Here are the best photos from the Razorbacks’ 5-4 loss to Tulsa in the opening day of the NCAA Regional in Norman.
Texas A&M comes from behind to even series with Hogs
COLLEGE STATION, Texas — Arkansas couldn’t get the key hits it needed Friday night, falling to Texas A&M, 5-2, at Blue Bell Park forcing a rubber match on Saturday for the final day of the regular season.
The loss drops Arkansas’ record to 38-15 for the season and 17-11 in conference play, while Texas A&M moves to 36-19 overall and 16-13 in SEC play.
With the loss, Arkansas is unable to win the SEC Western Division, but will still have a chance to clinch the four-seed for the SEC Tournament with a win on Saturday.
Senior starting pitcher Dominic Taccolini had one bad inning that included a three-run home run in the third, but settled in to throw three scoreless innings after the homer, striking out three.
That homer for the Aggies came off the bat of Hunter Coleman, part of a four-run inning, which was really the only blemish on Taccolini’s performance.
The Sugar Land, Texas, native was penciled into the starting spot for Friday’s game after scheduled starter Blaine Knight was pushed to Saturday due to light arm soreness.
This was the second consecutive week that Taccolini found himself in the starting role and for the second-straight week, he was up to the challenge as he looked strong over six innings, giving up five runs, four in the third inning, while walking just four and throwing 93 pitches.
Unfortunately, Taccolini couldn’t get the same run support he got last week as Texas A&M’s starter Corbin Martin struck out 12 Razorback batters over eight innings for his sixth win of the year.
The Hogs managed eight hits off Martin, but were unable to bring many home as seven were left on base in the game.
Sophomores Eric Cole and Jax Biggers both turned in two-hit games in the loss.
For Biggers, it’s his second multi-hit game of the series and third in the last five games. As for Cole, both of his hits went for doubles, a career-high, and he added a run scored. Chad Spanberger, Dominic Fletcher, Carson Shaddy, and Jared Gates also turned in hits.
Up Next
Arkansas finishes up the regular season on Saturday with the final game of the three-game series with Texas A&M. First pitch from Blue Bell Park is scheduled for 11 a.m. and will be televised on the SEC Network.
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Spanberger delivers 10th-inning homer to lift Hogs to win
COLLEGE STATION, Texas — Chad Spanberger’s 10th inning home run was the final blow Arkansas needed to take the series opener over Texas A&M on Thursday night at Blue Bell Park.
The Aggies had already forced the game into extras with a single run in the bottom of the ninth, but Spanberger’s 12th home run of the year silenced the Aggie crowd in the 10th and gave the Hogs their third extra-inning win of the season.
The home run for Spanberger was his only hit of the night as he went 1-for-4 at the plate. Coming into the game, he only had three hits in 21 at-bats, one of those hits being a home run.
However, Thursday night’s homer might have been his most clutch hit of the year.
Arkansas had allowed Texas A&M to tie the game at 4-4 in the ninth after Jake Reindl couldn’t close out the game, allowing a lead-off walk to Hunter Coleman and a double to Cole Bedford. Jorge Gutierrez followed Bedford with a deep sacrifice fly to right field to tie the game and send it to extras.
Two quick outs started the top of the 10th for the Hog bats and looked as if there would be no response.
Fortunately, Jake Arledge came through with a big two-out single to put a runner on and then Spanberger unloaded an opposite field home run that appeared to fly over the Texas A&M video board in left field.
On the mound, junior pitcher Trevor Stephan threw another gem of a game, even after giving up a home run to Braden Shewmake in the third inning that, at the time, gave Texas A&M the 3-2 lead.
After the long ball, Stephan allowed just two hits over the next four innings, striking out six in the process before running into trouble in the eighth.
Stephan had to settle for the no-decision, finishing with 7.2 innings pitched, three runs allowed, and 10 strikeouts with only one walk. It was his third-straight start of seven innings or more and 10 or more strikeouts.
Reindl corralled the victory, his third of the year after coming in to pitch in the ninth inning. Even though he gave up the game-tying run, he was able to come back and finish off the 10th with a 1-2-3 inning, needing just 14 pitches.
