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Hogs close out series sweep, but another pitcher hurt

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FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — It’s getting tough for Dave Van Horn to make a lot of pitcher decisions these days.

Mainly because injuries keep happening.

“Somebody’s going to have to step up or we’re going to have to make some adjustments,” Hogs coach Dave Van Horn said after a 6-2 win Sunday.

After losing the planned opening-day starter in Jaxon Wiggins before the first game, then having reliever Brady Tygart have a problem awaiting a second opinion, reliever Koty Frank made everybody groan Sunday at Baum-Walker.

After throwing five pitches to start the seventh inning, Frank grimaced and grabbed under his right (throwing) shoulder. He then threw a warmup pitch in front of trainers and the pain was clearly obvious.

“It’s not his arm,” Van Horn said. “That’s about all I can tell you.”

The Razorbacks closed a series sweep over the Panthers on a sun-splashed (but windy) afternoon in front of over 9,703 who came looking for a lot to cheer about.

That took awhile.

“One of those games,” Van Horn said. “It took us awhile to figure it out.”

The Hogs didn’t get a run until Caleb Cali scored in the fifth inning to tie the game at 1-1, then they added another in the sixth on a homer by Jace Bohrofen.

In the seventh, Parker Rowland led off with a homer, then Jared Wagner delivered an RBI single followed by Bofrofen’s 2-RBI single and the Hogs cruised to the win with that four-run inning.

Hunter Hollan started and got the win, despite some adventures in the first inning that led to a Panthers’ run that mystifies Van Horn, but not the junior pitcher.

“I’ve been doing that since the first grade,” he said later. “I don’t know if it’s trying to do much or what.”

Van Horn just wants it figured out.

He’s got enough problems with pitching as it is.

Razorbacks will at least get some rest before SEC Tournament

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — Arkansas will finally get some rest.

No doubt the Razorbacks need it riding a three-game losing streak after getting physically hammered in losses for two straight games against Tennessee and Kentucky.

Now they get a break until Thursday when they meet Auburn in the SEC Tournament at 6 p.m.

Hogs coach Eric Musselman doesn’t make excuses, but he probably knows this young team is still figuring out a lot of things and handling the physical grind is part of it.

“We just got fatigued,” freshman Nick Smith Jr. said Saturday after the physical loss to the Wildcats. “We played really hard the hold game. It was just making smart plays throughout the stretch that really hurt us.”

And missing free throws in addition to struggling around the rim on even layups.

“We missed a lot of free throws,” Smith said. “That’s very unacceptable for a team. We’ve got to come in tonight into the gym and work on finishing through contact and free throws.” 

The winner will face No. 2 seed Texas A&M in the quarterfinals on Friday at 6 p.m.

Arkansas is 29-29 all-time in the SEC Tournament. This will be just the second time Arkansas has faced Auburn in the SEC Tournament.

The Razorbacks defeated the Tigers, 75-67, in the 2000 title game at Atlanta’s Georgia Dome for the Hogs’ lone SEC Tournament championship. (Arkansas has finished runner-up five times.)

This will be the 11th year the SEC Tournament will be held in Nashville’s Bridgestone Arena. Arkansas is 8-9 all-time in Bridgestone Arena, reaching the finals twice (2015 and 2017) and the semifinals twice (2001 and 2021).

2023 SEC Tournament Schedule

Wednesday, March 8

Game 1: No. 12 South Carolina vs. No. 13 Ole Miss, 6 p.m., SEC Network

Game 2: No. 11 Georgia vs. No. 14 LSU, 8 p.m., SEC Network

Thursday, March 9

Game 3: No. 8 Florida vs. No. 9 Mississippi State, Noon, SEC Network

Game 4: No. 5 Tennessee vs. Winner Game 1, 2 p.m., SEC Network

Game 5: No. 7 Auburn vs. No. 10 Arkansas, 6 p.m., SEC Network

Game 6: No. 6 Vanderbilt vs. Winner Game 2, 8 p.m., SEC Network

Friday, March 10

Game 7: No. 1 Alabama vs. Winner Game 3, Noon, ESPN

Game 8: No. 4 Missouri vs. Winner Game 4, 2 p.m., ESPN

Game 9: No. 2 Texas A&M vs. Winner Game 5, 6 p.m., SEC Network

Game 10: No. 3 Kentucky vs. Winner Game 6, 8 p.m., SEC Network

Saturday, March 11

Game 11: Winner Game 7 vs. Winner Game 8, Noon, ESPN

Game 12: Winner Game 9 vs. Winner Game 10, 2 p.m., ESPN

Sunday, March 12

Championship game, Noon, ESPN

Peyton Stovall, Jared Wagner lead Hogs past Wright State

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — No. 8 Arkansas (8-2) blasted three home runs and overpowered Wright State (2-7), 12-6, to clinch its second consecutive weekend series win on Saturday at Baum-Walker Stadium.

