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Arkansas wraps up regular season with victory over Vandy

ESPN Arkansas News Services
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Box Score | Season Stats

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’ series-clinching sweep over Georgia in photos

ESPN Arkansas News Services
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Arkansas stays close to Aggies, but can’t pull out win

ESPN Arkansas News Services
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• Box Score

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.

Kienstra breaks tie, gives Hogs 2-1 win over Kansas

ESPN Arkansas News Services
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FAYETTEVILLE — Senior-to-be Katie Kienstra’s goal in the 87th minute broke a 1-1 tie and completed a second half comeback by Arkansas for a 2-1 win over Kansas on a perfect Saturday afternoon at Razorback Stadium.

The matchup featured a pair of programs that each earned an NCAA Tournament win in 2016. It marked the third straight weekend of spring play for each club, as the Razorbacks remained unbeaten and now own full game victories over the Jayhawks and Missouri State.

“First give credit to Kansas. That was a very physical and competitive spring game,” said head coach Colby Hale. “We challenged ourselves at half to not settle for good. I thought we did enough to be a little better, but not enough to be on top in the first half. In moments we are really good. There are a lot of positives to take away from today. I thought our leadership really came through.”

Following a scoreless first half, Kansas took a 1-0 lead off a corner kick in the 53 minute. It marked the first goal surrendered by the Razorbacks in the spring after 233 minutes of scoreless action.

Arkansas’ first deficit of the spring lasted only 12 minutes, as it also manufactured its first goal off a corner kick. Hannah Neece played the corner kick into the box where it was settled and drilled into the back of the net by senior-to-be Jessi Hartzler in the 76th minute.

The Razorbacks continued to apply pressure and after a pair of shots by Rachel Riggs they regained control of play in Kansas’ side of the field. Kayla McKeon worked her way into the middle of the field and found Kienstra streaking down the left side of the box. Kienstra skillfully delivered a perfect touch to get past the charging KU goalie and then found the left side of the open net for the game-winner.

Kansas was able to work its way into another corner kick in the final minute of action. The kick was well-placed into the middle of the box, but Arkansas keeper Jordan Harris broke well on the ball and grabbed it before it could find the head or foot of a KU player.

The game-winner marked Kienstra’s second goal of the spring, while Arkansas has out-scored its opponents, 12-1.

Arkansas will travel to Kansas City to take on Kansas State to close out its spring slate on Saturday, April 22.

Razorbacks wrap up third week of drills with second scrimmage

ESPN Arkansas News Services
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FAYETTEVILLE — Arkansas wrapped up Week 3 of its spring football camp Saturday with a second scrimmage inside Razorback Stadium.

Like last Saturday, senior center Frank Ragnow did not participate in an effort to limit his live work this spring.

Officials were present to mimic a game-like setting as much as possible. After four periods of practice, the scrimmage started with first, second and third down work before moving to red zone situations and ending with full drives down the field.

On the ground, sophomore Devwah Whaley led the way with 94 yards on 17 carries behind a 51-yard run. Junior Rawleigh Williams III added 72 yards and a TD on 14 attempts.

Early enrollee Maleek Williams carried 19 times for 75 yards and a touchdown from 3-yards out during high red-zone work, while junior Juan Day chipped in 31 yards on five tries.

Whaley’s 51-yard gain came during a move-the-ball period. The Beaumont, Texas, native broke through the line and ran it all the way down to the 11-yard line, setting up Rawleigh Williams’ touchdown run on the next play.

Among quarterbacks, senior Austin Allen completed 7 of 16 passes for 66 yards and an 18-yard touchdown to sophomore LaMichael Pettway inside the red zone.

Sophomore Ty Story went 7-for-11 for 69 yards, while redshirt freshman Cole Kelley threw for 57 yards on 6-of-9 passing against one interception.

Early enrollee Daulton Hyatt and redshirt freshmen Carson Proctor and Jack Lindsey each had scoring tosses during red-zone work.

Early enrollee Brandon Martin, who came to Arkansas ranked as the nation’s No. 1 JUCO wide receiver, impressed as he hauled in six passes for 75 yards and one TD.

Pettway finished with 22 yards on two grabs, including his TD catch from Allen. Sophomore T.J. Hammonds, who has been transitioning to the wideout spot during the spring, had three receptions for 22 yards, while sophomore Deon Stewart tacked on 22 yards on two catches.

Defensively, redshirt freshmen lineman Briston Guidry (2.5), linebacker Michael Taylor II (2.5) and linebacker Grant Morgan (2.0) collected two-plus sacks apiece.