Offensively, the Razorbacks didn’t struggle at the plate as they knocked out 15 hits compared to only six by the Aggies.
Jax Biggers led all hitters, going 3-for-5 with three RBIs and a run scored. He was just a triple short of the cycle as his eighth inning two-run home run was his fourth of the year.
Biggers continues to be one of Arkansas’ most consistent hitters this year as he is hitting a team-leading .333 on the year and .337 against SEC opponents.
He has at least one hit in six of his last seven games and now has 18 multi-hit games, five of three hits or more.
Razorback Quotables
“We told our guys once they scored, ‘Let’s get in the dugout. We still have a chance. We’re out of school. Let’s stay here all night and do whatever we have to do.’ We just wanted to relax them a little bit. Obviously, we got a big two-out single by our lead-off man, Jake Arledge. (Chad) Spanberger had a great at-bat and on the sixth or seventh pitch of the at-bat, he hits one over the top of that scoreboard, which was pretty amazing.” — Coach Dave Van Horn on the extra-inning victory over Texas A&M
“The story of the night, to me, was Trevor Stephan. He made one bad pitch after an error and gave up three runs on the home run and all of the sudden we were down. We just never got those big hits that gave us that big inning. (Texas A&M’s) pitching is really good and they did a great job of holding us down. It seemed like we left a lot on base. It was frustrating, but it’s how the game works sometimes. You just have to keep grinding it out.” — Van Horn on how Arkansas was able to stay in the game
Up Next
Arkansas is back on the field with Texas A&M tomorrow for game two of the series starting at 6:30 p.m.
The game can be seen online only on SEC Network+ via the Watch ESPN app and WatchESPN.com. Phil Elson will have the call on the radio via the Razorback Sports Network.
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Neighbors signs another transfer, this time from Sooners
FAYETTEVILLE — Arkansas coach Mike Neighbors announced his fourth addition to the Razorback roster in Chelsea Dungee on Tuesday.
Dungee joins the Razorbacks after one season at Oklahoma. She will sit out the 2017-18 season per NCAA transfer rules.
“Chelsea saying yes to the Arkansas Razorbacks is the jumpstart we need to reinvigorate our regional visibility,” Neighbors said. “She is widely known for being ultra-competitive and willing to do whatever it takes to help her team.
“Chelsea has international experience winning a gold-medal with USA Basketball and she was an All-Big 12 freshman team performer at Oklahoma.
“She is a perfect fit for our style of play and will make an impact for us both in her transfer year and in our future,” Neighbors continued. “Chelsea played for Darlene Calip, who I worked with at Tulsa, and so I am confident we have added a much-needed and high-quality player to our Razorback roster.
“Our fans will be reminded of great Razorback competitors like fellow Oklahoman Wendi Willits, Sarah Pfeifer and Melissa Wolff. Chelsea has the potential to leave her own mark in the history of Razorback basketball.”
Dungee was a Big 12 All-Freshman Team member in 2017 after appearing in 33 games with 18 starts for the Sooners.
She was second on the team with an 81.1 free throw percentage and averaged 7.4 points, 2.5 rebounds and 0.8 assists per game.
Dungee had a career-high 18 points and nine rebounds in a road win at Texas Tech, and she went 6-for-12 from the floor with two 3-pointers in the second round of the NCAA Tournament at Washington as a freshman.
The 5-11 guard played two years each at Preston (Okla.) and Sapulpa (Okla.) High Schools. With Preston as a freshman and sophomore, she helped the team to a state title averaging 25.9 points, 10.0 rebounds and 5.3 assists per game.
She scored 52 points on 18-of-25 shooting against Tulsa Rogers in her sophomore season. Dungee earned Gatorade Player of the Year honors and earned selection to the Oklahoma Super 5, and first team all-state honors as a sophomore.
Dungee played her junior and senior seasons at Sapulpa scoring 18.4 points and grabbing 4.7 rebounds per game in her final year.