Peyton Stovall and Jared Wegner each homered for the third consecutive game, and true freshman Jayson Jones clobbered his second career home run in the Hogs’ series-clinching win.

The Razorback offense pounded the Raider pitching staff for 14 total hits, as seven Arkansas batters finished the ballgame with multiple base knocks.

Stovall’s solo homer in the bottom of the first set the tone offensively. Arkansas would score twice in the frame, tack on five more runs in the second and bring home two more in the third, opening 9-1 advantage entering the fourth inning.

Jace Bohrofen and Caleb Cali both recorded RBI singles in the early offensive onslaught. Bohrofen’s biggest contribution of the day, however, came on the defensive side of the baseball in the bottom of the second inning.

The Razorback captain timed his jump at the wall in right perfectly, robbing Wright State leadoff hitter Justin Riemer of a two-out grand slam. The game-changing catch prevented the Raiders from taking a 4-2 lead in the second and rescued Razorback starter Will McEntire from what would have been a shaky start.

With the defense behind him, McEntire went onto throw five strong innings and pick up his second win of the campaign. The right-hander fanned a season-high six, while allowing three runs (two earned) on eight hits and three walks.

Wegner hit his third home run in as many games in the bottom of the third, clearing the wall in left center for his fifth homer of the young season. The graduate transfer from Creighton finished 2-for-3 with three runs scored, two RBI and a pair of walks, raising his team-leading slash line to .444/.563/.972 through 10 games this year.

The Kearney, Neb., native currently leads the Razorbacks in home runs (5) and RBI (18). He, along with Stovall, has hit a homer in each of the last three games: Illinois State, Wright State.

Stovall, meanwhile, finished 2-for-4 with two RBI and three runs scored, improving his slash line to .353/.465/.676 for the season. The Razorback captain has hit three homers and racked up 10 RBI in nine games played this year.

Right-handed Austin Ledbetter was impressive in relief of McEntire with three scoreless innings on the mound. The Bryant, Ark., emerged from the bullpen and struck out two, allowing just one baserunner via a single in his outing.

Arkansas goes for its first series sweep of the season in tomorrow’s finale against Wright State.

First pitch between the Razorbacks and Raiders is scheduled for 1 p.m. Sunday, March 5, at Baum-Walker Stadium on SEC Network+.

Information from Arkansas Communications is included in this story.

Regular season’s ending probably welcome for Hogs’ Musselman

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — Now it’s on to the tournaments and Arkansas coach Eric Musselman is probably glad.

For a coach that thrives in postseason tournaments it may be merciful after an 88-79 loss to Kentucky on Saturday at Bud Walton Arena that wasn’t pretty.

It looked like it could be a lot worse for awhile.

“There was a lid on the rim,” he said later. “That’s what happened.”

That’s the short version.

The story was this team couldn’t make layups or hit consistently from the outside. There was hope at the start when Nick Smith Jr. made a deep corner three-pointer to start the game, but it didn’t take long to fade.

The Razorbacks simply couldn’t make a layup, free throw or many three-pointers. Since all of that was a key part of Musselman’s plan, it’s a problem.

“Our philosophy, especially with this roster, has been to try to draw free throws attempted and to try to score points in the paint,” Musselman said. “Obviously today 2-for-20 around the rim, you’re not going to win a lot of games.”

With a rowdy packed crowd that showed up looking for blood, they never really got it. The game was about as close as you will see to a fistfight, almost from the beginning.

It had the officials trying to get on top of things early and that pretty much continued throughout the game. Davonte Davis was the only player ejected and that came in the second half for a pair of technical fouls.

In the paint, Makhel and Makhi Mitchell along with Kamani Johnson were locked up in hand-to-hand battles with Kentucky’s Oscar Tshiebwe, Damion Collins and Chris Livingston.

But the Wildcats’ player that did the most damage was Antonio Reeves, who scored 37 points on 12-of-17 from the field and 11-of-11 at the free-throw line. He couldn’t miss, it seemed … and he didn’t miss many.

Eric Musselman (Andy Hodges / HitThatLine.com)

“He played as good as any player I’ve seen since I’ve been coaching here at Arkansas and I can’t remember anybody in the Mountain West that did that to one of our teams with that percentage,” Musselman said about his time at Nevada.

