way to win one on road they could have lost

Andy Hodges
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Nobody ever said playing on the road in the SEC is easy.

Which is why when Arkansas manages to come away with a three-point win in Tuscaloosa on Saturday night, there’s reason for fans to enjoy it.

Don’t nitpick a road win.

Eddie Sutton said that one night after a narrow win against Rice or somebody back in the old Southwest Conference days.

It guarantees the Razorbacks will finish at least .500 in the league because it’s their ninth win. Most felt 9-9 was necessary to get into the NCAA Tournament.

Tuesday night, after beating the Hogs in Fayetteville, John Calipari said Arkansas should be a sixth or seventh seed in the tournament “if they can win some games.”

Some fans were skeptical. For a fan base that tends to be somewhat bipolar, many didn’t figure that would happen and a couple of wins in the SEC Tournament were going to be necessary.

It didn’t come easy. Both the Crimson Tide and the Hogs seemed to be determined to let the other one win the game at times during some ugly stretches.

At the end, though, they were able to close the deal and hit some free throws while the Tide missed some golden opportunities.

That’s the type game the Hogs have tended to lose, according to some fans. The truth is this year they’ve dominated close games, going 5-1 in games decided by a single possession.

Close games haven’t been the problem. Putting together big runs late when trailing has been, particularly on the road.

Early, this one didn’t look like it would be close. Alabama started that badly.

“We started off in a fog,” Tide coach Avery Johnson said later.

He didn’t say if the Yahoo Sports report that named Collin Sexton as one of the players that allegedly got impermissible benefits was an issue.

” I’m very, very disappointed in our overall effort,” Johnson said. “I’m very disappointed in myself.”

Avery’s not a bad coach, but Mike Anderson showed him a thing or two. Anderson later credited the Hogs’ success at the end to getting the starters a rest that gave them more than the Tide.

As we said, Alabama had chances.

Sexton missed a free throw late and Donta Hall missed two free throws. Sexton missed a long shot at the buzzer that could have sent it to overtime.

In the end, as they’ve done nearly all season, in a close game the Hogs made the plays they had to make to win the game.

And now, if you believe the so-called bracketologists that actually make a living projecting the players in the NCAA Tournament, the Hogs are a virtual lock.

Winning one of the next two — at home against Auburn on Tuesday night and on the road Saturday at Missouri — would likely give them some breathing room.

But for the seeding in the conference tournament (and that won’t be determined until after the final game next weekend), the Hogs are in pretty good shape.

Locked in a gaggle of teams (eight or nine by my reckoning), Arkansas could get a bye in the conference tournament, which is always a bonus.

In any event, we’ll know next weekend and the guess is the Hogs will be in the NCAA … regardless of what happens through that tournament in St. Louis.

All of which is why winning over Alabama on Saturday night was so big.

The pressure’s not off, but it’s not a 10,000-pound weight.

Distance duo’s 1-2 punch paces Razorbacks at SEC

ESPN Arkansas News Services
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COLLEGE STATION, Texas — No. 3 Arkansas kicked off the opening day of the 2018 SEC Indoor Championships, collecting 24 points off the heels of distance duo Jack Bruce and Cameron Griffith, here Saturday afternoon.

From the sound of the gun, Griffith and Bruce made sure to be in scoring contention in the 3,000, running in positions three and four with the lead pack.

With five laps to go, Griffith took control of the race, taking the lead and distancing himself from the rest of the field. Bruce followed suit, increasing his stride and turnover with every passing lap.

The pair crossed the finish line less than one second apart, Griffith winning gold in 7 minutes, 54.19 seconds and Bruce taking silver in 7:54.99.

Both of their times were under the SEC meet record of 7:55.56, formerly held by Razorback distance great Dorian Ulrey.

Oregon transfer Kyle Levermore also contributed to the effort, adding one point to Arkansas’ total following his eighth-place finish.

“Figured we’d share the glory a little bit this year,” Griffith said. “Jack had it last year, thought he would give it me this year. It’s been a good season so far. We’re looking forward to NCAAs.

“When Cam took the lead, it was almost kind of a role reversal from the way we normally run,” Bruce said. “The way we run and the type of runners we are, I think we compliment each other pretty well and I think this race was a perfect display of that.”

