Hogs add Goldwire to new women’s basketball staff
FAYETTEVILLE — Arkansas women’s basketball coach Mike Neighbors announced the addition of Lacey Goldwire as an assistant coach on Thursday.
Goldwire brings four years of recent postseason coaching experience to the bench for the Razorbacks.
“This is the first win as a Razorback for us,” Neighbors said. “Lacey provides us with an immediate impact performer in the Southeastern Conference before we ever play a game. She has matured from player to young coach into a recognized elite coach in a very short time frame. Lacey has accomplished that through her ability to connect with people and to form trusting relationships with them.
“Lacey will give our current student-athletes someone who has lived in their world as a player,” Neighbors continued. “She will give them someone who can relate to the day-to-day challenges each of our players face in the classroom and on the court. Lacey becoming a Razorback was a very important foundation building block and I’m looking forward to getting started.”
Goldwire comes to Fayetteville from Iowa City where she worked with the Hawkeyes wing players and served as the team’s recruiting coordinator. Goldwire’s first season at Iowa was the first of back-to-back trips to the NCAA Tournament. At 27-win season included a second round appearance in the Big Dance in 2013-14.
Iowa returned to the NCAA Tournament in 2014-15 and defeated 14th-seeded American (75-67) in the first round and 11th-seeded Miami (88-70) in the second round.
The victory secured a Sweet Sixteen berth at home on Mediacom Court in Carver-Hawkeye Arena. The Hawkeyes closed their season with a 26-8 record overall, a runner-up finish in Big Ten Conference play with a 14-4 mark, and a No. 11 national ranking in the USA Today Top 25 Coaches’ Poll — the highest for the program since 1995-96.
Iowa was one of 13 teams nationally to finish undefeated at home with an 18-0 mark, setting a program record for wins at home in a single season.
Goldwire and the Hawkeyes were one win shy of 20 in 2015-16 playing in the WNIT, but played to 20 wins in 2016-17 going deep into the WNIT bracket with victories over Missouri State, South Dakota and Colorado.
During her time in Iowa, Goldwire worked with consensus All-America selection Samantha Logic whose honors also included being named a WBCA Division I Coaches All-American, USBWA All-American, ESPN Second Team All-American, and Third Team Associated Press All-American. Logic was the only player in NCAA history to accumulate at least 1,500 career points, 800 rebounds, 800 assists, and 200 steals — and was one of 12 players in the country to be invited to attend the 2015 WNBA Draft where she was selected with the 10th overall pick.
Goldwire spent the 2012-13 season as an assistant coach at Morehead State. Prior to joining the Eagles’ staff, Goldwire served on the Oklahoma State staff for four seasons — two as a student assistant and two as a graduate assistant.
Following Oklahoma State’s tragic loss of its head and assistant coach during a plane crash in November of 2011, Goldwire was elevated to interim assistant coach where she took on added recruiting duties.
During her time with the program, the Cowgirls won 80 games and advanced to the postseason all four years, winning the 2012 WNIT championship.
Goldwire, an Oklahoma City native, played collegiately at East Central (Okla.) University where she ranked fifth in career scoring with 1,340 points. She averaged 21.1 points and 5.9 rebounds as a senior and was tabbed Lone Star Conference North co-Player of the Year and Second-Team All-South Central Region.
She also earned ECU’s Athlete of the Year honor in 2007-08. She was named honorable mention All-LSC following her sophomore and junior campaigns.
Goldwire, an all-state and all-city player at Del City (Okla.) High School, graduated from Oklahoma State with a bachelor of science in education and a master’s degree in teaching, learning and leadership in 2010.
Hogs one-hit Memphis; Spanberger homer enough in 2-0 win
NORTH LITTLE ROCK — A two-run blast by Chad Spanberger and a stellar start by sophomore Kacey Murphy on the mound led the 14th-ranked Razorbacks to a 2-0 victory over Memphis on Wednesday night at Dickey-Stephens Park.
One night after plating 16 runs against the Tigers, the Razorbacks only needed the two off Spanberger’s fifth inning home run to finish the midweek sweep in front of 8.974 fans. Six hits were totaled in the game by the Hogs, two each by Spanberger and sophomore Jax Biggers.
The win ups Arkansas’ record to 31-8 for the season, and drops Memphis to 21-17. It’s the sixth win in a row for the Hogs as they go into their weekend series at Auburn and 11th-straight during midweek games.
