SEC Network sits down with Texas A&M players and coaches to talk about what they learned from last year’s season and what to expect in 2017 from the team.
Oklahoma ends Razorbacks’ season with 5-3 win in NCAA
NORMAN, Okla. — Tori Cooper drove in two runs and Autumn Russell had three hits Saturday evening, but a seventh-inning rally came up short in a 5-3 loss to Oklahoma in the first elimination game of the NCAA Norman Regional.
Arkansas’ season ends with a 31-24 record and the program’s seventh NCAA Tournament appearance, and its first under Courtney Deifel.
“You saw two teams fighting for their lives tonight,” Deifel said. “You saw it from the first pitch to the very last.
“Both teams put their hearts out there, and in the end, Oklahoma got us tonight, but I can’t say enough how proud I am of this team and not only what they did for this program, but what they’ve done for the staff and for each other.
“It’s a very special group and I love this team. It’s one of those years where you want to play as long as you can because it’s just that special.”
Playing on its home field, Oklahoma (51-9) was the visiting team in Saturday’s elimination game and responded with two runs in the top of the first inning off freshman starter Autumn Storms.
But the Razorbacks answered with three runs in the bottom of the inning, the most allowed by Oklahoma in a first inning this season.
After a Russell single, Loren Krzysko doubled to left center to give Arkansas (31-24) runners on second and third with nobody out. Cooper delivered with a two-run single up the middle to bring both runners home, and pushed her season total to 40 RBI.
With the bases loaded after an intentional walk to Nicole Schroeder, the Razorbacks took a 3-2 lead on a sacrifice fly by Madison Yannetti.
“One of the big things about our team this year has been that we never say die,” Cooper said. “That was reflected in how we responded. There was no doubt in our minds that no matter what they put up, we were going to accept the challenge and come back with something better.
“Ultimately, the final result wasn’t what we wanted but it was a great game to the last out. There was so much fight in us. Both teams really laid it all out there.”
Cooper, who entered her junior season with 16 career RBI, became the seventh player in program history to reach 40 RBI in a single season.
She and Schroeder, the team leader with 49 RBI, are the fourth Razorback teammates with 40 RBI each in the same season, and the first duo to do so since the 2014 campaign.
The Sooners tied the ballgame with a run in the second and scored the go-ahead run on a wild pitch in the top of the fourth.
Arkansas had runners on second and third with one out in the third but the threat was cut short when Paige Parker snagged a liner back to the circle and flipped to third for a double play.
In the fifth frame, the Razorbacks put together a bases-loaded chance with two outs but came up empty on a groundout to first.
Oklahoma tacked on an insurance run in the fifth and led 5-3 entering the bottom of the seventh. Caroline Hedgcock worked the final 3.1 innings of the game, giving up one run on three hits.
She worked around a lead-off double in the seventh with two pop ups and a nice play up the middle by shortstop A.J. Belans who fielded the ball up the middle and spun to fire a strike to first base.
With the team down to its final three outs, Cooper got things going with a hit back at the pitcher and Belans knocked another base knock through the right side of the infield. Arkansas had runners on second and third after a throw to third trying to get the advancing Haydi Bugarin, on to pinch run for Cooper.
However, Oklahoma pitcher Paige Lowary quieted the would-be rally by striking out the next three hitters to end the game.
“As a coach, you’re always looking forward,” Deifel said. “You’re enjoying the moment and always looking to where you’re going so I’m very excited about the direction this program is going.
“I look at last year and how this team responded and dug in. Now I look at how we’re ending this year and I’m excited for the future because if I know this team, I know they’re going to respond and they’re going to want more.
“They’re always hungry for more and I’m ready for that, too.”
Game Notes
• Shelby Hiers threw out her 15th base runner of the season
• Tied for 10th most by an Arkansas catcher in a single season
• Loren Krzysko reached base safely in the final 17 games of the season
• Had a hit in 16 of 19 games since earning a spot in the starting lineup
• Autumn Russell was 5-for-8 during the NCAA Norman Regional
• Saturday’s game was the fifth NCAA meeting between Arkansas and Oklahoma
Hogs get No. 4 seed in SEC Tournament; get first round bye
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — Arkansas earned the No. 4 seed for the 2017 SEC Tournament Saturday afternoon getting a bye through Tuesday’s first-round games, which are single elimination.
The Razorbacks will play the winner of fifth-seeded Mississippi State and 12th-seeded Georgia on Wednesday, May 24 at approximately 8 p.m. at Hoover Metropolitan Stadium.
The Razorbacks ended the regular season with a 39-15 record and an 18-11 mark in SEC play to finish second in the SEC West and fourth overall. It’s a 13-game turnaround from a year ago that saw the Hogs finish 26-29 and miss the postseason for the first time in 14 years. The fourth-place finish is also its highest since finishing third in 2013 with an 18-11 record.