Arkansas jumpers Harrison Schrage (long jump) and Jah-Nhai Perinchief (high jump) represented well in the field, adding a combined five points to the Razorbacks team score.

Schrage contributed three points, following his sixth-place finish in the long jump, while Perinchief earned two points from his seventh-place finish in the high jump.

A transfer out of Iowa Central, Perinchief will return to action tomorrow, contesting the triple jump.

Notables:
Senior Kenzo Cotton was the lone double qualifier on day one of the SEC championships, advancing to the event finals of 60 and 200-meter dashes.

Cotton ran a season best of 20.67 in the latter, .02 seconds shy of his indoor personal best in the event.

Razorback milers Ethan Moehn and Kyle Hosting punched their tickets to the event finals as the fourth and ninth-best performers of the day, respectively.

Hosting’s qualifying time 4 minutes, 8.60 seconds was just off his lifetime best by .40 seconds.

Arkansas pushed two more Hogs through to an event final with Obi Igbokwe ad Kemar Mowatt in the 400-meter dash.

Igbokwe was one of five competitors to clock a sub-46 second performance in the preliminary round while Mowatt finished with the seventh-fastest time, a PR of 46.15.

Little Rock native Kieran Taylor made his SEC indoor debut advancing on to the 800-meter finals.

Taylor had the fourth-best performance of the day and was highest finishing underclassman off a personal best of 1:50.35.

One of the top combined events performers in the nation, junior Gabe Moore closed out day one of the heptathlon in fourth-place with a score of 3,109 points.

Moore will open the day for Arkansas tomorrow afternoon, competing in the heptathlon 60-meter hurdles at 2:30 p.m.

“I was really proud of all three of my 3K guys because they all scored,” head coach Chris Bucknam said. “Obviously the 1-2 was big but that one point from Kyle [Levermore] might come in handy tomorrow.

“I was really proud of the way they competed tonight and I was proud of everybody. We came in here, guys were dialed, everybody’s body language is good. Certainly ending up with 19 points in the last event I think will energize our team and catapult us into a better day tomorrow.”

SEC Event Finalists:
• 60 meters: Kenzo Cotton
• 200 meters: Kenzo Cotton and Roy Ejiakuekwu
• 400 meters: Obi Igbokwe and Kemar Mowatt
• 800 meters: Kieran Taylor
• Mile: Ethan Moehn and Kyle Hosting
• 60-meter hurdles: Larry Donald

Events To Watch (Sunday):
• 5 p.m. | Triple Jump
Featured Razorback: Jah-Nhai Perinchief (PR: 16.00m/52-6)
• 5:11 p.m. / 6:54 p.m. | 60/200 Meters Finals
Featured Razorback: Kenzo Cotton (PR: 6.56/20.65)
• 5:39 p.m. | 400 Meters Finals
Featured Razorback: Obi Igbokwe (PR: 45.38)
• 6 p.m. | 5,000 Meters
Featured Razorback: Jack Bruce (PR: 13:43.34)
• 8:27 p.m. | 4-x-400 Meter Relay
Featured Razorback: Arkansas A (PR: 3:05.66)

SEC Indoor Championships
Gilliam Indoor Track Stadium
Feb. 24, 2018

Team Standings
1. Florida – 30.5
2. Alabama – 28
3. Georgia – 26
4. Arkansas – 24
5. Kentucky – 15
6. Texas A&M – 13.5
7. South Carolina – 8
8. LSU – 4
8. Missouri – 4
10. Tennessee – 3

60 Meters Prelims
2. Kenzo Cotton – 6.65
10. Kris Hari – 6.74

200 Meter Prelims
2. Kenzo Cotton – 20.67
7. Roy Ejiakuekwu – 20.95

400 Meters Prelims
5. Obi Igbokwe – 45.97
7. Kemar Mowatt – 46.15
11. Rhayko Schwartz – 46.46
21. John Winn – 47.32
30. Hunter Woodall – 48.31
32. Travius Chambers – 48.64

800 Meters Prelims
4. Kieran Taylor – 1:50.35
27. Reese Walters – 2:03.97

Mile Prelims
4. Ethan Moehn – 4:05.48
9. Kyle Hosting – 4:08.60

3,000 Meters
1. Cameron Griffith – 7:54.19 MR
2. Jack Bruce – 7:54.95
8. Kyle Levermore – 8:13.06

