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Razorbacks ready for SEC Relays in Baton Rouge

Only three final tune-ups separate Arkansas’ women’s track and field team from postseason competition, the first being this weekend’s SEC Relays in Baton Rouge, La.

The newly minted league relay bout will see nine of the best teams from around the country face off on April 28-29. Teams attending currently ranked in the top-25 include No. 1 Texas A&M, No. 3 Arkansas, No. 4 LSU, No. 8 Kentucky, No. 10 Alabama, No. 17 Ole Miss and No. 23 Tennessee.

Date/Time: Friday, April 28, 5:30 p.m. CT | Saturday, April 29, 12:02 a.m. CT
Venue: Bernie Moore Track Stadium
Important Links: Meet Schedule | Start ListsLive Results

4-x-100 Record Watch
Arkansas’ 4-x-100-meter relay team of Taliyah Brooks, Payton Stumbaugh, Daina Harper and Kiara Parker raced to a program record of 43.75 last weekend, relatively unchallenged by the field at the John McDonnell Invitational. The foursome’s new record could potentially improve this weekend, as they will line up against four out of the top-six fastest teams in the country including No. 2 LSU, No. 3 Texas A&M, No. 5 Kentucky and No. 6 Alabama.

Relays For The Win
Seven relays will be contested at Bernie Moore Track Stadium, all of which will be scored using the traditional track and field points scale (First = 10 points, second = 8 points, third = 6 points, fourth = 5 points, fifth = 4 points, sixth = 3 points, seventh = 2 points and eight = 1 point). The weekend will open with the sprint medley relay (200, 200, 400, 800) as well as the 4-x-800 on Friday evening and close with the 4-x-100, 4-x-200, shuttle hurdle, distance medley relay (1,200, 400, 800, 1,600) and 4-x-400 on Saturday afternoon.

Non-Relay Events To Watch
With several of the most-talented vertical jumpers in the country traveling to Baton Rouge this weekend, the pole vault competition is shaping up to be one of the highlights of the meet. The event will feature two national champions in Razorback sophomore Lexi Weeks and Alabama senior Lakan Taylor as well as five All-Americans from the 2017 NCAA Indoor Championships.

The horizontal jumps also look to be action-packed with 2017 NCAA indoor gold and silver medalists Sha’Keela Saunders (Kentucky) and Quanesha Burks (Alabama) entered in the long jump field of 19. A national bronze medalist in the event last year, Brooks will look to take on the jump titans in addition to her role on the track.

Coach Lance Harter Sounds Off

On the Relays: “Anytime we get to go to Louisiana and compete it’s great. They have a fabulous facility. We’re going into more of a relay-type format this year and what’s exciting is our 4-x-100 and our 4-x-400 are going to be the primaries and then it comes to the opportunity to run a distance medley relay or a 4-x-800 relay. Some of our middle distance runners are super excited about the opportunity to run with a baton in their hand outdoors because that never happens. So we’re looking forward to that”

Off the track: “The pole vault will be the featured event. Five of the best vaulters in the United States happen to be all in the SEC. We’re excited about that opportunity and I think there will be a lot of really good performances.”

Arkansas’ Hudson gets second team All-SEC honors

Arkansas senior co-captain Shannon Hudson earned second-team All-Southeastern Conference honors as voted by the league’s head coaches, it was announced Thursday.

Hudson is the 13th All-SEC selection at Arkansas under head coach Michael Hegarty. Her selection marked the third straight year a Razorback has earned All-SEC acclaim.

“To receive this recognition in perhaps the strongest year ever in the conference makes it even more impressive to see Shannon awarded this honor,” Hegarty said. “Her career has been filled with highlights, and this ranks right up there with any of them.”

Hudson, from Virginia Beach, Virginia, is ranked No. 45 nationally in singles and No. 38 in doubles with partner Giulia Pairone. A two-time SEC Player of the Week this season, Hudson has turned in 16 overall singles victories, including 11 at the No. 1 spot this spring and five against nationally ranked opponents.

Five of her wins clinched team victories for the Razorbacks, with three coming in SEC play. She also posted 15 overall doubles wins, including 13 this spring, nine at the top spot and two against ranked competition.