Spanberger extended his career-long hitting streak to 12 games with the two-hit performance, the second-longest streak on the team this season. The home run was his ninth of the year, tying catcher Grant Koch for the team lead.
On the flip side, Murphy held Memphis hitless until the seventh inning and only walked one batter in the fourth. The lone hit came on a bunt single by Chris Carrier with one out, but he was picked off in the next at-bat to complete the seventh scoreless frame for Murphy.
Murphy finished with seven innings pitched and seven strikeouts. The inning total is a career-high and the strikeouts are the third most in a game this year.
Redshirt senior Josh Alberius came in to pitch the eighth and ninth innings, needing only 15 pitches to get the final six outs and his second save of the year.
The combined one-hitter is the first for a Razorback team since Colin Poche’ and Cade Lynch achieved the feat over seven innings against New Orleans on February 19, 2013.
Moments That Mattered
Murphy retired the first 11 batters he faced before giving up a walk to Carrier in the fourth inning. During those first 3.2 innings, Murphy had already recorded four strikeouts and just three balls hit to the outfield.
In the bottom half of the first and second innings, Arkansas stranded two runners on base each time, just missing the timely hit needed to take the early lead. Spanberger got his first hit of the night on a single to right field in the first inning, extending his hit streak, and then reached second on a Jared Gates hit by pitch. However, the Hogs couldn’t punch in the run.
Three more innings rolled by with only three runners reaching base combined between the two teams. Arkansas finally got what it needed with a lead-off single by Biggers in the fifth, his second hit of the night. Two batters later, Spanberger hit one of the longer home runs of the year into the right field berm of Dickey-Stephens Park, giving the Hogs the 2-0 lead and sending the fans into a frenzy.
Neither team make a change on the mound until the seventh when Memphis brought in Blake Bennett to replace starter Alex Hicks. Hicks finished with six innings pitched and six hits scattered to go along with the two earned runs off the homer. Even after getting to the Tiger bullpen, Arkansas did not manage a hit over the final two innings.
Murphy did have a no-hitter into the seventh inning and got the first out of the frame by striking out Brandon Grudzielanek. Unfortunately, Carrier, who he had walked earlier in the game, reached base for a second time on a well-placed bunt to the right of the bullpen and beat out the throw from Gates for Memphis’ first hit.
Once Alberius entered the game in the eighth, the Little Rock, Arkansas native made quick work of the Tigers and struck out the final batter to end the game.
Razorback Quotables
“For a midweek ballgame and have (Kacey) Murphy come out and give us seven strong innings, it kept us in the ballgame against one of their better pitchers. He gave us a chance to win and we had enough offense to win the game. I think Murphy gained a lot of experience and confidence with this. Overall, it was a good night for us.” – Head coach Dave Van Horn on the pitching performance from Kacey Murphy
“We couldn’t tell where it ended up, I just knew when it left the bat, I said ‘It’s 2-0.’ I didn’t even watch it. When (Chad Spanberger) hits them, they usually go a long way. When he mishits them, sometimes they have a chance to get out. That was a big swing for us.” – Head coach Dave Van Horn on Chad Spanberger’s home run
“You never really expect something like that. Coach (Wes) Johnson has us execute one pitch at a time and that’s what happened.” – Kacey Murphy on his outing
Up Next
Arkansas heads to Auburn, Alabama to face a top-10 Auburn Tiger team for a three-game series starting on Friday at 6 p.m. The series will run through Saturday and Sunday with game times slated for 1 and 3 p.m., respectively. Sunday’s game is scheduled to be broadcast on the SEC Network.
Big inning lets Arkansas pull away from Louisiana-Monroe for win
FAYETTEVILLE — Tied with Louisiana-Monroe through three innings, Arkansas used a five-run, two-out scoring surge in the fourth to pull away in a 9-3 win Wednesday evening at Bogle Park.
The bottom of the lineup featuring Shelby Hiers, Madison Yannetti and Parker Pocklington combined for three hits, five RBI and five runs scored. Yannetti and Tori Cooper each hit a home run in the win while freshman Autumn Storms picked up her 13th victory in the circle.
Cooper opened the scoring with a solo shot in the bottom of the first, her seventh home run of the season.
ULM (28-18) tied the game in the top of the second with an unearned run off starter Caroline Hedgcock but Yannetti pushed the Razorbacks ahead on the scoreboard with a two-run big fly to left field, another two-run blow.
