Weather kills Arkansas’ shot at momentum with end to spring drills
The buzz these days about Razorback football is, well, kinda low. There’s more excitement on the live cam at Razorback Stadium on the construction that anything else.
Blame it on the weather.
While spring games don’t usually reveal a whole lot about a team anymore, they do provide an event where fans can get a spring fix for their football enthusiasm.
When the weather forecasts (correctly, as it turned out) called for lots of rain and other nasty stuff on Saturday, you got the feeling it would end the spring with a thud.
In a spring that hasn’t had a lot of excitement, the coaches spent most of it putting in a new defense. You wondered when the coaches would figure out a 3-4 would be a better option for the talent level of players Arkansas gets than the 4-3.
Of course, now that has to translate into games on Saturday, but you get the idea it’s a better option from a scheme standpoint.
We’ve heard repeatedly from the players and coaches how well installing the new defense is going, which isn’t surprising, either. Tell me the last time you heard a coach or player talk about having a bad spring practice.
No, everything is great in the spring.
That will continue into the fall, although we may have a better idea of this team early in Week 2 against TCU. The Horned Frogs are being picked by some at the fringe of breaking into the Top 25.
But the game Bret Bielema just about HAS to win is Texas A&M in Week 4 after an early bye week following the TCU game.
For Arkansas to have any type of success this season, they have to figure out a way to beat the Aggies. There is a path for this team to be 5-0 going to Tuscaloosa in mid-October. A&M and TCU appear to be the only real tests.
After that, though, it’s going to be a grind with no weeks off (unless you count a practice game against Coastal Carolina to start November).
In a league where the Crimson Tide (of course), Auburn and LSU will be the favorites in the West. Mississippi State is being projected as a fringe Top 25 team and Ole Miss is looking to put an end to three straight losses when they had better personnel.
Assuming Hugh Freeze is still the coach by the time the two teams meet at the end of October, he’ll have the Rebels ready for the Hogs. He’s admitted being embarrassed over the losses.
But bigger than that, everyone is hung up on the NCAA issues, thinking that’s going to have an effect. It will, but not in 2017. Ole Miss redshirted half of the No. 5 recruiting class in the country in 2016. Don’t count that as a guaranteed win.
We didn’t really see anything in the spring that gives a clear picture of this team. Oh, we heard the usual about Bielema wanting to run the football (who doesn’t) and the defense will be better in the 3-4 (it should).
But we don’t know.
And with Rawleigh Williams’ status up in the air right now, we may not know for awhile.
It will be an interesting summer with speculation all over the map surrounding this team.
Hopefully, there will be some momentum gained from somewhere.
We didn’t get it with a big spring weekend.
Which can only be blamed on the weather.
Razorbacks pick up pair of pinwheels at SEC Relays
BATON ROUGE, La. — Arkansas’ men’s track and field team capped its weekend in Baton Rouge, picking up a pair of pinwheels at the first annual SEC Relays on Saturday afternoon.
Arkansas’ 4-x-200-meter relay team of Roy Ejiakuekwu, Obi Igbokwe, Josh Washington and Kenzo Cotton were the first to earn a pinwheel, capturing the event title with a program record-breaking time of 1 minute, 20.74 seconds.
Arkansas sprint legends Fred Cleary, Roddie Haley, Mike Conley and Wallace Spearmon Sr. (1:20.93) set the previous record in 1985.
The Razorbacks were quick to secure a second pinwheel thanks to Jack Bruce, John Winn, Carlton Orange and Alex George in the DMR. George anchored the team to victory, holding off a late surge by Texas A&M’s Jon Bishop, to claim first-place honors.
Additional Notable Performances
Prior to their 4-x-200 gold-medal meriting performance Ejiakuekwu, Igbokwe, Washington and Cotton raced to second place in the 4-x-100 (38.95) as one of only two squads to run under 39 seconds in the event.
Igbokwe returned to the track for a third time as a member of Arkansas’ 4-x-400 relay. The sophomore sprinter along with Jamarco Stephen, Rhayko Schwartz and Eric Janise posted a seasons’ best of 3:04.20, which moved them up to No. 6 in the NCAA West region.
Redshirt freshman Brendon Rivera jumped to a collegiate PR of 2.11m/6-11, placing fourth in the high jump. The mark qualifies Rivera for the NCAA West preliminary round as one of the top-30 best high jumpers in the region.