Playing in the nation’s toughest conference, which boasts 11 teams in the top 25 of the national rankings, Hudson has helped the No. 19 Razorbacks to a 17-9 (7-6 SEC) record so far this season and a top 20 ranking in each of the last nine weeks.

Arkansas was ranked as high as No. 14 in the country on April 18, which was its highest ranking since March 8, 2011.

The Razorbacks have defeated 11 teams in the current national team rankings, including No. 13 Auburn, No. 20 Texas A&M, No. 21 LSU and No. 22 Tennessee.

Arkansas will find out its NCAA Tournament destination on May 2 at 4:30 p.m. during an NCAA.com selection show.

Hogs’ comeback falls short against Mississippi State, drops series

Box Score

STARKVILLE, Miss. — Tori Cooper homered while Ashley Diaz and Autumn Russell turned in two-hit performances but Arkansas dropped a 4-3 decision to Mississippi State in Monday’s series finale.

The Razorbacks mounted a comeback with a two-run double by Loren Krzysko in the sixth inning but the would-be rally fell short still trailing by one.

Arkansas is now 28-18 overall with a 6-15 mark in SEC play.

With two down in the first inning, Cooper turned on an offering from Mississippi State starter Alexis Silkwood and deposited the ball over the fence in right field.

The solo shot was Cooper’s eighth home run of the season, doubling the total of four in the first two years of her career. The home run pushed the Razorbacks’ season total to 46 and marked the 18th time Arkansas has scored in the first inning.

As was the case in Sunday’s game, Mississippi State (34-15, 8-10 SEC) matched the output with a run in the bottom of the first to pull even.

The Razorbacks has chances throughout the first four innings with two runners on base in each frame but missed opportunities kept the team at just one run on the board.

Meanwhile, the Bulldogs a run in the third, fourth and fifth innings to stretch their lead to 4-1, capping their score with a solo home run by Sarai Nui in the fifth frame.

Autumn Storms started the game, giving up five hits and three runs — two earned — in four innings of work. She was relieved by Allison Stewart who was greeted by the Nui shot.

After a walk to the second hitter of the inning, Katie Warrick entered the circle in place of Stewart, and continued her strong relief work against Mississippi State. Having thrown three scoreless innings Sunday, Warrick allowed just one hit — an infield single — in her two innings out of the bullpen.

In the top of the sixth, Diaz drew a one-out walk to reach base for the third time in the game. She had a single and a double in her first two at-bats, respectively.

Designated player Rachel Box singled to left and Russell put down her second infield hit of the game to load the bases. Krzysko responded with a double off the wall in center field, plating two runs and cutting Arkansas’ deficit to one.

However, the home team got out of the threat with an out at the plate and by catching Cooper trying to advance to second on the play.

Up Next
The Razorbacks’ road trip continues Tuesday afternoon at Jackson State with a 3 p.m. first pitch, followed by another weekend on the road with a three-game series at Notre Dame beginning Saturday.

Arkansas returns home May 5-7 when it hosts Georgia at Bogle Park, the regular-season finale for both teams.

Razorbacks, Kansas State to meet in ‘Classic at the K’ in KC

Game Notes (PDF)

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Arkansas will look to get back on track Tuesday after suffering its second conference series loss of the season when it plays its final midweek game of the 2017 season against Big 12-foe Kansas State.

The Hogs and Wildcats will be taking part in the National College Baseball Hall of Fame’s “Classic at the K” game played at Kauffman Stadium, the home of the Kansas City Royals.

Redshirt freshman Kevin Kopps will be taking the mound for the Razorbacks, making his third start of the year. Kopps started twice during the first two weekend series of the year against Miami (Ohio) and Bryant, picking up a victory against the RedHawks.

Since then, Kopps has been one of Arkansas’ most effective relievers, garnering a 3.99 ERA in 13 appearances with 25 strikeouts over 29.1 innings. In his last three outings, the Texas native has only allowed two earned runs and had a scoreless five-plus inning outing against Georgia, the longest outing of his career.

Follow Live

Tuesday’s game will be televised regionally on CST. There will be no internet stream of the game, but the game can be seen locally on Cox Sports Television throughout the Arkansas area. The game can also be heard on the radio via the Razorback Sports Network with Phil Elson calling the action.