60 Meter Hurdles
4. Larry Donald – 7.83

High Jump
7. Jah-Nhai Perinchief – 2.18m/7-1¾

Long Jump
6. Harrison Schrage – 7.70m/25-3¼
10. Laquan Nairn – 7.52m/24-8¼

Weight Throw
10. Erich Sullins – 20.27m/66-6

Heptathlon (4 of 7)
4. Gabe Moore – 3,109 pts.
(3) 60 Meters – 7.03, 872 pts.
(3) Long Jump – 7.04m/23-1¼, 823 pts.
(4) Shot Put – 13.83m/45-4½, 718 pts.
(5) High Jump – 1.88m/6-2, 696 pts.

Brooks’ title paces Hogs to lead in day one at SEC

ESPN Arkansas News Services
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COLLEGE STATION, Texas — Top-ranked Arkansas leads the SEC Championships scoring 41 points after the first day here, led by a title from redshirt senior Taliyah Brooks in the pentathlon.

“It’s been a long time coming, but we’ve been putting a lot of work in at practice and the goal was to score a lot of points for the team, so I’m happy I could do that,” Brooks said.

Brooks was the first Razorback champion for Arkansas, finishing in first place in the pentathlon for the first time in her career.

Brooks kicked off the event as the top performer in the 60-meter hurdles, crossing the finish well ahead of her competition in 8.13 seconds.

She went on to place inside the top-six in all of her remaining four events, completing the pentathlon with a final score of 4,422 points — a season best for the Wichita Falls, Texas native.

“I think it’s really culmination of how much work she puts in and the dedication she has to do all of the things we ask her to do,” associate head coach Chris Johnson said. “She’s really just a warrior, a trooper. She’s very dedicated to the team and we’re just very proud of her.”

Brooks Through the Years (SEC Indoor Pentathlon)
• 2018: 4,422 points, First
• 2017: 4,450 points, Second
• 2016: 4,376 points, Second
• 2015: 4,125 points, Seventh

Arkansas picked up 19 points in the pole vault with four Razorbacks including Tori Hoggard, Lexi Jacobus, Desiree Freier and Ellie Ramos-Mata occupying half of the top-eight spots.

Hoggard was the top vaulter of the day, earning a silver medal off a best clearance of 4.46m/14-7½.

Right behind her, Jacobus picked up a bronze medal, while Freier placed fifth and Ramos-Mata finished eighth.

“To have four in the top-eight, that’s pretty good,” assistant coach Bryan Compton said. “We thought we’d place a little bit better with Desi [Freier] but the Ole Miss vaulter had a good meet. Ellie [Ramos-Mata] came back and did a good job and the twins, they’ll be battling with the Kentucky vaulter for the next year and a half so we’ll keep after that.”

Notables:
Arkansas 60-meter hurdlers Taliyah Brooks and Payton Chadwick lowered their program record by .01 second together, both running personal bests of 8.08 to advance to the event finals.

The pair will be joined in tomorrow’s 60 hurdles final by freshman Janeek Brown who recorded a PR of her own, clocking 8.13 in the preliminary round.

Freshman quarter-miler Morgan Burks-Magee had a breakout race, shaving 1.57 seconds off her PR to advance through to the 400-meter finals with 52.20.

Burks-Magee now ranks sixth in the nation and fourth in program history.

Two Razorbacks Jada Baylark and Kiara Parker advanced through in the 60-meter dash.

Parker’s performance of 7.27 was a .07 second PR and moved her up to No. 5 on Arkansas’ all-time bests list.

Arkansas milers rose to the occasion on day one as all four Razorbacks Sydney Brown, Nikki Hiltz, Maddy Reed and Carina Viljoen advanced to tomorrow’s finals, finishing inside the top-three of their respective heats to earn automatic qualification.

In the final event of the day, three Razorbacks placed fourth, fifth and sixth in the 3,000 meter run, led by sophomore Taylor Werner who took third with a time of 9:17.62.

Devin Clark and Rachel Nichwitz were behind Werner with times of 9:24.81 and 9:32.17, respectively.