With Wednesday’s effort, Arkansas pushed its season total to 44 home runs.
The visitors took advantage of a fielding error in the top of the third to score two more runs and tie the game at 3-all.
Storms entered the game with one down in the third and got out of the jam with a couple of ground balls. The Temecula, Calif., native worked the final 4.2 innings of the game, allowing just two hits and striking out three ULM hitters.
Storms worked out of a two-on, two-out spot in the seventh, getting a liner to Loren Krzysko in center field to end the game.
ULM starter Melanie Coyne looked to be heading toward an easy fourth inning, recording the first two outs with fly balls.
But Nicole Schroeder singled up the middle, and the Razorbacks had runners on second and third after a Hiers’ double. Yannetti drew a walk to load the bases, and Pocklington delivered with a two-run base knock through the left side.
Autumn Russell plated two more runs with a hit up the middle, and came around to score a run of her own on a double by Krzysko.
Arkansas (27-16) added its ninth run in the fifth on an RBI groundout off the bat of Hiers.
The senior catcher stepped to the plate with runners on second and third after a walk to A.J. Belans and double by Schroeder.
Pinch runner Betina Beringhele scored the final run on the ground ball. Wednesday’s game was the Razorbacks’ largest offensive output since March 7.
Up Next
Arkansas returns to SEC play with a weekend road trip to face Mississippi State, beginning Saturday in Starkville.
All three games will be televised on the SEC Network and streamed live through the WatchESPN app.
The Razorbacks return home May 5-7 to host Georgia in the regular-season finale for both teams.
General admission is free for all home games.
Hogs travel to Sea Island this weekend for SEC Championships
Season Stats | Championship Central
FAYETTEVILLE — Arkansas’ men’s golf team travels to the SEC Championship this weekend, taking on the nation’s best teams in St. Simons, Georgia at Sea Island Golf Club.
The conference championship returns to Sea Island Golf Club for the eighth consecutive year, as all 14 teams will assemble at the par 70, 6,898-yard course on April 21-24. Live scoring is available at Golfstat.com or via the Golfstat Live app.
The SEC Championship has a brand new format this season that includes 54 holes of stroke play the first two days of competition with the top eight teams advancing to match play the final two days. The championship match will take place on Monday, April 24.
The Rundown
Schedule: Friday-Monday, April 21-24
Course: Seaside Course, Sea Island Golf Club
Yardage: 6,898 – Par 70
Championship Format
Friday: 36 holes of stroke play
Saturday: 18 holes of stroke play
Sunday: Quarterfinal and Semifinal Matches
Monday: Championship Match
Razorback Lineup
1. Alvaro Ortiz, Jr. (71.6)
2. Luis Garza, Fr. (71.8)
3. Dylan Naidoo, Fr. (73.4)
4. Mason Overstreet, Fr. (73.7)
5. Charles Kim, So. (73.4)
Best of the Best
The SEC Continues to boast the best golf in the country, holding nine of the top 30 teams in the land, including three of the top 10, more than any other conference in the nation. The Razorbacks have held steady in the rankings all year and enter the league championship ranked No. 29 in the country.
Young Talent
Arkansas features the youngest lineup in the league with one junior, one sophomore and three freshmen. The Razorback lineup has combined for just three years of SEC Championship appearances, the fewest among any program in the conference. Arkansas starts three freshmen, while Georgia and Tennessee start two and no other program starts more than one.
Balanced Attack
Four of the five players in Arkansas’ lineup have finished inside the top five this season, while No. 5 golfer Charles Kim has the only victory with his dramatic finish at the SunTrust Gator to capture the individual title. Alvaro Ortiz leads the team with six top-10 finishes, while Luis Garza has the sixth-best scoring average in the SEC among freshmen.
Head-to-Head in the SEC
Arkansas played 12 of the other 13 teams in the league during the regular season, beating seven of them head-to-head, including then 2nd-ranked Florida on its home course to capture the SunTrust Gator Invitational, one of two team victories this year. The Razorbacks have the third lowest team score in the conference this season with an eight-under 272 at TPC Sawgrass.
Quest for a Championship
The Razorbacks hoisted their lone SEC championship trophy in 1995 and have two individual SEC Champions in the last 21 years, as Sebastian Cappelen captured the title at eight-under in 2013 and Bud Still found himself atop the leaderboard in 1995 at 10-under. A Razorback individual title this weekend would be the second in the last five seasons.