The day’s lone interception came from senior defensive back De’Andre Coley during a move-the-ball period. The Miami product also recovered a fumble earlier in the day.

Hilitz races to top of pack at NCAA performance list in 1500-meter

ESPN Arkansas News Services
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AZUSA, Calif. — The second and final day of competition at the Bryan Clay Invitational for the No. 2 Arkansas women’s track and field team saw junior Nikki Hiltz race to the top of the D-I NCAA performance list in the 1,500-meter run off an 8-second PR.

Competing against collegians and professionals alike, Hiltz crossed the finish line in second place with a time of 4 minutes, 12.71 seconds to usurp the national (D-I) lead from Fresno State’s Annemarie Schwanz.

Her time is the fifth-best ever recorded by a Razorback, placing her among the ranks of former Arkansas middle distance greats Stephanie Brown, Kristen Gillespie, Dominique Scott-Efurd and Christin Wurth-Thomas.

Senior Therese Haiss (eighth) and freshman Carina Viljoen (19th) also posted personal bests in the event, running 4:16.55 and 4:19.62, respectively. Haiss improved her time by three seconds while Viljoen dropped five seconds off of her former PR.

Sophomores Devin Clark and Kailee Sawyer placed 27th and 63rd, respectively, to complete the evening of competition in Azusa.

The Razorbacks will compete at home in Fayetteville, Arkansas 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. CT. in advance 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
2. Nikki Hiltz – 4:12.71
8. Therese Haiss – 4:16.55
19. Carina Viljoen – 4:19.62
27. Devin Clark – 4:24.01
63. Kailee Sawyer – 4:29.81

Van Horn talks about crazy finish in Hogs’ 5-4 win in 10 innings

ESPN Arkansas News Services
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Video by WholeHogSports.com

Georgia’s goof in 10th lets Razorbacks steal win to clinch series

ESPN Arkansas News Services
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FAYETTEVILLE — Evan Lee scored the game-winning run in the 10th inning Friday night after Georgia committed two errors on a sacrifice bunt attempt by Eric Cole, giving the 15th-ranked Razorbacks the 5-4 victory over the Bulldogs.

Lee, who reached earlier in the inning on a leadoff walk, scored from second after Georgia threw the ball away twice, securing the fourth conference series win for the Hogs.

Arkansas is now 28-8 on the season overall, winning three in a row, and are 10-4 in SEC play, holding a half-game lead in the Western Division over Mississippi State, which won its first game of the weekend earlier in the evening.

In the 10th inning, Lee was brought in to pinch hit for third baseman Jack Kenley, his second pinch-hit appearance in as many weekends. The freshman worked a full count before drawing the walk to put a runner on with no outs.

Cole followed and dropped a sacrifice bunt right to the pitcher and looked to be on his way to beating out the throw.

However, Georgia’s pitcher, Blake Cairnes, threw the ball over the first baseman’s head, allowing Cole and Lee to move up an extra base.

As the throw sailed to the backstop, Lee was held up at third, but the throw back into the infield from the right fielder went over the catcher’s head, allowing Lee to score the game-winning run.

Friday’s win marked Arkansas’ first extra-inning win of the season and third walk-off win. It’s also Arkansas’ fourth-straight series win over Georgia dating back to 2012.

Cole led all Razorback hitters with a 4-for-5 night at the plate, his first four hit game of his career. With the exception of his game-winning bunt single, three of his hits came with two outs.

In the game, Arkansas hitters went 11-for-20 (.550) and four of the five runs scored with two outs. It continues a trend for the Razorbacks as they are hitting .290 this year with two away in an inning.

Junior Luke Bonfield was 2-for-5 in the game with two RBIs and a home run in the seventh. His two-run blast was his second of the series and seventh of the year. At the time, it put Arkansas up 3-2 for its first lead of the game, but Georgia stormed back with a two-run ninth to send it to extras.

Sophomore Jake Reindl earned the win, his first of his career, after going scoreless over the final two innings, giving up just one hit and striking out one.

Moments That Mattered

Both starting pitchers threw well past the third inning with only five hits combined between both teams in the first three frames.

The first run of the game didn’t score until the fourth inning when Georgia’s Michael Curry hit a solo home run into the left field bullpen, his third of the series to take a 1-0 lead.

Arkansas responded in the bottom half with a run of its own after a Dominic Fletcher two-out RBI single to make it 1-1. It was Fletcher’s only hit of the night.

Arkansas starting pitcher Trevor Stephan tried to work through the fifth inning after scattering four hits and striking out five, but gave up a lead-off double to Tucker Bradley and then got two quick outs before Arkansas coach Dave Van Horn decided to go to the bullpen.