Arkansas won six of its 10 conference series this year, including sweeps of Mississippi State and Georgia. In those six series wins, the Razorbacks went 14-4 and hit .298 as a team with 27 home runs and 109 runs scored.
Sophomore Eric Cole led all Hog hitters over that span with a .367 average (18-of-49) with four doubles and a .456 on-base percentage. Jax Biggers, Luke Bonfield, Dominic Fletcher, Chad Spanberger, and Carson Shaddy all hit over .300 during the same span, combining for 22 home runs and 75 RBIs.
In the sweeps over Mississippi State and Georgia, Arkansas won all six games by a combined score of 44-17 and got some of its best pitching performances on the mound. Blaine Knight earned victories in both series, pitching six or more innings both times and giving up just one run in each game.
Arkansas is in search of its first SEC Tournament championship in program history. It will be making its eighth appearance in the last nine years and 22nd overall.
The Razorbacks have made three SEC Tournament championship game appearances in their history, finishing runner-up in 1998 to Auburn, in 1999 to Alabama, and in 2007 to Vanderbilt.
The team’s last appearance in the tournament field came in 2015 when the Hogs won their first two games against Tennessee and Florida, reaching the quarterfinals.
The most tournament wins for Arkansas came in 1999 when it won four games before falling to the Crimson Tide in the championship game. As head coach, Dave Van Horn is 16-22 in 12 SEC Tournament appearances.
Spanberger homers twice to pace Hogs to series-clinching win
COLLEGE STATION, Texas — Arkansas was firing on all cylinders Saturday, using a great start from Blaine Knight and a strong offensive performance from Chad Spanberger to shut out Texas A&M, 8-0, at Blue Bell Park.
The win is a nice cap on the regular season for Arkansas as it finishes 39-15 overall and 18-11 in conference play with six series wins in Southeastern Conference play.
The victory also guarantees Arkansas as the four-seed in next week’s SEC Tournament in Hoover, Ala.
Spanberger hit a career-high two home runs in the game, part of a 2-for-5 day with two runs scored and two RBIs.
He finishes the weekend with three home runs against the Aggies and now has 14 for the year, which takes over the team lead and puts him in the top five in the Southeastern Conference.
With the strong offensive output by the Hogs, Knight was able to go out and throw comfortably for six innings, allowing just three hits with no walks and two strikeouts.
He earned his seventh win of the year and first since April 13 against Georgia.
Knight was seemingly locked in from the first pitch as he retired 11 of the first 12 batters he faced and never let a runner get past first.
Kevin Kopps followed Knight to pitch the final three innings and picked up his second save of the season after allowing just two hits and striking out four.
It was the fourth shutout for Razorback pitchers this season and second in conference play, the last coming against Tennessee (May 6) in Trevor Stephan’s seven-inning shutout.
Moments That Mattered
After allowing a lead-off single to Nick Choruby in the first inning, Knight retired the next 11 batters and none by way of a strikeout.
Hunter Coleman broke that streak in the fourth with a single of his own, but Knight, again, settled in and retired another five in a row.
With Knight pitching well, Arkansas was able to manufacture some runs on Texas A&M starter Stephen Kolek early on.
Two runs came home in the third inning off RBI singles from Eric Cole and Luke Bonfield. For Cole, the outfielder has had an outstanding series, going 4-for-14 (.286) with two doubles and two runs scored.
Arkansas made it 3-0 in the fourth after an RBI single from senior Jake Arledge drove in Dominic Fletcher.
For Arledge, it was his second RBI of the series. He finished the game 2-for-4 (.500), both hits were singles, and gives him his 13th multi-hit game of the year.
In the fifth inning, Arkansas was able to chase Kolek with the help of a solo lead-off home run by Spanberger.
Later, he homered again, another solo shot in the eighth, which extended Arkansas’ lead to 8-0. It’s the first multi-home run game of his career for Spanberger and he’s the first Razorback to do it in a game this season.
The Razorbacks got another run in the fifth after the Texas A&M pitching change as Fletcher knocked in an RBI with a single through the right side.
Fletcher, like Cole, finishes the regular-season with a strong series as well. After going 3-for-4 on Saturday with two runs scored and an RBI as he has 14 hits in the last eight games with six RBIs and four home runs.