Steady in the SEC
The Razorbacks have finished in the top six at the SEC Championship eight straight years under head coach Brad McMakin, making it the only SEC program to accomplish the feat. Arkansas’ best finish under head coach Brad McMakin came in 2009, posting a runner-up finish led by current #ProHogs David Lingmerth, while last year’s T-3rd place showing was the best finish in the last eight years.
Fletcher nearly goes for cycle as Hogs dominate Memphis
FAYETTEVILLE — Arkansas tied a season-high with 16 runs scored Tuesday night to power past Memphis, 16-7, at Baum Stadium.
Freshman Dominic Fletcher nearly hit for the cycle in the game as he hit a single, double, and a triple in his first three at-bats. He was one of four Razorbacks with multi-hit performances in the game.
The win moves the Hogs record to 30-8 for the season, the fastest to 30 wins by any team in the SEC, and is their 10th-straight midweek win. Arkansas remains a perfect 13-0 when scoring 10 or more runs in a game this year.
Fletcher’s performance at the plate was nearly one for the ages as he locked up everything but the home run for the cycle by the fifth inning. Had he hit the home run, it would have been the first cycle by a Razorback since Kyle Harris did it in 1994 against Tennessee.
Fletcher finished the game 3-for-5 with four RBIs and three runs scored. Both the RBIs and the runs scored are season-highs.
Sophomore Jax Biggers also turned in a three-hit game, going 3-for-4 with two runs scored and two RBIs. It’s his fifth-straight multi-hit game and second three-hit game in his last seven.
On the mound, freshman Matt Cronin earned his second victory after throwing 1.1 scoreless innings at the end of the fifth and through the sixth.
Arkansas had retaken its second lead of the game in the bottom of the fifth after Cronin entered the game, scoring four runs on six hits.
It was the last lead change of the game as Arkansas took a 11-7 lead into the sixth and scored five more runs in the bottom half of the sixth on just three hits, to make it 16-7 for the final three innings.
Moments That Mattered
• Memphis got a three-run first inning off a Andy Bowman home run to take a 3-0 lead, but the Razorbacks responded in a big way with seven runs over the second and third innings. A Jake Arledge two-RBI double got the scoring started for the Hogs. He later scored on a Chad Spanberger groundout to tie the game at 3-3.
• Arledge finished the game with two hits and three runs scored. Both of his RBIs in the game came from the double in the second inning. In 11 of his last 12 games, Arledge has at least one hit.
• The lead was padded in the third when the Hogs took advantage of three straight walks to Jared Gates, Carson Shaddy, and Eric Cole before Fletcher cleared the bases with his first triple of his career down the right field line, making it 7-3.
• Fletcher now has nine multi-hit games this season and three with three hits or more. It’s his first game with two or more hits since going 2-for-3 against Alabama on April 2.
• Memphis did tie the game for a second time by putting up a four spot in the top half of the fifth, getting a lead-off home run from Tyler Webb and then scoring three on a double down the right field line by Zach Schritenthal with two outs. Cronin was brought in to stop the rally and he did exactly that, striking out Jason Santana to end the fifth and then going 1-2-3 in the sixth.
Razorback Quotables
“I think all of our hitters did a good job, for the most part. They were really battling and getting deep into their at-bats and getting pitch counts up.” — Coach Dave Van Horn on the team’s approach at the plate
“They feed off of each other, confidence-wise. They feel confident at the plate. They feel like we have a good line-up that compliments each other. They know that, to stay in the lineup, they’ve got to produce, and they’ve been doing a great job.” — Van Horn on his team’s dynamic
“Any time you’re in the box with runners in scoring position, you’re just trying to get the job done for the team and I happened to be lucky enough to get those two hits tonight.” — Dominic Fletcher on producing RBIs at key points in the game
“I feel like our team does a really good job of responding to big innings when other teams put up big runs on us, especially early in the game. We’re able to respond and we’re able to look at a lot of our games. The Friday night game against Mississippi State, as well as others, I think our team is very mature in its approach.” — Luke Bonfield on the team being able to respond to deficits
Up Next
Arkansas heads to North Little Rock, Arkansas for its annual game at Dickey-Stephens Park on Wednesday. The Hogs will face the Memphis Tigers for the second game of this midweek series with first pitch scheduled for 6:30 p.m.