In addition to her high school career, Dungee led USA Basketball’s U16 squad to a gold medal at the 2013 FIBA Americas Championships.
Dungee brings the total number of newcomers to six for next season. Fayetteville’s Grayce Spangler and Macy Weaver (Stillman Valley, Illinois) signed during in November and Raven Northcross-Baker (Malvern) and Taylah Thomas (Arlington, Texas) were welcomed to the team in May. Neighbors also locked up Florida State transfer A’Tyanna Gaulden earlier this week.
Neighbors adds transfer from Florida State to Hogs’ roster
FAYETTEVILLE — Arkansas women’s basketball coach Mike Neighbors announced the addition of transfer A’Tyanna Gaulden to the Razorback roster on Monday.
Gaulden joins Arkansas after her freshman season at Florida State. She will not play in 2017-18 due to NCAA transfer rules.
“Explosive, high IQ, great decision making guards are rare in women’s college basketball but we got one to be a Razorback today,” Neighbors said. “From the day that A’T announced her decision to transfer from Florida State, coach Todd Schaefer was relentless in pursuit of reaching her and her family.
“Once we made contact, we made an immediate connection like no other that I have ever experienced in recruiting. Her mother, Zenochia Johnson, and siblings Un’Naka Gaulden and Roniya Wynn have provided a wonderful support system for her to grow into the leader she is.
“Her coaches Sherri Harris at Americus Sumter HS and summer coach, and Godfather, Rick Jones have mentored A’T into a fierce competitor and caring teammate.
“Although she will sit a year in residency as a transfer, she will immediately impact our program challenging Malica Monk and Devin Cosper on a daily basis.
“A’Tyanna brings NCAA Tournament experience that is invaluable for those who have never experienced the tournament. She will remind Razorback fans of Brittany Vaughn, Cierra Ricketts, and Kamara Stancle. We are thrilled she is a Razorback.”
The 5-7 guard is originally from Ocilla, Georgia, where she averaged 20.9 points per game, 7.5 assists per game, 6.3 steals per game and 5.1 rebounds per game for Americus Sumter High School.
As a prep player, Gaulden was ranked sixth among all guard in the ESPNW 2016 recruiting class and was No. 23 overall. She was a five-star player who earned Atlanta Journal Constitution Player of the Year after her senior season.
In addition, Gaulden earned AJC First-Team honors in 2015 and 2016 while averaging 21.4 points, 6.8 assists, 4.3 steals and 4.6 rebounds per game in her junior season.
She paced Americus Sumter to a 29-2 record as a junior and the Elite Eight of the Georgia state playoffs.
As a freshman at Florida State, Gaulden came in off the bench in 21 games averaging 1.1 points, 0.6 rebounds and 1.0 assists per game in 5.7 minutes per contest. She was 7-of 15 from the floor and had 22 assists.
Hogs’ Deifel: ‘I’m excited for this to be the new standard’
• 2017 NCAA Tournament Bracket
FAYETTEVILLE — Softball coach Courtney Deifel met with local media Monday morning to discuss the Razorbacks’ at-large selection into the 2017 NCAA Division I Softball Championship.
With the bid, Arkansas now has seven NCAA Regional appearances and its first since the 2013 season.
The Razorbacks play Tulsa in the opening game of the Norman Regional with first pitch scheduled for 11:30 a.m. on the SEC Network.
On initial reaction to NCAA Tournament selection …
“It was pretty exciting. Any time you see your name pop up on the NCAA Tournament it’s a pretty exciting night. To see our girls’ reaction with the way they worked themselves back into (the NCAA Tournament) made it pretty special. I’m excited to see them go to work this weekend.”
On all 13 SEC teams getting a bid …
“Our conference is so strong and the body of work for each team speaks for itself. We play the toughest schedules in the country and we all have good wins and bodies of work. To me, I think we all worked our way in and they acknowledged that last night.”
On the May 5 win over Georgia …
“It played a huge part in just getting us to the SEC Tournament, and I think that was the big step in proving that we belonged there, and that’s only going to help us down the stretch in the postseason. For one, it get our girls that first experience of the postseason and being on that big stage playing for something big.”