The Razorbacks will be back in Fayetteville, Arkansas on Friday, May 5, hosting the Arkansas Twilight. The meet will be the final regular season competition for the Hogs before they open up the postseason in Columbia, South Carolina at the SEC Championships on May 11-13.
SEC Relays
4-x-100 Meter Relay: 2. Ejiakuekwu, Igbokwe, Washington, Cotton – 38.95
4-x-200 Meter Relay: 1. Ejiakuekwu, Igbokwe, Washington, Cotton – 1:20.74
Distance Medley Relay: 1. Bruce, Winn, Orange, George – 9:48.93
4-x-400 Meter Relay: 3. Stephen, Schwartz, Janise, Igbokwe – 3:04.20
High Jump: 2. Ken LeGassey – 2.11m/6-11, 4. Brendon Rivera – 2.11m/6-11
Triple Jump: 2. Clive Pullen – 15.97m/52-4 3/4
Shot Put: 8. Jeff Rogers – 16.83m/55-2¾, 10. Sam Kempka – 15.86m/52-0½
Hammer Throw: 11. Erich Sullins – 58.40m/191-7
Arkansas blasts three homers in doubleheader split at Notre Dame
SOUTH BEND, Ind. — Arkansas belted three home runs during Saturday’s doubleheader at Notre Dame but couldn’t complete the sweep, winning game one in a run-rule decision before a seventh-inning rally came up short in game two.
Nicole Schroeder, Loren Krzysko and Tori Cooper were responsible for the Razorbacks’ home runs against the Fighting Irish. Arkansas is now 30-19 entering Sunday’s rubber game.
Game 1: Arkansas 13, Notre Dame 2 (5 inn.) | Box Score
Taking a patient approach at the plate in the opening frame, the Razorbacks drew five walks in the first on their way to three runs.
Junior shortstop A.J. Belans had the only hit of the inning, an RBI single up the middle to score Russell for the game’s first run.
Shelby Hiers and Ashley Diaz drove in runs two and three with bases-loaded walks. It was the 20th time Arkansas scored in the first inning this season.
After a quick first inning by starter Autumn Storms, the offense got right back to work with a five-run outburst in the second.
The inning was highlighted by Schroeder’s three-run shot, good for her 14th home run of the season. She moves to within one home run shy of the program’s single-season record of 15 currently shared by Jessica Bachkora and Devon Wallace.
The big fly also pushed Arkansas’ season total to 50, the sixth time the program has reached that figure.
With two runs in the third, the Razorbacks reached double figures for the second-consecutive game and 10th time this year.
Belans pushed the 10th run across the plate with a sacrifice fly to right field.
The home team put a run on the board in the fourth but Arkansas responded with three of its own in the top of the fifth. With the bags full of Razorbacks, Madison Yannetti doubled to left center to clear the bases.
Storms picked up the win with her 11th complete game and becomes the third freshman in program history to reach 15 wins and the first since Heather Schlictman (2001).
On her way to victory, Storms allowed two runs on six hits and didn’t walk a hitter for the 13th time in 28 starts. Her 15 wins are tied for the eighth most in a single season by a Razorback pitcher.
Game 2: Notre Dame 6, Arkansas 5 | Box Score
After two scoreless innings, Krzysko opened the scoring in game two of Saturday’s doubleheader with a solo shot off the netting around the outfield at Melissa Cook Stadium.
The home run was Krzysko’s second of the season. The redshirt junior continues to thrive since earning a spot in the batting order, reaching safely in 11 straight and hitting .375 as a starter in the past 13 games.
Notre Dame (29-19) tied the game with a run in the bottom of the third and took a 5-1 lead after a four-run fifth inning which including a three-run homer by Morgan Reed.
The Razorbacks answered immediately with three runs in the top of the sixth, all on one swing by Cooper. The three-run shot down the line in left field, her 10th of the year, cut Notre Dame’s lead to one. Cooper and Schroeder are the first Razorback teammates with double-digit home runs since 2012 (Wallace/Navarro).
The home team added an insurance run in the sixth which proved to be a difference maker in the game. Trailing by two to start the seventh, Arkansas got a rally started with a one-out hustle double by Ashley Diaz who slid in just ahead of the tag.
