SEC Network shows off eye-catching plays from around the conference.
SEC Network: Could every SEC softball team get to NCAA Tournament?
SEC Now’s Kayla Braud and Dari Nowkhah examine RPI rankings and the likelihood of SEC teams making the NCAA Tournament.
Portis showing poise, confidence, swagger in leading Bulls
By Sam Smith, Bulls.com
Bobby Portis never lost confidence, never doubted.
And as a result, the Bulls suddenly are in position with a 1-0 series lead to shock the Boston Celtics in their first round playoff series.
Sure, Jimmy Butler was clutch with 15 fourth quarter points and the clinching free throws and Robin Lopez was dominant with 11 rebounds, eight offensive in the Bulls 53-36 rebounding advantage.
But it was a Bulls 35-22 bench edge led by Portis’ eight for 10 shooting and 19 points that proved decisive.
Portis’ poise was enviable, if also unlikely given what he’s endured in a season of rarely playing, 18 DNP-coach decisions, including the home opener against Boston, another 15 games of so called garbage time, playing fewer than 10 minutes in mop up, late game situations.
Yet, the humble 6-11 forward who still says, “Sir” when answering questions from media, worked and worked, competed and competed, was a model of effort despite the disappointment and frustration.
Bonfield selected as top player in the SEC for last week’s play
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — Junior outfielder Luke Bonfield was named the SEC Player of the Week today, as it was announced by the Southeastern Conference office.
Bonfield was a key component over the last week, helping Arkansas go 4-0 with a win over Missouri State and a series sweep of Georgia.
This is the first player of the week honor for an Arkansas player this season and the first for Bonfield in his career.
Over the previous four-game stretch, the junior hit an even .400, including hitting two home runs to help Arkansas sweep Georgia and win its fourth SEC series of the year.
His play has been a big reason that the Razorbacks have gotten off to their best conference start since 2010.
Since conference play began, Bonfield has been one of Arkansas’ best hitters at the plate and he showed it against the Bulldogs, as he turned in two multi-hit performances and had two or more RBIs in all three games.
In 15 conference games, Bonfield is hitting .339 with four home runs and 14 RBIs. His totals in hits, RBIs, home runs and slugging percentage are all in the top 10 in the league in SEC play.
Bonfield’s week started off with a bang when he went 3-for-6 against Missouri State, helping the Hogs to a big 12-4 win over the Bears.
In that game, Bonfield tied for the team high with three RBIs and he hit his first triple of his career. It was also his team-leading fifth game with three or more hits.
The New Jersey native was a tough out over the weekend against Georgia, going 5-for-14 (.357) at the plate with four of those hits coming with runners on base and three with two outs.
His two-out home run in the seventh inning of game two against Georgia completed a two-run comeback to give the Hogs their first lead of the game, which they would go on to win, 5-4, in 10 innings.
Bonfield is currently hitting .329 on the year, the third-highest average on the team, with 15 of his 48 hits going for extra bases. His seven home runs is just one off from his total last year and his 35 RBIs is the second-highest total on the team behind Chad Spanberger’s 36 RBIs.
Up next, Bonfield and the Razorbacks host Memphis for a two-game series starting on Tuesday at 6:30 p.m. at Baum Stadium. The game can be seen on the SEC Network+.
Wednesday’s game will be played at Dickey-Stephens Park in North Little Rock, Arkansas and can be heard on the Razorback Sports Network on the radio with first pitch scheduled for 6:30. There will be no television coverage for the game in North Little Rock.
Diaz’ walk-off single lifts Razorbacks to win over Texas A&M
FAYETTEVILLE — Sophomore Ashley Diaz picked the perfect time for her first hit of the weekend with a two-out RBI single to left field to send the Razorbacks to a 4-3 win Sunday afternoon over No. 5 Texas A&M.
Arkansas scored twice in the final frame to rally past the Aggies for the program’s first win in the series.
The victory doubled as the Razorbacks’ first win over a top-five opponent since the 2014 season.
Down a run entering the bottom of the seventh inning, Arkansas (26-16, 5-13 SEC) got things going with a one-out chopper up the middle by Madison Yannetti.
A ground ball to short allowed pinch runner Haydi Bugarin to advance to second. Loren Krzysko drew her second walk of the day and the Razorbacks had runners on first and second with two outs.
Tori Cooper came to the plate and delivered her second RBI hit of the game, scoring Bugarin from second base and tying the score at 3-all.
Another walk to A.J. Belans, her second of the game, loaded the bases for Diaz. After falling behind 0-2 to Texas A&M’s Trinity Harrington, Diaz drove the 2-2 offering to the base of the wall in left field to plate the game-winning run in Krzysko.