Stephan finished with 4.2 innings pitched and two runs given up with six strikeouts. Cannon Chadwick followed with 2.2 scoreless innings and one hit allowed to take the Hogs into the eighth inning.

The Razorbacks seemed to have the game in hand after taking the 3-2 lead in the seventh on the Bonfield home run and then getting an insurance run in the eighth when Jake Arledge singled home Jax Biggers for his only RBI of the night, making it 4-2.

However, Georgia scored twice in the ninth inning after a throwing error by Carson Shaddy on an attempted double play, making it 4-4.

Reindl, threw a perfect top of the 10th inning, getting some help from an inning-ending double play from Shaddy, to set up the dramatic finish in the bottom half from Lee.

Razorback Quotables

“He is a really good runner. He is a strong runner. He runs the bases extremely quick. He is probably the quickest guy running around the bases for us just because of effort and know how.” — Dave Van Horn on Evan Lee’s baserunning

“You know, they stayed positive. We stayed positive. You know we’re like ‘Hey, we’re here, we might as well win it.’ It was big for us to come back and win that game.” — Van Horn on his team’s ability to fight back

“It was crazy. Me and Tony (Vitello) were kind of looking at each other. My eyes were wide open, his eyes were wide open. We were kind of like deer in some headlights. All of the situations went through my head. If I get thrown out at the plate there’s one out and a runner on third, if I score all of these situations in a matter of like 5 seconds and then I was just like ‘go’. It wasn’t the prettiest thing, but It happened.” — Evan Lee on scoring the game-winning run

“That’s baseball, there’s a bunch of things that can happen in the game of baseball. In that instance, we came through. Sometimes you lose those games, but then again we had that same situation and sometimes you win them. Baseball is day to day, and I’m glad we won today.” — Lee on the crazy ending to the game

“That was incredible. As a freshman too, he’s beyond his years. The composure, that was big time. It was big for the team. It shows how well prepared he is.” — Luke Bonfield on Evan Lee’s 10th-inning lead-off walk

Up Next

Arkansas and Georgia will finish its three-game series on Saturday with first pitch slated for 2 p.m. The game will be broadcast on SEC Network+ and can be heard in its entirety on the Razorback Sports Network on the Radio with Phil Elson on the call.

Razorbacks’ rally in seventh falls short against Texas A&M

ESPN Arkansas News Services
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• Box Score

FAYETTEVILLE — Loren Krzysko turned in her second two-hit effort in as many games and the Razorbacks threatened in the seventh inning but the rally fell short in a 3-0 setback to fifth-ranked Texas A&M Friday evening at Bogle Park.

Autumn Storms limited the top-slugging team in the SEC to three runs over six-plus innings of work.

Through the first 40 games of the season, Arkansas sits at 25-15 overall with a 4-12 mark in conference play.

Down to their final at-bats of the game, the Razorbacks put runners on first and second with one out in the seventh inning. Tori Cooper got things started with walk, batting Texas A&M starter Trinity Harrington in a nine-pitch at-bat.

Nicole Schroeder followed with an infield single to the 5-6 hole. Kryzsko came to the plate and delivered with a single to center field but pinch-runner Sydney Parr got caught in a rundown for the second out.

The visitors sealed the win in the next at-bat with a strikeout.

Storms gave up 11 hits to the Texas A&M offense but kept the visitors from putting together a big inning, holding the Aggies to single tallies in the third, fourth and sixth frames.

Texas A&M (36-3, 10-2 SEC) got on the board with an RBI single in the third and sac fly in the fourth. Storms worked her way out of a two-on, two-out jam in the fifth inning with her third strikeout of the game.

Katie Warrick entered the game in the seventh with a runner on first and retired the three hitters she faced.

After going down in order in the first, Arkansas had a scoring opportunity in the second with runners on first and second and just one out.

The home team came up empty in the inning and was held to just two hits over the next two innings until the would-be rally in the seventh.

Krzsyko was also 2-for-3 in the Razorbacks’ midweek win over Tulsa (April 11). With a fourth-inning single, A.J. Belans has at least one hit in four of the last six games.

For the second-consecutive weekend, Arkansas is involved in a matchup of the top-two homerun hitting teams in the league.

Entering the weekend, Texas A&M leads the SEC with 42 homeruns while the Razorbacks are one behind at 41. Last weekend’s opponent, Missouri, is third among conference teams with 40 big flies.

Up Next
Game two of the weekend series against the Aggies is scheduled for Saturday at 1 p.m. (CT). General admission for home games is free with gates opening one hour prior to first pitch. Following Saturday’s game, the Razorbacks will host an Easter Egg Hunt in the ballpark.