Razorback Quotables
“We were just playing to get better today and to ensure ourselves two ballgames in Hoover. It’s one of those tournaments where you want to win it, but you don’t want to wear yourself out. I’m just proud of our team for coming out and giving a great effort today.” — Dave Van Horn on getting the win and earning a top-four seed in the SEC Tournament
“You have to be able to play on the road, especially in this league where all the venues are pretty tough. (Texas) A&M may be one of the toughest. We didn’t make any mistakes today and that was big. We didn’t walk very many or kick the ball around like we did yesterday and give them a lot of extra at-bats. It was just a good ballgame for us.” — Van Horn on winning an important series on the road
“It’s nice to get more rest. Our coaches had a plan and I wasn’t going to bug them about when I was throwing. I just knew they would tell me ahead of time. So I got prepared and was ready to go.” — Blaine Knight on pitching after an extra day of rest
“We knew this was going to be a big game coming in and was going to get us a bye in the tournament if we win with an extra day of rest. I’m glad the coaches trusted me enough to come in and do that. It was fun.” — Knight on having to pitch in an important game that had seeding implications
Up Next
Arkansas will play its first game of the 2017 SEC Tournament on Wednesday with its opponent still to be determined as the rest of the day’s games play out as well as the single-elimination games from the first round of the tournament on Tuesday.
First pitch for Arkansas’ game is scheduled for 8 p.m. and will be televised on the SEC Network.
Hogs stay close to Tulsa, but can’t pull out win, falling 5-4
NORMAN, Okla. — Sophomore designated player Katie Warrick tied the game with a home run in the top of the seventh but Tulsa responded with a solo shot of its own in the bottom of the inning to post a 5-4 win over the Razorbacks in the opening game of the NCAA Norman Regional.
Warrick and senior Nicole Schroeder each homered in the setback and junior Autumn Russell recorded her team-leading 16th multi-hit performance of the season.
“That’s a postseason game for you,” coach Courtney Deifel said. “It was a battle and both teams kept throwing punches and, unfortunately, they got the last punch.
“I liked how our team fought during the game but I felt like we had a few innings where we gave up too much and they capitalized on our mistakes. They did what Tulsa does, and they put pressure on our defense and scored some big runs that way.
“Congratulations to Tulsa because they earned that win. Now, we’ll work our way through the loser’s bracket.”
After a scoreless first for both team, Schroeder opened the scoring with a solo home run off Tulsa starter Emily Watson to lead off the second frame.
It was the 17th home run of her senior campaign, adding to the program’s single-season record. The solo shot also represented her 118th career RBI which is tied for the fourth most in program history.
Madison Yannetti continued the push with a walk in the next at-bat, and after a one-out walk to Ashley Diaz, the Razorbacks had runners on first and second.
Russell delivered with a two-out, two-run triple to right center to push Arkansas’ lead to 3-0. Diaz and pinch runner Betina Beringhele scored on the play. The three-base hit also marked Russell’s third game of the season with at least two RBI.
Tulsa (40-15) answered with two runs — one earned — off freshman starter Autumn Storms in the bottom of the inning to pull to within one. Storms recorded her first 1-2-3 inning in the third and worked around a lead-off walk in the fourth to maintain the Razorbacks’ one-run advantage.
However, the region’s No. 2 seed scored on a pair of fielder’s choice plays in the fifth including a squeeze play to take the 4-3 lead.
Following Russell’s triple, Watson retired the next 11 Arkansas hitters before A.J. Belans earned a one-out walk in the sixth.
On in relief of Storms in the fifth, fellow freshman Caroline Hedgcock worked around a walk and left a runner stranded on third in the bottom of the sixth to keep the Razorbacks within a run.
Leading off the seventh inning, Warrick wasted no time in tying the game and launched the first pitch of the frame to deep center field for her sixth big fly of the season.
The Razorbacks have hit at least two home runs in 14 games and increased their season total to 59 which continues to lead the SEC.
“I was just trying to make an adjustment from my previous at-bats,” Warrick said. “I was trying to get on top of the ball more and find something in my zone.
“I wasn’t really looking where the ball was going (off the bat) but just wanted to make good contact.”
The Razorbacks continued the scoring threat and had runners on first and second after a pair of singles from Shelby Hiers and Loren Krzysko who extended her on-base streak to 16-consecutive games.
However, Watson got herself out of the jam with a pop up to third, and in similar fashion to Warrick’s home run, Tulsa earned the walk-off win with a solo shot by Haley Meinen on the first pitch thrown in the bottom of the seventh.
“Now (our resiliency) is really going to get tested,” Deifel said. “I think we’ve been tested quite a bit throughout our conference schedule.
“We consistently took our hits on a Friday night and came out ready to battle on a Saturday. They know what’s at stake, and they know they’re going to have to show up big time from first pitch against whoever we play to the last pitch of the day.
“They’ve played with heart all year and that’s what I’m excited to see tomorrow.”
Photos from Arkansas’ opening-day loss at NCAA Regional
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.
How do teams battle out of the elimination bracket?
SEC Network’s Rainey Gaffin gives tips to 0-1 teams looking to make a comeback after Friday’s matchups.
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.
Arkansas’ ‘dangerous lineup’ must keep bats hot
SEC Now’s Gabe Gross and Dari Nowkhah break down the Razorbacks’ strengths and areas to improve on as the postseason approaches.
