Van Horn talks about Razorbacks’ win over Georgia
Video from WholeHogSports.com
Hogs bomb Georgia to run away with 14-4 win in series opener
FAYETTEVILLE — Arkansas ran away with a 14-4 victory over Georgia on Thursday night at Baum Stadium, blasting five home runs and getting another strong performance from pitcher Blaine Knight.
Arkansas won its ninth conference game of the season and 27th game of the year to remain in a tie for first in the SEC Western Division. It is the seventh straight win on opening night of a three game series and the Razorbacks have beat their opponents by a combined 46 runs over those seven games.
It was the second game this year that the Hogs hit five home runs and it all came from different parts of the lineup. Chad Spanberger started it off with a solo shot in the first inning. Then, Carson Shaddy and Luke Bonfield followed as part of a seven-run third inning. Jax Biggers’ long ball came in the fifth when he slugged his third home run of the year into the right field bullpen and Alex Gosser got in on the action with a solo shot to right field in the eighth, the first of his career.
Thursday marked the 14th game this year that Arkansas has notched more than one home run in a game and sixth with three or more. Arkansas continues to lead the league with 50 home runs, eclipsing its total of 49 from last season.
Knight gave up just three hits in six innings while striking out five and allowing only one run. It’s the fifth-straight win for Knight, all in conference play, and his fifth straight appearance of six or more innings and five or more strikeouts.
With the win, Knight stays undefeated in conference play (5-0) and moves his overall record to 6-1 with an ERA of 1.89.
Spanberger led the way, offensively, driving in three RBIs and scoring three runs on a 2-for-3 night at the plate. Since the Missouri series (March 24-26), the junior has hit safely in 12-of-13 games, and has eight multi-hit games during that span.
Bonfield drove in three RBIs of his own, all on the home run, on a 1-for-4 night. It’s his seventh multi-RBI game of the year and fourth game with three or more.
Moments That Mattered The Hogs wasted no time lighting up the scoreboard in the first inning when Spanberger hit his homer to left field from the first pitch he saw to make it 1-0. Georgia tied the game with its own home run from Michael Curry in the top of the second.
Spanberger drove in two more off of a double in the bottom of the second, making him responsible for the first three of Arkansas’ runs in the game. Spanberger has three or more RBIs in four out of the last five games dating back to the series opener against LSU.
Arkansas padded the lead in the third with seven runs in the third to make it 10-1, five off home runs from Shaddy and Bonfield. It was Shaddy’s eighth of the year, good for second on the team and Bonfield’s sixth.
Since being shut out by LSU in last week’s series finale, the Hog bats have come alive scoring 26 runs over the last two games while notching 27 hits, including 11 tonight against Georgia.
Razorback Quotables
“We got some guys that are big and strong, they’re confident and feed off each other a little bit. They work extremely hard with Coach (Tony) Vitello and Coach (Josh) Elander, offensively, every day. Guys are starting to get into a groove a little bit, they’re seeing the ball pretty good. It’s a big part of our offense. If we put up a few big innings a game, we have a good chance of winning.” – Head coach Dave Van Horn on the potent Hogs’ lineup from top to bottom
“Alex (Gosser) works hard every day and catches a lot of bullpens, takes batting practice. He’s been swinging it good in practice to the point where I’ve been considering DH’ing him. I also considered bringing him in in a couple of situations to pinch-hit. He’s earning his time at the plate. It was good to see him get a home run. I was just happy for him.” – Head coach Dave Van Horn on Alex Gosser’s first career home run
“It’s awesome. You can’t win without run support. It’s the SEC, you’re going to give up runs, you’re not going to shut everybody out. For me, them putting up runs like they’re doing is incredible.” – Blaine Knight on Arkansas’ run support
“We have a lot of mature hitters on the team who have been in the league for a while. It’s all about focusing on knowing how the pitcher is trying to pitch you.” – Luke Bonfield on the production of the lineup
Up Next
Arkansas and Georgia will continue with game two of the three-game series Friday as the Razorbacks try and win the series outright. First pitch is scheduled for 6 p.m. at Baum Stadium. 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.
Hogs preparing for second scrimmage of spring practice
FAYETTEVILLE — More than halfway through spring camp, Arkansas went through a 20-period practice in just helmets and shoulder pads Thursday on the outdoor practice fields at the Fred W. Smith Football Center.
It was Arkansas’ eighth of 15 scheduled spring practices. The Razorbacks will go through their second scrimmage of the spring Saturday as they continue to prepare for the annual Red-White Spring Game on April 29.
While the team is still installing offensive and defensive schemes, some of the focal points Tuesday included two-minute drill with no timeouts as well as situations in which the offense was coming out from deep in its own end of the field.