Eliminating two-a-days sends old-school coaches spinning

Andy Hodges
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Bear Bryant, Woody Hayes, Bo Schembechler and Darrell Royal are probably shaking their heads today.

They aren’t the only ones.

Any of the old-school coaches are likely in shock over the NCAA’s decision to eliminate two-a-day practices in the preseason.

In a day and age where player safety has become the ultimate goal, it’s another step in that direction.

Now today’s news doesn’t mean they can stay home longer.

From the NCAA’s release:

“Division I football players will no longer have multiple contact practices a day in the preseason.”

There can be a second practice, as long as the players don’t have on helmets or pads and it is separated by three hours from the contact practice.

Oh, and that second, non-contact practice, can not include conditioning drills. No, the coaches can’t just get ’em back out there and run ’em until they drop.

The fact of the matter is, there probably haven’t been many folks doing two-a-day practices for a couple of years now.

Scholarship limitations actually have as much to do with it as anything else.

When the coaches above — and throw Arkansas’ Frank Broyles in there, too — were in their heyday, they would have 200 players the first day of practice.

One of the results of those grueling multiple practices every day was to run off the ones who weren’t winners in the minds of many of those coaches.

That philosophy changed over the years, due to changes in society to some extent, but more importantly, to changes in the NCAA’s rules. They can’t start the workouts with 200 players anymore.

It’s leveled the playing field, to a certain extent.

While this is certainly a benefit for immediate safety, though, there is some concern about the longterm affect. When Jimmy Johnson was coaching in Dallas, his multiple practices daily were for conditioning as much as anything.

He gave a lot of credit to those July practices for his team’s ability to have a seemingly endless energy (and their legs) throughout the long NFL season.

As the college seasons continue to lengthen, it remains to be seen what affect the reduced practice time in August will have on a team in November.

Well, at least, you think it will be August. It may back all the way up into July. A couple of months ago, the NCAA allowed schools to back up the start of practices by a week, which will have them starting in late July now. They can have 29 practices before the start of the season.

The old-school coaches probably would like that.

But there won’t be any more of the lengthy practice sessions with players falling out all over the place.

Under today’s climate, those great coaches would have adapted, but there wouldn’t be any more stories like the famous one from former Alabama great John Hannah about Bryant:

“One year we have three or four guys taken to the hospital one day from heat stroke. Coach Bryant didn’t flinch. The next day before we started practice, he said:

‘Men, you learned a valuable lesson yesterday. The human body is an amazing machine. You’ll push it, push it and push it, but you won’t die.

‘The human body will pass out before you die.'”

Nope, there won’t be any more stories like that.

Which is probably for the best.

Macon, Barford to test NBA waters, but not hiring agent

ESPN Arkansas News Services
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FAYETTEVILLE — Arkansas juniors Daryl Macon and Jaylen Barford announced on Friday that they plan to enter the 2017 NBA Draft, but will not hire agents.

That leaves open the option for both players to return to school for their senior seasons.

With neither player hiring an agent, they will have 10 days following the NBA Draft Combine to make a decision on returning to school or foregoing their final year of eligibility. The NBA Draft Combine is scheduled for May 9-14 in Chicago.

“The new rule for the NBA Draft provides a great opportunity for these guys to workout with NBA teams and get the necessary feedback to make an informed decision,” said coach Mike Anderson. “Daryl and Jaylen had productive years for us and we will support them every step of the way through this process.”

Macon proved to be a prolific scorer during his junior campaign, averaging 13.4 points per game, including a career-high 30-point effort against Ole Miss on Feb. 18.

He spearheaded Arkansas’ run to the SEC Tournament championship game for the second time in three seasons, averaging 16.7 points per game to earn SEC All-Tournament Team honors.

Macon went a cool 30-of-34 from the charity stripe in the final minute of games and led the team with 80 assists on the year.

“My ultimate goal is to play at the next level and this is an opportunity to see where I stand and get feedback from NBA teams,” said Macon.

Barford came to Arkansas as the No. 1 junior college player in the country and quickly asserted himself in the starting lineup, averaging 12.8 points and 3.8 rebounds per game.

He reached the 20-point plateau five times, including a 20-point, seven-rebound performance to lead Arkansas past Seton Hall in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament.

“My dream has always been to play in the NBA and this gives me the chance to go through the process and be evaluated by teams,” said Barford.

In their first season in Fayetteville, Barford and Macon helped lead the Razorbacks to a 26-10 overall record, tying for the seventh-most wins in program history.

Arkansas ended the year winning nine of its final 12 games, including a trip to the SEC Championship game and the round of 32 in the NCAA Tournament.

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