SEC Event Finalists (Scoring Opportunities)
• 60 meters: Jada Baylark and Kiara Parker
• 400 meters: Morgan Burks-Magee
• Mile: Sydeny Brown, Nikki Hiltz, Maddy Reed and Carina Viljoen
• 60-meter hurdles: Taliyah Brooks, Payton Chadwick and Janeek Brown

Events To Watch (Sunday):
• 5:06 p.m. | 60 Meter Hurdles/ 200 Meters Finals
Featured Razorback: Payton Chadwick (PR: 8.08/22.99)
• 5:14 p.m. | 60 Meters Finals
Featured Razorback: Jada Baylark (PR: 7.22)
• 5:29 p.m. | Mile Finals
Featured Razorback: Nikki Hiltz (PR: 4:33.44)
• 7:12 p.m. | 5,000 Meters
Featured Razorback: Taylor Werner (PR: 16:04.05)
• 8:12 p.m. | Distance Medley Relay
Featured Razorback: Arkansas A (PR: 11:02.31)
Day One Team Scores

SEC Indoor Championships
Gilliam Indoor Track Stadium
Feb. 24, 2018

Team Standings
1.  Arkansas – 41
2. Georgia – 38
3. Florida – 29
4. Kentucky – 21
5. Ole Miss – 12
5. Alabama – 13
7. Missouri – 11
8. Texas A&M – 10
9. South Carolina – 9
10. Tennessee – 5
10. Vanderbilt – 5

60 Meters Prelims
5. Jada Baylark – 7.23
7. Kiara Parker – 7.27
26. Tamara Kuykendall – 7.47

60 Meters Prelims
5. Jada Baylark – 7.23
7. Kiara Parker – 7.27
26. Tamara Kuykendall – 7.47

200 Meter Prelims
9. Payton Chadwick – 23.16
12. Jada Baylark – 23.32
21. Kiara Parker – 23.51
25. Tamara Kuykendall – 23.85

400 Meters Prelims
4. Morgan Burks-Magee – 52.20

800 Meters Prelims
15. Ruth Wiggins – 2:11.70
16. Emily Jeacock – 2:13.34

Mile Prelims
2. Carina Viljoen – 4:47.55
3. Sydney Brown – 4:47.59
5. Maddy Reed – 4:48.18
6. Nikki Hiltz – 4:48.22

3,000 Meters
4. Taylor Werner- 9:17.62
5. Devin Clark- 9:24.81
6. Rachel Nichwitz- 9:32.17

60 Meter Hurdles Prelims
3. Payton Chadwick – 8.08
4. Taliyah Brooks – 8.08
6. Janeek Brown – 8.13

Pole Vault
2. Tori Hoggard – 4.46m/14-7½
3. Lexi Jacobus – 4.38m/14-4½
5. Desiree Freier – 4.30m/14-1¼
Ellie Ramos-Mata – 4.05m/13-3½
10. Morgan Hartsell – 3.90m/12-9½
Rylee Robinson – NH

Long Jump
15. Taliyah Brooks – 5.58m/18-3¾

Pentathlon
Taliyah Brooks – 4,422 pts.
(1) 60-Meter Hurdles – 8.13, 1100 pts.
(3) High Jump – 1.76m/5-9 1/4, 928 pts.
(4) Shot Put – 12.18m/39-11 1/2, 673 pts.
(1) Long Jump – 6.27m/20-7, 934 pts.
(6) 800 Meters – 2:22..73,787 pts.

Seven Hogs drop time at first day of ‘Last Chance’ meet

ESPN Arkansas News Services
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COLUMBIA, Mo. — Seven Razorbacks competed at the NCAA Last Chance meet here Saturday, as junior Madison Strathman and seniors Chelsea Tatlow and Chloe Hannam each dropped time.

Strathman swam a personal-best 1:01.30 in the 100 breast during Saturday morning’s prelims, dropping 0.19 seconds. In the finals, she was unable to drop more time, touching in 1:01.38.

In a time trial of the 200 back, Hannam dropped 0.11 seconds off of her personal best, swimming a heat of 1:54.67.

In the 200 fly time trial, Tatlow recorded a season-best 1:56.42, cutting 0.58 seconds off. Senior Jessie Garrison and junior Marlena Pigliacampi each swam in the 200 fly time trial also, turning in times of 1:57.68 and 1:59.81, respectively.