On her first NCAA appearance as a head coach …
“I’m just excited for the team. I’m excited for them to experience this and I’m excited for this to be the new standard of what we shoot for every year. I’m really proud of them.”
On the other teams in the Norman Regional …
“I know they’re all very strong. I know that we have a really tough draw but everyone has a tough draw this time of year. That’s what postseason is all about. We have teams that have really strong pitching. When you look at Tulsa, they have a strong arm in their ace Emily Watson. She can really throw it. Beyond that, North Dakota State can always throw it and Oklahoma has a great staff so there are three very strong teams. There are three teams that know how to win and are comfortable in the postseason so we’re expecting some battles this weekend and it starts with Tulsa.”
On first-game opponent, Tulsa …
“We both know a lot about each other. It’s interesting at this point of the year to know so much about two of your three opponents and then we played North Dakota State just last year. In the two games we had with Tulsa, they were both kind of lopsided. When we played them the first time, we didn’t play our best game and they played very well. When we played them the second time, we played a much better game and they didn’t have their best game so I expect both of us to bring our best this weekend.”
On playing in Norman …
“When we’re playing for something bigger than we’re typically playing for, it’s nice to go to a stadium you’ve played in and against a team that you’ve played. Also, we’re close to home and we travel really well so it’ll be good for our fans to make the short three and a half hour drive, and hopefully Call the Hogs with us.”
On making the NCAA Tournament in second year at Arkansas …
“When we set out, this was always a goal that we shot for but we never really spoke about. It was more about getting these student-athletes to buy in to being better every day. When you do that and absolutely sell out to being better Razorbacks every day, then things like NCAA berths happen. Did we sit down as a staff and say ‘oh, in year two…?’ Absolutely not but we wanted it so badly for this team. It’s such a special group of girls and I’m so excited, especially that our senior class gets to experience this.”
Arkansas back in NCAA Tournament for first time in three years
NCAA Norman Regional | Host Information
Who: No. 10 Oklahoma (50-8), Tulsa (39-15), Arkansas (31-22), North Dakota State (28-31)
When: May 19-21, 2017
Where: Marita Hynes Field (Norman, Okla.)
• 2017 NCAA Tournament Bracket
FAYETTEVILLE — Breaking a three-season absence from the national tournament, Arkansas earned an at-large bid into the 2017 NCAA Division I Softball Championship as announced Sunday evening.
It marks the program’s seventh NCAA appearance, and first since 2013.
For the sixth time in those seven bids, the Razorbacks are part of the Norman Regional and will open play Friday at 11:30 a.m. against Tulsa.
In her second season at the helm of the program, coach Courtney Deifel has orchestrated a 14-win improvement over last year’s record which marks the best turnaround among Power 5 teams entering the NCAA Tournament.
Arkansas’ seven wins in SEC play equal the program’s combined total over the previous three years. The Razorbacks began their postseason last week with their 10th overall appearance at the SEC Tournament in Knoxville.
The Razorbacks enter the NCAA Tournament with an SEC-leading 57 home runs including a single-season record 16 home runs by senior Nicole Schroeder and 10 off the bat of junior Tori Cooper.
When all-conference honors were announced last week, junior shortstop A.J. Belans was named to the All-SEC Second Team while pitcher Autumn Storms earned a spot on the SEC All-Freshman Team.
Three homers, strong pitching lifts Hogs to series win over Vandy
FAYETTEVILLE — With the help of three home runs and strong pitching, Arkansas cruised past Vanderbilt on Sunday afternoon, winning 7-1 in its regular season home finale.
The win for Arkansas helps claim its 12th series of the year and fifth in conference play. It’s the first series win since the Hogs swept Georgia (April 13-15) and moves their overall record to 37-14, 16-10 in SEC play.
Arkansas’ 1-6 hitters recorded at least one hit in the game on Sunday, part of a 10-hit outburst that brought home the seven runs. The six-hole hitter Carson Shaddy came away with top marks, going 3-for-3 with an RBI and a run scored, his third three-hit game of the year.