Sunday’s series finale was scoreless through four and a half innings before the Razorbacks broke through with two runs in the home half of the fourth.
Nicole Schroeder led off the frame with a no-doubt solo home run to left field to give Arkansas the 1-0 advantage. It was her 13th home run, and the team’s 42nd of the season.
Yannetti followed with a base knock to left, and pinch runner Betina Beringhele came around to score on Cooper’s first hit of the day.
The freshman tandem of Autumn Storms and Caroline Hedgcock kept Texas A&M (37-4, 11-3 SEC) scoreless through six innings before the visitors tied it up and eventually took the lead in the top of the seventh with the help of two sacrifice flies to left field.
Storms started the game and was relieved by Hedgcock after one was retired in the second. Storms re-entered to start the fourth and went on to collect her 12th win of the year.
With her performance Sunday, Cooper now has seven multi-hit games of the season including three during SEC play.
The two-hit day for Yannetti was her fifth of the year. Krzysko has reached base at least once in five of six games since earning a starting spot in the lineup.
Up Next
The Razorbacks close out their five-game home stand Wednesday evening against ULM at Bogle Park.
The midweek game is scheduled for a 6 p.m. start and will be televised on the SEC Network.
General admission is free for all home games with gates opening one hour prior to first pitch.
Hogs get personal bests from Bruce, George in California meets
Bryan Clay Results | Mt. SAC Relays
AZUSA, Calif. — Sixth-ranked Arkansas closed out its stay in California on Friday evening with personal-best performances from junior Jack Bruce (5,000) at the Mt. SAC Relays and redshirt sophomore Alex George (1,500) at the Bryan Clay Invitational.
A transfer from Arkansas-Little Rock, Bruce has amassed three All-America honors since joining the Razorbacks in Fall 2015 and seems on pace for another.
The Brisbane, Australian, native made his 2017 outdoor debut as the runner-up finisher in the 5,000 invitational with an epic 16-second PR of 13 minutes, 38.15 seconds.
He currently leads the Southeastern Conference and sits at No. 3 on the NCAA performance list.
Arkansas’ other representative on the NCAA 5K leader board Alex George proved he had speed to go along with his endurance, placing 18th in the 1,500 with a two-second PR of 3 minutes, 42.34 seconds.
George was the 12th-best collegian in a massive field which featured over 250 entries. His performance ranks him among the top-three best in the SEC so far this season.
Redshirt sophomore Ethan Moehn opened his second outdoor competition season in the 1,500, finishing inside the top-60 at Bryan Clay with a time of 3:47.52.
The Razorbacks will compete at home next weekend as they host the John McDonnell Invitational on April 21-22 at John McDonnell Field.
Kids 6-12 are invited to participate in ‘The Fastest Kid in Fayetteville’ fun run which will take place on Saturday, April 22 at 4 p.m., prior to the start of the collegiate running events. Parents can register their child HERE.
Bryan Clay Invitational
April 14, 2017
Cougar Athletic Stadium (Azusa, California)
1,500 Meters
18. Alex George – 3:42.34
57. Ethan Moehn – 3:47.52
Mt. SAC Relays
April 14, 2017
Murdock Stadium (Torrance, California)
5,000 Meters
2. Jack Bruce – 13:38.15
Hogs’ bats come alive again in 11-3 to complete sweep of Georgia
FAYETTEVILLE — Arkansas rolled past Georgia on Saturday afternoon, winning, 11-3, to complete the series sweep behind a stellar offensive performance, giving the Razorbacks their best conference start since 2010.
With the win, Arkansas is now 29-8 on the year and 11-4 in Southeastern Conference play, holding the top spot in the Western Division by a half game over Mississippi State.
The sweep of Georgia is its second in conference play this year and the first time since 2012 with two conference sweeps in a season.
A seven-run second inning was what forced Georgia to their bullpen in the early goings as Arkansas took advantage of two errors and scattered six hits. Five of those hits were singles before junior Chad Spanberger unloaded his eighth home run of the year to drive in three runs.
Spanberger continued to be hot at the plate, going 2-for-5 with his three RBIs coming off the homer. The second inning home run extended his hitting streak to 10 games, dating back to the series finale at Alabama on April 2.
Even though Spanberger had the big fly in the second, Arkansas notched 14 hits in the game as a team with five players recording multi-hit games. Luke Bonfield, Carson Shaddy, Eric Cole and Jax Biggers each turned in two or more hits Saturday.
Spanberger and Bonfield led the way with three RBIs each, combining to bring in 15 of Arkansas’ runs this weekend. It;s Bonfield’s 10th game this season with multiple RBIs and Spanberger’s ninth.