Senior Olivia Weekley swam the 100 butterfly, turning in times of 55.09 in the prelims and 54.37 in the finals, unable to drop time from a personal best that she had at the Art Adamson Invite earlier in the year at 53.01.

Sophomore Ayumi Macias attempted to drop time in the 500 freestyle but was not able to, turning in times of 4:46.20 in the prelims and 4:47.58 in the finals.

ORDER OF EVENTS
Sunday, Feb. 25
10 a.m. – Prelims
200 medley relay
10 minute break
50 free
200 fly
5 minute break
200 back
200 free
200 breast
200 IM
10 minute break
400 free relay

5 p.m. – Finals
200 medley relay
10 minute break
1650 free
50 free
200 fly
5 minute break
200 back
200 free
200 breast
200 IM
10 minute break
400 free relay

Hogs hold on at end to take road win over Alabama

ESPN Arkansas News Services
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VIDEO FROM ESPN SEC NETWORK
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — Victors of five of the last six games, Arkansas knocked off Alabama, 76-73, Saturday night, to pick up their third road SEC win of the season.

The win improves Arkansas to 20-9 overall, 9-7 in the SEC. It marks the fourth 20-win season in the last five years for the Razorbacks and solidifies that Arkansas will finish at or above .500 in conference play for the sixth-straight season.

For the second straight game, Arkansas got out quickly on its opponent, this time, taking an 11-4 lead against the Tide.

The Razorbacks would eventually stretch its lead to 16-7 after a C.J. Jones 3.

Early on, Arkansas worked inside out, moving the ball through big man Daniel Gafford. Gafford checked out of the game for a break and the Tide took advantage.

Alabama went on a 9-0 to tie the game at 16-16, after Arkansas failed to score over a 4:50 period.

From that point, Arkansas went on a 17-7 run to take its largest lead of the half, up 10 at 33-23.

Bama ended the half on an 8-2 run, scoring the last six to cut the Arkansas lead to four at the break at 35-31.

Coming out of the locker room, Arkansas missed its first seven shot attempts, as the Tide hit four of its first six to take its first lead of the game at 41-37.

Arkansas’ bench production was big in the second half.

Jones and sophomore forward Adrio Bailey combined for 20 of Arkansas’ 22 bench points, as Jones went 5-of-7 from the floor, including 3-of-3 from deep, as the Alabama native finished with 13 points.

Bailey added seven points of his own. All of Bailey’s points came on his own 7-0, as the Razorbacks regained the lead with a little over eight minutes left in the game.

Bama hit four straight free throws to take a one-point lead, before Arkansas scored nine straight to take its largest lead of the second half at 65-57.

The Tide made it interesting late, hitting a couple big 3’s, but Arkansas took care of business at the free-throw line to hold off Alabama.

Macon led Arkansas with 17 points, going 5-of-12 from the field. Gafford had a productive game, posting 11 points and seven rebounds, while Dustin Thomas matched Gafford with 11 points of his own. Jaylen Barford was the fifth Razorback to finish in double figures, adding 10 points.

Trey Thompson did not contribute in the score column but still had a big game, pulling down seven rebounds and recording five assists.

Arkansas returns home Tuesday, hosting No. 12 Auburn at 8 p.m. on the SEC Network.

Game Notes
• The win gives the Razorbacks back-to-back wins in Tuscaloosa for the first time in 21 years.

• It is Arkansas’ second four-game winning streak (06-08) against Alabama in the all-time series that dates back to 1948.

• The win is the Razorbacks’ ninth SEC road victory during the last two seasons.

• During the last five years, the Razorbacks have posted a 34-15 (.694) regular season record in the months of February and March.

• Arkansas has won 37 consecutive games in which it has led at halftime. During Mike Anderson era, the Razorbacks are 122-7 when leading at the intermission.

Two more wins in Florida gives Hogs program-best start

ESPN Arkansas News Services
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MADEIRA BEACH, Fla. — Arkansas posted a pair of five-inning wins Saturday at the Madeira Beach Invitational to improve to 9-0 this season which marks the best start in program history.

The Razorbacks tallied five home runs on the day including two off the bat of freshman catcher Kayla Green while Autumn Storms and Mary Haff each recorded a win in the circle.