Probable Starters

Tue. | 6 p.m. | (ARK) RHP Kevin Kopps (2-0, 3.99 ERA, 25/16 K/BB) vs. (KSU) TBA

Big League Clash In Big League Park

The 14th-ranked Razorbacks will play its final midweek game of the 2017 season when they travel to Kansas City to face Kansas State in the National College Baseball Hall of Fame’s Classic at the K at Kauffman Stadium.

This will be the second straight season that the Hogs will be playing at least one game in a major league ballpark. Last year, the Hogs went 3-0 in the Houston College Classic at Minute Maid Ballpark.

This will also be the first meeting between the two programs since 2013 in the NCAA Manhattan Regional Final. Kansas State won that game, 4-3.

However, Arkansas has won three of the last five meetings with Kansas State. 

Another Four-Hit Game For Spanberger

Chad Spanberger’s hot bat continued over the weekend at Auburn. Even though he had his 12-game hitting streak snapped in the first game of the series, the junior responded with a hit in game two and a four-hit game in game three.

All four hits were singles and it was his second four-hit game of the season. He’s the first Razorback to have multiple four-hit games in the same season since Brian Anderson in 2013.

Since conference play started, Spanberger is hitting .362 with seven home runs and 38 RBIs. Both of his four-hit games came in SEC play with the first against Alabama (April 2). 

Reindl Moving Up The Ladder

Sophomore Jake Reindl has been one of Arkansas’ strongest arms out of the bullpen as of late and it may mean a more expanded role in the weeks to come.

In 12 of his 13 appearances this year, Reindl hasn’t given up more than two earned runs and has eight scoreless outings, seven consisting of two or more innings.

In three of his last six appearances, the sophomore has totaled five strikeouts, all against SEC opponents (Alabama, LSU, Auburn).

Reindl was particularly effective against Auburn in Saturday’s win, throwing three good innings with only one walk and two hits. 

Rankings Check

Arkansas held steady in the national rankings this week even with a series loss to now top-five Auburn. The Hogs are as high as No. 10 in the Collegiate Baseball Magazine poll and No. 14 in both the Perfect Game and USA Today/Coaches’ Poll.

In the important Ratings Percentage Index (RPI), the Razorbacks moved up to No. 12 in the nation, the third-highest SEC team.

Soooieville Sluggers

The Razorbacks have been hitting home runs at an unreal pace this year. Currently leading the SEC with 54 home runs this year, the Hogs have 12 more home runs than Kentucky, which is second in the league in long balls.

The 54 homers is also the 12-most in the country. Arkansas is the only team in the SEC with five players with six or more home runs this year.

Catcher Grant Koch and first baseman Chad Spanberger are tied for ninth in the SEC with nine home runs, while infielder Carson Shaddy and outfielder Luke Bonfield each have seven long balls.

Total HR      Total Runs   Pct. of Runs
54                     306                   31{e1768d0eec022f908d772ba0c0274d97d05d220b4341147789bdb671ddb19707}

Tournament Talk: SEC Network looks at baseball, softball tournaments

SEC Network’s Todd Walker and Kayla Braud decide which SEC teams and players to keep an eye on leading up to the conference tournaments.

Beyond the Bases: SEC Network on the road with Razorback Softball

SEC Network’s Jenny Dalton-Hill visits with Arkansas softball players about their typical travel schedules, support systems and the team’s comradery.

Hogs go 1-under on final day at SEC Championship; finish fourth overall

• Results

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — Arkansas posted a 1-under 287 in the final round and finished fourth at the 2017 SEC Championship on Sunday.

No one could catch No. 8 Florida as the Gators (284–280–278) went 9-under on the day and 21-under for the tournament shooting an 842 to win their first league title since 2008.

Hard-charging and top-ranked Alabama went 13-under on the day and moved up five spots into a tie for second with 295–285–275—855 with No. 6 Georgia (287–282–286).

The Razorbacks (283–287–287) were fourth at 857 in the final standings.

Fifth-place featured a tie between No. 20 Texas A&M (282–290–288) and No. 11 South Carolina (286–290–284) at 860 rounding out the top spots in the tournament.