Sophomore Eric Cole came away with the top performance, going 3-for-5 with a double and a run scored. It’s Cole’s second straight game with three or more hits after he had a four-hit performance in last night’s victory, completing a 6-for-9 weekend against the Bulldogs.
Moments That Mattered
Trailing 1-0 in the first, the Razorback offense quickly went to work in the bottom of the second plating seven runs, highlighted by Spanberger’s three run blast to left field. Spanberger homered twice this weekend bringing his season total to eight.
He’s the second Razorback to have a 10-game or longer hit streak this season, joining Jake Arledge, who had a hit in 15 straight games earlier this year. His home run was his second of the series and fourth in the last eight games. In just SEC play, the junior has six home runs, good for a tie for second among all league players.
Redshirt senior Josh Alberius got the call for the start Saturday and pitched well into the fourth inning, before Georgia put two on with one out after a single and a double scored its second run to make it 7-2. Kacey Murphy followed, but gave up a single and a walk to load the bases.
Kevin Kopps relieved Murphy with still just the one out, but needed only one pitch as he forced a double play to get out of the inning to hold the lead at 7-2.
Saturday marked the longest outing of Kopps’ career, as he threw 5.2 innings and earned his second victory with no runs allowed and three strikeouts. Kopps is now 2-0 this season after allowing just five hits and forced three double plays in the game.
Bonfield was responsible for the next four runs Arkansas scored, which broke the game wide open. Doubling in the fourth to score Evan Lee to make it 8-3, he later scored on a wild pitch in the same inning to extend it to 9-3.
The New Jersey-native had one more RBI opportunity in the fifth when he singled home Jax Biggers and Dominic Fletcher for Arkansas’ final tally of the game.
Razorback Quotables
“That was a great inning for us offensively. They made a mistake and we jumped all over it. After that we really got it rolling. We worked the count a lot and got the pitch count up.” — Coach Dave Van Horn on the big seven-run second inning
“Obviously, it’s a good feeling knowing that we have won as many games as we have after how we finished last year. It’s just big for the program and for our players that were in the program last year that suffered through it. It is just good, bottom line. It’s what we need.” — Van Horn on winning 11 of the first 15 conference games
“It was awesome. I don’t remember how it started, but the two-out hits were nice. We just really put the ball into play and let them makes some plays for us. Turned out well for us. — Chad Spanberger on the team’s seven-run inning
“That was huge. He hit a really good pitch and rolled it over to Jax. At that point we knew he was going to make the play and after that he just kept going and filling up the zone and getting them out, big time saving out bullpen for the week.” — Spanberger on the double play that Kevin Kopps induced to end the third inning
“The first day we came into the locker room this year, our coaches talked about winning the West and sent us a list of every team in the West we had to beat. It’s been a goal from day one and we’re on a good track for that right now.” — Eric Cole on Arkansas’ hot start to the conference season
Up Next
Arkansas hosts Memphis for a two-game series starting on Tuesday at 6:30 p.m. at Baum Stadium.
The game can be seen on the SEC Network+. Wednesday’s game will be played at Dickey-Stephens Park in North Little Rock.
Arkansas and can be heard on the Razorback Sports Network on the radio with first pitch scheduled for 6:30. There will be no television coverage for the game in North Little Rock.
Arkansas wraps up regular season with victory over Vandy
FAYETTEVILLE — Arkansas closed out the regular season on Sunday, defeating Vanderbilt, 4-3, on Senior Day.
Winning its two matches at home this weekend, Arkansas finishes the regular season with an overall record of 15-11 and a 6-6 mark in Southeastern Conference play.
“We are very proud of our team and our seniors,” said head coach Andy Jackson. “They have overcome a lot and kept putting their heart into the team, and this weekend they got the reward they deserved. Vanderbilt dug deep but we responded and showed a lot of poise. We are pleased to finish in the top half of the conference for two years in a row and we are excited for the SEC and NCAA tournaments. Those events are special and we eager to get to play.”
The Razorbacks finished tied for sixth in the final SEC standings, marking the second consecutive year that Arkansas has finished in the top half of the conference standings. Despite the tie, the Razorbacks will be the seven seed in the SEC Men’s Tennis Tournament, scheduled to face the 10-seed LSU Tigers on Thursday, April 27 at a time yet to be determined. Earlier in the year, Arkansas won 4-3 at LSU for the program’s first ever victory in Baton Rouge.