Up Next
Arkansas is set to close out the Madeira Beach Invitational on Sunday morning against McNeese.

First pitch of the weekend finale is scheduled for 8 a.m. on Field 3 at R.O.C. Park. Sunday’s game will be the first meeting between Arkansas and McNeese since the 1999 season.

Game 1: Arkansas 10, Delaware 1 (5 inn.) | Box Score

The Razorbacks wasted no time in jumping out to an early — and big — lead.

With senior Autumn Buczek on first after a lead-off bunt single, freshman Hannah McEwen lined an RBI triple into the corner in right field to plate Arkansas’ first of nine first-inning runs.

A couple of two-run homers, one by Green and another by McEwen, were the big shots in the frame. Eight hits, one sacrifice fly and an error later, the Razorbacks led 9-0 heading into the second.

In the circle, Storms faced a bases-loaded, no-out jam in the second inning but limited the damage to just one run for the Blue Hens.

Freshman Linnie Malkin pushed the advantage back to nine runs with a solo homer in the bottom of the second inning. The home run was her third of the season, and Arkansas’ third of the game.

Delaware threatened to chip away at its deficit with two on and nobody out in the fourth but Storms responded with a couple ground balls and a strikeout to keep a run from crossing the plate.

Junior Katie Warrick worked the fifth inning and secured the run-rule victory by inducing a 6-4-3 double play to end the game.

Game 2: Arkansas 9, Villanova 0 (5 inn.) | Box Score

On her way to a one-hit performance, Haff was in full control in the circle and struck out seven of the first nine hitters she faced.

She worked another 1-2-3 inning in the fourth with the help of a diving catch by Loren Krzysko in center field and two ground balls to the left side of the infield.

Haff was one out away from a perfect game but an error followed by a base hit up the middle gave Villanova two on but the freshman pitcher got the next hitter to pop out to end the game.

While their pitcher was keeping the opposing bats quiet, the Razorbacks broke it open with a five-run third frame featuring a three-run shot by Krzysko.

Later in the inning, Sydney Parr had a two-run single to center to cap her team’s scoring.

She finished the game with two hits and three RBI against the Wildcats. Green hit her second home run of the day, a solo shot, in Arkansas’ three-run fourth inning.

Sexton reportedly will play, despite allegations

Andy Hodges
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Early Friday morning Yahoo Sports released a blockbuster story that has the world of college athletics buzzing.

Implicated in the main story was Alabama point guard Collin Sexton and Crimson Tide coach Avery Johnson addressed in a video from AL.com later Friday concerning his status for the game with Arkansas on Saturday.

Sexton was named in a Yahoo Sports report published Friday morning on a list of players who allegedly had family members take meals from an agent.

The suburban Atlanta product was suspended for the season opener as part of the FBI investigation that’s also the basis for the latest report.

Johnson said Alabama athletics director Greg Byrne is “leading the charge” looking into the matter along with compliance.

Regardless of how the Crimson Tide spin it, the entire matter is a distraction for them. He is the leading scorer for them, averaging over 18 points a game.

The story went off like a grenade throughout college athletics and is likely to have far-reaching implications.

The documents tie some of the biggest names and programs in the sport to activity that appears to violate the NCAA’s amateurism rules. This could end up casting a pall over the NCAA tournament because of eligibility issues. There’s potential impermissible benefits and preferential treatment for players and families of players at Duke, North Carolina, Texas, Kentucky, Michigan State, USC, Alabama and a host of other schools. The documents link some of the sport’s biggest current stars – Michigan State’s Miles Bridges, Alabama’s Collin Sexton and Duke’s Wendell Carter – to specific potential extra benefits for either the athletes or their family members. The amounts tied to players in the case range from basic meals to tens of thousands of dollars.

The NCAA is taking the approach of acting surprised this is all going on.

No, seriously.

The president of the kangaroo court that has progressively lost control of big-time college athletics over the last several decades, Mark Emmert, released a statement Friday morning after the story broke:

“These allegations, if true, point to systematic failures that must be fixed and fixed now if we want college sports in America. Simply put, people who engage in this kind of behavior have no place in college sports. They are an affront to all those who play by the rules,” the statement read. “Following the Southern District of New York’s indictments last year, the NCAA Board of Governors and I formed the independent Commission on College Basketball, chaired by Condoleezza Rice, to provide recommendations on how to clean up the sport. With these latest allegations, it’s clear this work is more important now than ever. The Board and I are completely committed to making transformational changes to the game and ensuring all involved in college basketball do so with integrity. We also will continue to cooperate with the efforts of federal prosecutors to identify and punish the unscrupulous parties seeking to exploit the system through criminal acts.”