Junior Alana Uriell and sophomore Kaylee Benton tied for seventh overall shooting 212 at the Legacy Course at Greystone Golf and Country Club.

Sophomore Cara Gorlei tied for 22nd with a 216 followed by senior Summar Roachell who was 24th with 217. Sophomore Maria Fassi rounded out the Razorback scoring shooting 231 to tie for 63rd overall.

Benton, in her first season with the Razorbacks, posted a final round 69. She was 1-under on the front nine and had five birdies on the back nine including three in a row on holes 15, 16 and 17, posting the best Razorback round of the day.

Since coach Shauna Estes-Taylor took over the program in 2008, Arkansas has played to three runner-up finishes and eight top-4 finishes in 10 seasons. In addition, Estes-Taylor has coached the 2008 individual winner in Stacy Lewis and seven other top-5 individual finishes.

The Razorbacks await word of their NCAA Regional Selection. The Selection Show airs April 27 at 10 a.m. central on the Golf Channel.

Razorback Lineup

T7. Kaylee Benton —73–70–69—212
T7. Alana Uriell —68–72–72—212
T22. Cara Gorlei —71–73–72—216
24. Summar Roachell —71–72–74—217
T63. Maria Fassi —73–79–79—231

SEC Team Leaderboard

1. Florida — 284–280–278—842
2. Alabama — 295–285–275—855
3. Georgia — 287–282–286—855
4. Arkansas — 283–287–287—857
T5. Texas A&M — 282–290–288—860
T5. South Carolina — 286–290–284—860
7. Tennessee — 287–286–290—863
8. LSU — 294–292–287—873
9. Vanderbilt — 287–302–293—882
10. Kentucky — 291–296–298—885
11. Mississippi State — 295–300–292—887
12. Missouri — 302–295–292—889
13. Ole Miss — 296–295–300—891
14. Auburn — 300–297–297—894

Arkansas comes from behind against Mississippi State for 5-4 win

• Box Score

STARKVILLE, Miss. — Trailing by one after five innings, Arkansas scored runs in the sixth and seventh to rally past Mississippi State, 5-4, to even the series.

Tori Cooper drove in the game-winning run with an RBI groundout in the final frame and Autumn Storms worked the final 1.1 innings to collect her 14th win in the circle. Arkansas improves to 28-17 overall with a 6-14 mark in SEC play.

A.J. Belans and Loren Krzysko each had two hits Sunday evening including Belans’ seventh home run of the year. Arkansas’ relief trio of Storms, Katie Warrick and Grace Moll held Mississippi State (33-15, 7-10 SEC) scoreless with just five hits over the final 6.0 innings of the game. Sunday’s win was the team’s fifth when trailing or being tied after six innings.

With the score tied at 4-all in the top of the seventh inning, Autumn Russell legged out an infield single to give the Razorbacks runners on first and second with one out. Krzysko dropped her second single of day in shallow right field to load the bases for Cooper. The Nederland, Texas, native came through with a ground ball to shortstop that allowed Parker Pocklington to score the go-ahead run from third.

Storms retired the side in order in the bottom of the seventh inning to secure the come-from-behind win, the final out coming on a diving catch on a popup across the middle by Belans. Storms entered the game with runners on second and third and two down in the sixth. She walked the first hitter she faced but responded by inducing a ground ball to Russell at third base for the final out. Russell recorded seven assists on the night.

The Razorbacks opened the scoring with a three-run first inning, highlighted by the three-run blast to center field off Belans’ bat. Krzysko got things started with a one-out single down the right-field line and Cooper walked to bring Belans to the plate. The Hollywood, Florida, native took the 2-1 offering from Mississippi State starter Holly Ward and knocked it over the fence and off the camera lift in center field. It was the team’s 45th home run of the season. Arkansas is now 13-4 when scoring in the first inning.

The home team responded immediately with three runs in the bottom of the first, and took a 4-3 lead on a solo shot by Sarai Nui to lead off the second inning. Warrick came in to relief starter Caroline Hedgcock and logged 3.0 scoreless innings to keep the Razorbacks’ deficit at one run. Moll struck out two hitters in her 1.2 innings of work before giving away to Storms. Pinch runner Betina Beringhele scored the game-tying run on a sacrifice fly by Madison Yannetti in the sixth.