Even with the wide array of hits up and down the lineup, the home run ball was all Arkansas really needed as Grant Koch, Dominic Fletcher, and Chad Spanberger all went deep to up the Hogs’ season total to 66 home runs.
Koch’s two-run blast in the first inning was what got the Hogs off and running. It was his second home run of the series and fourth in the last seven games to give him 13 for the year.
Koch finished the series 4-for-10 (.400) with three RBIs, two home runs and two runs scored.
Since the double-header against Ole Miss (April 28), the Fayetteville native is hitting .320 with four of his eight hits in the form of a home run.
On the mound, senior Dominic Taccolini got the start and the victory, his fourth of the year. Taccolini only threw 4.2 innings in his first action in nearly a month, but gave up just one run, a home run to Julian Infante in the second, and three hits with one walk on 72 pitches.
Sophomore Jake Reindl relieved Taccolini in the middle of the fifth with Vanderbilt threatening with two men on base and two outs. Reindl was able to escape the inning on one pitch and then finished the remainder of the game to earn his third save of the year.
Reindl threw 4.1 scoreless innings, allowing just three hits and tied a career-high with six strikeouts in what was a good bounce back performance from his Friday night appearance.
Moments That Mattered
It all started with Koch’s two-run home run in the first inning that got the scoring going. Razorback hitters were aggressive at the plate all afternoon as their first four runs came with two outs.
Koch continues to lead all Hog hitters with his 13 home runs and it’s the second-most by a Razorback in the last seven seasons.
Vanderbilt responded with its solo homer from Infante in the second, but that was all Vandy could muster against Taccolini or Reindl for the rest of the game.
Taccolini retired eight of the first nine batters he faced in the game and worked a perfect fourth inning before running into trouble in the fifth.
Arkansas added insurance runs in the fourth and fifth innings on sacrifice flies by Jax Biggers and Carson Shaddy to make it 4-1. In the sixth, the bats broke it open with a solo home run by Fletcher and a two-run homer from Spanberger to add to the final tally.
Both Fletcher and Spanberger’s home runs were hit in nearly the same spot as both bounced off the foul pole, giving Arkansas its’ biggest cushion of the weekend.
Fletcher has continued to hit the ball well as it was his 10th home run of the year and fourth in his last seven games. It’s the first time since 2010 that Arkansas has had three or more players with 10 or more home runs in the same season.
Razorback Quotables
“He did a really good job. He really didn’t have command of his breaking ball, but his fastball had a lot of sink. They went up there swinging, hit some balls hard and made some nice plays, but Dom just kept battling. He got up to 73-75 pitches, we felt like that was enough. They had been through the lineup twice, so we went and got Jake (Reindl). It was really good for him to go out and give us more than four innings and give us a chance to get us to our next four guys if we need it, we only needed one.” — Coach Dave Van Horn on Dominic Taccolini
“I think it was the biggest swing of the day. It gave us a good feeling. That was the first time we’ve had the lead this weekend, except when we won the game in the bottom of the ninth. We’ve either been tied or behind. It gave us some confidence, probably gave Dominic (Taccolini) some confidence. You could tell that when he hit that home run, they were a little on edge over there.” — Van Horn on Grant Koch’s first-inning home run
“We came in today with a little more aggressive mindset, overall, not just at the plate. We kind of came out on a mission. You know, Sunday’s our day and we’ve got to win on Sunday to be a good team.” — Grant Koch on the team’s mindset
“Really, really good stuff today. I mean, I think they are both at their best, especially Dom coming out. He hadn’t thrown in a while. I had 100 percent confidence in him in every pitch and in every count. — Koch on Dominic Taccolini and Jake Reindl’s performances
Up Next
Arkansas travels to College Station, Texas to face Texas A&M for its final series of the regular season starting on Thursday at Blue Bell Park. First pitch is slated for 6:30 p.m. on SEC Network+.
Game two will be on Friday, also at 6:30 p.m. on SEC Network+, while Saturday’s finale will be on the SEC Network at 11 a.m.