Considering the NCAA hasn’t won a case in courtroom (they usually just stall all cases until the other party just gives up or dies), this could be the way they revamp investigations.

Let’s face it, over the last several years they have over-reached on investigations (Penn State), had to investigate their own investigative practices (Miami and Nevin Shapiro) and just flat screwed up too many others to start listing.

The guess here is this won’t stop with basketball and there’s no telling how high this will reach.

Apparently there is an FBI wiretap of Arizona’s coach being on a phone call where a six-figure amount was being discussed to land a certain player.

College basketball blue-bloods Kentucky and Duke are being dragged into the discussion now, too.

Now Arkansas will play an Alabama team that is dealing with a distraction and there’s not really any telling whaat their frame of mind will be at 5 p.m. Saturday.

And it could make for a very interesting NCAA Tournament.

McEwen, Bugarin pace offense in run-rule wins in Florida

ESPN Arkansas News Services
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MADEIRA BEACH, Fla. — Arkansas improved to 7-0 with run-rule victories Friday evening over Marist and Manhattan at the Madeira Beach Invitational.

Helping the team to a season-high 15 runs, four Razorbacks tallied multi-hit performances including freshman Hannah McEwen who recorded five RBI and a grand slam against Marist.

Junior Haydi Bugarin hit a home run and drove in five runs of her own in Arkansas’ win over Manhattan.

Up Next
Day two of the Madeira Beach Invitational begins at 10 a.m. with a game against Delaware which will mark the first-ever meeting between the two programs.

The Razorbacks will follow with a game against Villanova at 12:30 p.m. Both are scheduled for Field 3 at R.O.C. Park.

Game 1: Arkansas 15, Marist 3 (6 inn.) | Box Score

McEwen ripped a double down the line in right field to open the scoring, plating senior Autumn Buczek who led off the game with a walk.

Later in the first, a fielder’s choice grounder by Tori Cooper brought McEwen home from third.

The Razorbacks took a 3-0 advantage in the third inning on an RBI double off the bat of freshman Kayla Green that allowed Cooper to score.

Reigning SEC Freshman of the Week, Mary Haff picked up where she left off last weekend by striking out seven through the first three innings.

She finished the game with nine strikeouts and no walks in five innings of work. Haff, pitching back in her home state, improved to 4-0 with the win.

The Razorbacks stretched its lead to seven with McEwen’s grand slam in the fourth inning. With runners on first and second, Buczek legged out an infield single to load the bases for McEwen.

In control of the game, Arkansas busted things open with an eight-run sixth frame behind five hits and five walks issued by Marist pitching. Green picked up her second and third RBI with a double in the outburst.

Game 2: Arkansas 9, Manhattan 1 (6 inn.) | Box Score

The Razorbacks left seven runners on base through the first three innings including a bases-loaded, one-out threat in the opening frame.

Meanwhile, sophomore Autumn Storms was keeping the Jaspers quiet by retiring the first six hitters of the game with the help of three strikeouts.

In the third, Manhattan loaded the bases with no outs but a 1-2-3 double play followed by a ground ball to shortstop helped Storms and the Razorbacks get out of the inning unscathed.

Bugarin supplied the timely hit Arkansas had been missing when she launched a two-run shot to left field in the fourth, her second home run of the season.

She added a two-run double down the line in the fifth inning, pushing the Razorbacks’ lead to 4-0 when pinch runners Sydney Parr and Jada Dotson crossed the plate.

After a four-run fifth inning, the lead was up to 6-0 for Storms.

Manhattan got on the scoreboard with a run in the top of the sixth inning but the Razorbacks responded with three runs in the home half of the inning to end the game.

Ashley Diaz and Bugarin posted back-to-back RBI singles for an 8-1 advantage.

With the bases loaded, McEwen grounded a ball to first base but the throw home for the would-be forced out was bounced to the plate allowing Diaz to score the game-ending run.

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