Up Next
Monday’s series finale is scheduled for a 6 p.m. (CT) first pitch at Nusz Park in Starkville. In addition to the online stream at the WatchESPN app, the game will be televised on the SEC Network with Mark Neely and Jenny Dalton-Hill handling play-by-play and color commentary duties, respectively.

Arkansas can’t hold off Auburn in late innings, lose 11-6

• Box Score (PDF)

AUBURN, Ala. — Arkansas and Auburn went back and forth all day Sunday at Plainsman Park, but a three-run seventh inning and a two-run eighth for the Tigers proved to be too much in the end, as Auburn defeated Arkansas 11-6, to take the series.

Arkansas battled back from being down 4-1 after two innings to tie the game at 5-5 in the fourth, and then 6-6 in the seventh.

However, Auburn’s bats continued to have a hot weekend and the Razorback bullpen was not able to hold them off.

The Hogs still scored six runs on 12 hits in the game, its first game of the series with 10 or more hits. Jake Arledge, Chad Spanberger, and Grant Koch each turned in multi-hit games. Spanberger went 4-for-5 at the plate with one run scored and two RBIs.

It’s the second four-hit game for Spanberger this season and the fifth game this year that a Razorback has recorded four or more hits in a single game.

Redshirt senior Josh Alberius made his ninth start of the year, giving up four runs off of a home run by Luke Jarvis and a two-RBI double by Jonah Todd, before being relieved by Kevin Kopps in the second inning trailing 4-1.

One day after holding the Auburn lineup scoreless in the final seven innings, it was the opposite for the Arkansas bullpen on Sunday. The Tigers scored seven runs off Razorback relievers in the game, three off senior Cannon Chadwick in the eighth, who ended up with the loss to fall to 4-1 on the year.

The Razorbacks started to inch their way back after Jax Biggers hit a sacrifice fly in the second to make it 4-2, for his only RBI of the game. Arkansas’ best inning came in the fourth, with three runs coming from four singles. Jake Arledge and Spanberger provided RBI singles to tie the game at 5 a piece.

Unfortunately, Auburn answered right back with a run in the bottom of the fourth to retake the lead, working out a sacrifice fly from Jarvis off Kacey Murphy. Murphy did end up with the most effective outing on the staff as he threw scoreless frames in the fifth and sixth, striking out two and only giving up two hits.

The Razorbacks looked to have a big inning brewing in the seventh with the table set by a pair of singles from Arledge and Spanberger to put runners on the corners with no outs. Arkansas just managed to tie the game again with a single run from a Luke Bonfield groundout to make it 6-6.

Auburn answered the call again, with five runs over the final two innings, three in the seventh on three doubles, and two in the eighth on a Dylan Ingram home run and a Josh Anthony double.

Up Next
Arkansas stays on the road for its next game when it travels to Kansas City, Missouri to take on Kansas State at Kauffman Stadium, the home of the Kansas City Royals, on Tuesday. First pitch is slated for 6 p.m. and will be televised on CST.

Arkansas hosts first-ever team decathlon competition Sunday

• JMD Combined Events Results

FAYETTEVILLE — History was made Sunday afternoon at John McDonnell Field as Arkansas hosted the Wisconsin Badgers in the first ever standard collegiate team decathlon competition.

The two-day event, which kicked off on Saturday, produced two NCAA outdoor top-20 performances at the hands of Razorback multi Gabe Moore and Badger multi Sawyer Smith.

A transfer from South Plains, Moore was the top performer of the team competition, winning the decathlon with a collegiate PR of 7,564 points.

In his first combined events battle since NCAA indoors, Moore put forth a valiant effort, improving upon his collegiate best by 467 points.

He shined brightest in the vertical jumps, picking up an outdoor PR in the pole vault of 4.65m/15-3 and a lifetime best in the high jump of 2.00m/6-6 3/4.

Moore’s performance ranks him as the 11th-best decathlete in the NCAA this year. He is the second Razorback to secure a spot on the decathlon NCAA leader boards as his teammate Derek Jacobus (7,437 points) currently sits at No. 18.