There will be no television coverage of the game, but it can be heard on the radio on the Razorback Sports Network with Phil Elson calling the action.
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Razorbacks to host Louisiana-Monroe in final midweek home game
FAYETTEVILLE — Down to four home games left in the 2017 regular season, Arkansas returns to Bogle Park Wednesday evening to host Louisiana-Monroe.
First pitch of the midweek matchup is scheduled for 6 p.m. in a game that will televised on the SEC Network.
General admission is free for all home games with gates opening one hour prior to first pitch.
Game Information
What: Arkansas (26-16) hosts ULM (28-17)
When: 6 p.m. CT
Where: Bogle Park (Fayetteville, Ark.)
How to Follow: SEC Network | Live Stats | Game Notes
Series vs ULM
Entering the final home midweek of the season, Arkansas leads the all-time series against ULM with 10 wins in 13 meetings. The Razorbacks also hold a 6-2 advantage in Fayetteville, only the past three have been played at Bogle Park. Wednesday’s game will be the first in the series since the 2013 season.
Last Time Out
Ashley Diaz delivered a game-winning single in the bottom of the seventh inning to give Arkansas the program its first-ever win over Texas A&M. Tori Cooper was 2-for-4 with two RBI in the game while Nicole Schroeder opened the scoring with a solo shot in the fifth inning, her 13th home run of the season.
Perfect Timing
Ashley Diaz’s seventh-inning single to beat Texas A&M was the sophomore’s first hit of the weekend. In the at-bat against the Aggies’ Trinity Harrington, Diaz fell behind 0-2 before sending the 2-2 offering over the left fielder’s head and driving in the game-winning run. Prior to that moment, Diaz had been 0-for-8 with a sacrifice bunt in the series.
RPI Check
Behind a pair of top-30 wins last week (def. Tulsa & Texas A&M), the Razorbacks moved up to a season-best No. 24 in the April 17 release of the NCAA RPI. All 13 SEC teams are inside the top 40 including this weekend’s opponent, Mississippi State (34). Arkansas is also ranked 24th in this week’s NFCA coaches’ top 25 and receiving votes in the USA Softball poll.
Be at Bogle
Game two of the Arkansas-Texas A&M series (April 15) was played in front of 1,276 fans which represents the No. 3 home crowd in program history. Earlier this season, the program record of 1,544 was established at the Razorbacks’ 2-1 win over No. 14 Tennessee (March 18).
Up Next
Following Wednesday’s game, the Razorbacks will play their next seven games on the road beginning with a weekend set at Mississippi State beginning Saturday evening. Arkansas closes out its home schedule May 5-7 when its hosts Georgia.
Hogs’ Terrell named to third straight SEC Community Service honor
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — Redshirt sophomore Branch Terrell has been named to the SEC Community Service Team announced by the Southeastern Conference Tuesday afternoon.
The Benton, Arkansas, native has picked up the honor for the third consecutive year, after being named to the 2015 and 2016 teams while serving as a member on the SAAC Executive Board as the Community Engagement Chairperson.
He has volunteered his time to causes in the community such as the Operation Baton Rouge, Book Hogs and the Sweat Hogs program. Holding a cumulative GPA of 3.9, Terrell is a four-time member on the Dean’s and Chancellor’s List, as well as earning the Academic Champion Award. He also earned a spot on the Athletic Director’s List and is a two-time SEC Academic Honor Roll member. The accounting major was also named an ITA Scholar Athlete from the national organization during his freshman season.
Terrell is 5-2 this spring in singles action, including a 3-0 mark at the No. 2 spot. Overall, he is 10-10 this season and 20-16 for his career.
“Branch’s tennis has improved a lot this year,” said head coach Andy Jackson. “He has worked very hard on it. His commitment to service has stayed very high, as he is an example to all of us. The Razorbacks are very proud of him.”
Volunteer Projects
• Helped collect household items for flood victims for Operation Baton Rouge
• Christmas Shop with Razorbacks at Toys-R-Us
• Volunteered with youths at Baldwin Baptist Church
• Razorbacks Read at Washington Elementary
• Book Hogs at Leverett Elementary
• Taught tennis during Elementary Kids Day at Benton Parks & Recreation
• Children Fun Run at Fayetteville High School
• Lift Up America
• Razorbuddies Program at local elementary schools
• Sweat Hogs program at Owl Creek Elementary