Pinch hitter Katie Warrick swapped places with pinch runner Haydi Bugarin on an RBI double to the wall in center and once again, the deficit was down to one.
However, Notre Dame starter Rachel Nasland retired the next two to end the game.
Up Next
The weekend finale between Arkansas and Notre Dame scheduled for Sunday was cancelled due to bad weather.
Hogs’ women wrap up SEC Relays with some solid performances
BATON ROUGE, La. — The third-ranked Razorback women wrapped up their weekend with one event title, four runner-up finishes, an improved program record and a seasons’ best in the 4-x-400.
In a field saturated with talent, Arkansas sophomore Lexi Weeks emerged as the pole vault victor on Saturday afternoon at the SEC Relays in Baton Rouge.
Weeks was the only vaulter able to get over a 14-foot bar with her clearance of 4.37m/14-4. The two-time NCAA champion closed out the competition with three solid attempts at 4.61m/15-1 1/2 but was unable to sail over cleanly.
Silver Hogs
Redshirt sophomores Sydney Brown (1,500) and Desiree Freier (pole vault) led Arkansas’ solo efforts as each managed to finish among the top-two most talented performers in their respective events.
The Razorbacks also seized runner-up finishes in the shuttle hurdle relay and the distance medley relay. Arkansas’ shuttle hurdle relay team was comprised entirely of multis including, Kelsey Herman, Payton Stumbaugh, Ashlee Moore and Leigha Brown.
The hurdle squad completed the event in 55.25. The Razorback DMR team included Carina Viljoen, Sydney Hammit, Alex Byrnes and Taylor Werner.
The young group, which featured three freshman, put up a solid fight against a veteran Mississippi State team and completed the race in 11 minutes, 30.83 seconds.
SEC Competition Leads to New Record
4-x-100-meter relay squad of Taliyah Brooks, Stumbaugh, Daina Harper and Kiara Parker were pulled to an improved program record of 43.57 by stiff SEC competition courtesy of LSU, Texas A&M and Alabama.
LSU won the event, tying the NCAA collegiate record of 42.12, which was set earlier this year by Oregon.
Parker & Harper Pull Double Time
Primarily a short sprints specialist, Parker rose to the occasion at the end of the meet as lead leg for the Razorbacks’ 4-x-400-meter relay team.
The group, which included Harper, Damajahnee Birch and Ceara Watson, placed fourth with a seasons’ best of 3:32.11. The performance is the seventh best in the NCAA West region.
Additional Notable Performances
Freshman Jada Baylark moved up to No. 12 on the NCAA West 100-meter performance list with a PR of 11.38. Baylark was the fastest freshman at the meet and finished fifth overall.
Her time also earned her a place in Razorback history as fifth-best performer of all time.
Arkansas will close out the regular season with the Arkansas Twilight on Friday, May 5 at John McDonnell Field.
A small group of Hogs will also journey back out West for the Payton Jordan Invitational in Stanford, California.
SEC Relays
100 Meters: 4. Jada Baylark – 11.38
1,500 Meters: 2. Sydney Brown – 4:27.45, 3. Valerie Reina – 4:28.29, 6. Abby Gray – 4:31.65, 7. Maddy Reed – 4:34.38, 9. Kailee Sawyer – 4:40.06
4-x-100 Meter Relay: 4. Brooks, Stumbaugh, Harper, Parker – 43.57
Shuttle Hurdle Relay: 2. Herman, Stumbaugh, Moore, Brown – 55.25
Distance Medley Relay: 2. Viljoen, Hammit, Byrnes, Werner – 11:30.83
4-x-400 Meter Relay: 4. Parker, Harper, Birch, Watson – 3:32.11
Pole Vault: 1. Lexi Weeks – 4.37m/14-4, 2. Desiree Freier – 4.22m/13-10, 4. Tori Weeks – 4.07m/13-4¼
Triple Jump: 10. Jada Baylark – 11.81m/38-9
Bielema recaps Razorbacks’ spring practices, update on Whaley
Video from WholeHogSports.com
Agim on Williams’ injury, how defense feels after 15 practices
Video from WholeHogSports.com
Whaley on Williams’ injury, progression in his own game
Video from WholeHogSports.com
Hogs’ quarterback Austin Allen: ‘We were competitive out there’
Arkansas quarterback Austin Allen recaps the Razorbacks’ final practice of spring football.