The top-24 best in event will earn a trip to the historic Hayward Field in Eugene, Oregon in early June to compete at the 2017 NCAA Outdoor Championships.

With their second outdoor home meet behind them, the Razorbacks will turn their attention towards next weekend’s Southeastern Conference Relays to be hosted by LSU in Baton Rouge, Louisiana on April 28-29.

John McDonnell Invitational

Decathlon
1. Gabe Moore – 7,564 points
6. 100m – 11.15 (827)
4. Long Jump – 22-1 3/4 (755)
2. Shot Put – 45-5 3/4 (720)
1. High Jump – 6-6 3/4 (803)
1. 400m – 49.07 (858)
2. 110H – 15.20 (825)
2. Discus – 138-9 (711)
2. Pole Vault – 15-3 (804)
3. Javelin – 172-9 (628)
2. 1,500m – 4:47.65 (633)

4. Brad Culp – 6,665 points
5. 100m – 11.02 (856)
3. Long Jump – 22-5 1/4 (776)
4. Shot Put – 41-5 1/4 (645)
2. High Jump – 6-4 1/4 (749)
7. 400m – 52.18 (717)
4. 110H – 15.28 (816)
5. Discus – 125-10 (631)
1. Pole Vault – 15-7 (834)
2. Javelin – 175-9 (641)

5. Lane Austell – 6,451 points
4. 100m – 11.00 (861)
5. Long Jump – 22-1 1/2 (753)
6. Shot Put – 39-11 1/2 (617)
5. High Jump – 6-2 (696)
5. 400m – 50.92 (773)
1. 110H – 14.99 (851)
4. Discus – 129-9 (656)
5. Javelin – 168-6 (609)
1. 1,500m – 4:47.36 (635)

6. Derek Jacobus – 6,335 points
1. 100m – 10.80 (906)
1. Long Jump – 23-5 1/4 (847)
8. Shot Put – 39-5 3/4 (608)
3. High Jump – 6-2 (696)
4. 400m – 50.68 (784)
6. 110H – 15.81 (754)
3. Discus – 134-6 (685)
4. Pole Vault – 14-3 1/4 (716)
6. Javelin – 107-8 (339)

Herman’s hustle pays off in heptathlon high-point total

• JMD Combined Events Results

FAYETTEVILLE — All-American Kelsey Herman stepped on the track on Sunday afternoon charged with the task of joining her three teammates Taliyah Brooks (No. 2), Payton Stumbaugh (No. 4) and Leigha Brown (No. 6) on the NCAA outdoor heptathlon performance list.

Herman boldly accepted and completed the task, capturing the event title with a heptathlon PR of 5,612 points.

The score placed her at No. 12 on the national leader boards, giving the Razorbacks even more command of the extremely technical event.

Seeking redemption for a Texas Relays performance which saw the talented Arkansan bow out due to a pair of event fouls, Herman lifted her head high at John McDonnell field and committed to performing at the level she knew she was capable of.

Her strong day one total of 3,446 points was immediately complimented by 927 additional points at the start of Sunday’s competition off a tremendous mark of 6.25m/20-6¼ in the long jump. Herman closed the day clocking a season’s best of 2:28.08 seconds in the 800-meter run.

Arkansas will hit the road next weekend destined for Baton Rouge, Louisiana, set to compete at the first annual Southeastern Conference Relays on April 28-29.

John McDonnell Invitational

Heptathlon

1. Kelsey Herman – 5,612 points
1. 100H – 13.75 (1,014)
1. High Jump – 5-8 (891)
2. Shot Put – 37-3 3/4 (619)
1. 200m – 24.62 (922)
1. Long Jump – 20-6 1/4 (927)
3. Javelin – 106-3 (522)
2. 800m – 2:28.08 (717)

2. Ashlee Moore – 4,888 points
2. 100H – 14.01 (977)
2. High Jump – 5-5 3/4 (818)
3. Shot Put – 36-5 1/2 (602)
2. 200m – 26.32 (769)
2. Long Jump – 17-10 3/4 (686)
1. Javelin – 126-1 (637)
3. 800m – 2:56.47 (399)