Adam Sanjurjo and Johan den Toom improved to 2-0 as a doubles pairing this spring, defeating Baker Newman and Pen Binet of Vanderbilt 6-3 to get things started for the Razorbacks. Arkansas (15-11, 6-6 SEC) clinched the doubles point after Oscar Mesquida and Juan Marino knocked off Daniel Valent and Panu Virtanen 6-3. The No. 7 doubles duo of Mike Redlicki and Jose Salazar were ahead 4-3 before play was suspended at the clinch.
Vanderbilt (11-14, 2-10 SEC) evened things up in singles play with a victory on court six, but Arkansas quickly took the advantage again with a 7-5, 6-3 win on court four by Sanjurjo over Lachlan McPhee.
No. 11 Redlicki pushed Arkansas to a 3-1 lead with a 6-3, 7-5 win at the No. 1 spot over No. 58 Valent. Redlicki’s win marked his 50th career singles victory as a Razorback.
The Commodores narrowed the gap after No. 29 Salazar fell 6-0, 2-6, 4-6 to Newman.
At the No. 3 spot, Mesquida defeated Billy Rowe 6-3, 3-6, 6-3 to clinch the victory for Arkansas and improve his record to 15-6 this spring in singles play.
Following the clinch, den Toom fell to Tate Allwardt 3-6, 7-6 (7-4), 6-4 to give Vanderbilt their third point.
Arkansas 4, Vanderbilt 3
Doubles competition – Order of finish (2, 3)
1. #7 Mike Redlicki/Jose Salazar (AR) vs. #44 Lachlan McPhee/Billy Rowe (VU) 4-3, unfinished
2. Adam Sanjurjo/Johan den Toom (AR) def. Pen Binet/Baker Newman (VU) 6-3
3. Oscar Mesquida/Juan Marino (AR) def. Daniel Valent/Panu Virtanen (VU) 6-3
Singles competition – Order of finish (6,4,1,2,3,5)
1. #11 Mike Redlicki (AR) def. #58 Daniel Valent (VU) 6-3, 7-5
2. Baker Newman (VU) def. #29 Jose Salazar (AR) 0-6, 6-2, 6-4
3. Oscar Mesquida (AR) def. Billy Rowe (VU) 6-3, 3-6, 6-3
4. Adam Sanjurjo (AR) def. Lachlan McPhee (VU) 7-5, 6-3
5. Tate Allwardt (VU) def. Johan den Toom (AR) 3-6, 7-6 (7-4), 6-4
6. Pen Binet (VU) def. Juan Marino (AR) 7-5, 6-2
Arkansas stays close to Aggies, but can’t pull out win
FAYETTEVILLE — Arkansas had the tying run on base in the seventh inning but for the second time in as many days, a late-inning rally fell short as fifth-ranked Texas A&M came away with a 3-2 win Saturday at Bogle Park.
Game two of the weekend series was played in front of 1,276 fans, the third-largest home crowd in program history.
After three scoreless innings, the Razorbacks struck first with a run in the bottom of the fourth.
Autumn Russell knocked a base hit through the right side and advanced to second on an Ashley Diaz sacrifice bunt. With one down, A.J. Belans singled up the middle to drive Russell home for her 23rd RBI of the season.
Arkansas (25-16, 4-13 SEC) had at least one runner in five of seven innings Saturday.
Caroline Hedgcock backed up the score with a shut-down inning in the top of the fifth, retiring the side in order. The freshman lefty carried a no-hitter into the sixth inning before Texas A&M (37-3, 11-2 SEC) led off the frame with a pair of singles.
The Aggies had the bases loaded with no outs after a dropped fly ball. Autumn Storms entered the game and limited the visitors to one run—an unearned tally—which tied the game at 1-all.
Hedgcock retired the first nine hitters she faced before surrendering a walk to lead-off the fourth inning. She responded with three out to keep the Aggies off the board.
Storms took the tough-luck loss, giving up a pair of unearned runs in the seventh inning. After an error at third and an infield single, the Aggies had the bases loaded again and with two outs, Kaitlyn Alderink singled to center to drive in the deciding runs.
For the second-consecutive game against Texas A&M, the Razorbacks put together a seventh-inning rally.
With one down, Madison Yannetti lofted a double to center field—a ball that dropped when the outfielder lost the ball in the sun—and came around to score on a two-base throwing error which cut the deficit to one run.
Pinch-hitter Parker Pocklington was hit by a pitch in the next at-bat to continue the rally but Texas A&M starter Samantha Show struck out the next two hitters to secure the win.
Up Next
The series finale between Arkansas and Texas A&M is scheduled for Sunday at 1 p.m. (CT). General admission is free for all home game with gates opening one hour prior to first pitch at Bogle Park. The game will be streamed on SEC Network+ through the WatchESPN app.