Rhoads on what he liked, didn’t like in first spring scrimmate
Video from WholeHogSports.com
Hargreaves on how Hogs developing in spring drills
Video from WholeHogSports.com
Clutch hitting, complete game pushes Hogs past Tulsa
FAYETTEVILLE — In a top-30 RPI matchup Tuesday evening at Bogle Park, freshman Caroline Hedgcock produced a complete-game performance to lead Arkansas to a 3-1 win over Tulsa.
The victory was the Razorbacks’ 25th of the season, and marked the program’s first home win over Tulsa since 2005, and its first ever at Bogle Park.
Offensively, Autumn Russell and Loren Krzysko each had two hits and scored a run.
Hedgcock, in the Razorbacks’ 13th complete game of the year, allowed just four hits and an unearned run to go along with two strikeouts and no walks.
The Downers Grove, Ill., native needed just nine or fewer pitches to get through four of the first five innings including a four-pitch fifth frame. Hedgcock retired 15 of the first 16 hitters she faced before Tulsa (26-13) scored its run in the sixth.
The teams combined for just one base runner each through three innings but Arkansas (25-14) opened the scoring with a run in the fourth.
Russell got things started with a one-out double to center field, her second hit of the day. She came around to score during the next at-bat when Ashley Diaz knocked a single through the middle of the infield.
Russell’s first-inning hit was her team-leading 40th of the year, and the junior infielder now has 13 multi-hit efforts this season.
Nicole Schroeder started a two-run rally in the fifth inning with a single to left field. Krzysko dropped a single in to right field to put runners on first and second.
After a one-out walk to Haydi Bugarin, the bases were loaded with Shelby Hiers coming to the plate. The senior catcher delivered with a ground ball up the middle that plated pinch runner Sydney Parr.
Arkansas scored its third run of the game when a wild pitch allowed Krzysko to scamper home from third.
Up Next
The Razorbacks continue their home stand and jump back into SEC play this weekend, hosting No. 5 Texas A&M beginning Friday at Bogle Park.
Game one of the series will be televised on ESPNU with first pitch scheduled for 5 p.m.
General admission is free for all home games. In addition to television coverage, Friday’s opener will also be available through the WatchESPN app.
Razorbacks roll to easy mid-week win over Missouri State
SPRINGFIELD, Mo. — Arkansas scored at least one run in all but three innings Tuesday night, including a five-run fourth, to cruise past Missouri State, 12-4, at Hammons Field.
The win is the Hogs’ 26th of the year, matching its total from a year ago with still a month and a half of the season left as they are now 26-8.
The Razorback bats started out hot and never cooled off as they tallied a season-high 18 hits in the game, with five players recording multi-hit performances. The hit total by the Hogs is the 17th game with 10 or more hits this year and fifth game of 15 or more. This season, Arkansas is 17-1 when collecting 10 or more hits.
Juniors Chad Spanberger, Luke Bonfield, sophomore Grant Koch, and freshman Jordan McFarland each tallied a team-high three hits in the game. Spanberger reached base in five of his six plate appearances, walking twice to go along with his three RBIs.
For Bonfield, he went 3-for-6 at the plate with three RBIs, his team-leading fifth game with three or more driven in. He also hit his first triple of his career in the seventh inning, one of two triples hit in the game by the Razorbacks.
Koch had the only perfect day in the batter’s box, as he was 3-for-3 with two walks and two RBIs, marking his fourth game with three hits or more.
The Razorbacks used eight pitchers in the game, each throwing no more than 1.2 innings. Sophomore Kacey Murphy got the start and gave up just a single earned run in the first inning off a Jake Burger home run. Murphy finished with two strikeouts and just three hits given up in 1.2 innings.
Freshman Matt Cronin earned the win after holding the Bears scoreless from the end of the third inning and into the fifth inning. At that time, Missouri State had already come back twice from one-run deficits. After Arkansas scored five runs in the top of the fourth, Cronin worked out of a lead-off single and two-out walk to prevent the Bears from coming back a third time.
In the previous half inning, the five-run fourth was enough to put the Razorbacks well ahead for the remainder of the game. In that inning, seven batters reached base before the first out was recorded. The big hit coming from Spanberger, who laced a two-RBI double off the left field wall, missing a home run by a few feet.
Tuesday’s game was Spanberger’s second three-hit performance in four days and he extended his hitting streak to seven games, the longest active streak on the team.
Up Next
Arkansas returns home for a three-game Southeastern Conference series with Georgia starting on Thursday at Baum Stadium. First pitch between the Razorbacks and Bulldogs for game one is set for 6:30 p.m. and will be broadcast on SEC Network+ and on the radio on the Razorback Sports Network.
Week 9: SEC Softball Showstoppers
SEC Network showcases some of the best plays from Week 9 of conference softball.