Reeves had him shaking his head.

“How many guys score 37 points on 17 shots?” he asked. “It doesn’t happen.”

It did Saturday. Combine that with the Hogs’ inability to make layups or free throws and they didn’t have a chance.

Smith had season bests in points (25), assists (6) and steals (4). Ricky Council IV had 16 points and 4 rebounds. Point guard Anthony Black scored 14 with 8 rebounds. Jordan Walsh was the only other Hogs’ player in double figures with 10 points (7 rebounds, 2 steals).

The biggest change in momentum came when Davis scored a three-pointer to cut the Wildcats’ lead to three with less than a minute gone in the second.

That was followed by seven seconds of mass confusion. Devo picked up two personals, along with two technical fouls and got thrown out.

“I’d have to go back and look at it,” Smith said later about that sequence of events. We just don’t…No team needs two technicals,” said Smith. “It hurts a lot. Any good player that goes out for a team, it’s gonna take a toll on your team.

“It what it is.”

Nick Smith (Andy Hodges / HitThatLine.com)

Hogs Notes

• Arkansas’ starting lineup was Black, Smith, Davis and both of the Mitchell Twins for the first time this year.

• Arkansas won the tip.

• Smith scored the first points of the game, a 3-pointer at 19:14.

• Council was the first Razorback sub.

• Prior to the game, Arkansas honored its lone senior, Johnson. He had three rebounds, two points and a steal in 8:05 played.

• Arkansas only committed six turnovers. It was just the fourth time this season the Hogs have committed single-digit turnovers. Arkansas is 22-5 under Musselman when committing single-digit turnovers.

• On the flip side, Arkansas forced 15 turnovers. The Razorbacks are 12-3 this year when forcing at least 15 turnovers and Arkansas is 50-19 un the Muss era in such games.

• Four Razorbacks scored in double figures. Arkansas is 8-5 this year when four Razorbacks score in double figures but just 37-8 in the Muss era in such games.

• Council scored 16 points. He is just two points shy of 1,000 for his collegiate career. He has scored 513 this year and 485 in two years at Wichita State.

• Kentucky snapped a three-game losing skid to Kentucky, improves to 34-14 in the all-time series and 9-8 versus the Hogs in Fayetteville.

• Arkansas had eight dunks, tying for the second-highest total for the season.

Notes from Arkansas Communications is included in this story.

Low turnovers, but poor shooting remains a mystery to Razorbacks coach

Eric Musselman doesn’t have an instant fix to Hogs’ overall poor shooting, especially on free throws after losing to Kentucky.

Hogs’ Nick Smith has no explanation for problems with shooting free throws

After shooting just 64.7% at free-throw line, Razorbacks freshman has no answer except getting back in gym to practice.

Do Hogs HAVE to win against Kentucky for NCAA Tournament?

Who: Arkansas Razorbacks (19-11, 8-9 SEC) vs No. 23 Kentucky Wildcats (20-10, 11-6 SEC)
What: This will be the regular-season finale and Arkansas will honor senior Kamani Johnson prior to the game.
When: Saturday, Mar. 4, 1 p.m.
Where: Nolan Richardson Court at Bud Walton Arena, Fayetteville, Ark.
Television: CBS (Andrew Catalon and Steve Lappas)
Listen Online: HitThatLine.com
Radio: ESPN Arkansas 99.5 in Fayetteville, 95.3 in the River Valley, 96.3 in Hot Springs and 104.3 in Harrison-Mountain Home (Chuck Barrett and Matt Zimmerman)
Sirius/XM: 138 (Sirius) / 190 (XM) • SXM App: Channel 961

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — Whether Arkansas HAS to win Saturday’s game against Kentucky won’t be known until people started selected bracket.

It’s a win they want, though.

At least in the press conferences this week, the Razorbacks have said they want to do. More importantly, they seem to get what they have to do for a win.

“We’re going to have to stop their star players,” said freshman guard Anthony Black. “They’ve got a lot of really good talented players. There’s a couple players who do more than others. Try to follow the game plan, limit them and then just continue to try to get back to playing good on offense like we were the first time we played against them.”

Some people feel they are in good shape for the NCAA Tournament. Until they do the brackets, though, nobody knows for sure.

A win over the Wildcats and maybe a win or two in the SEC Tournament next week will guarantee a spot. You can thank assistant coach Anthony Ruta, who puts together the non-conference schedules for Eric Musselman.

This one was good enough the Hogs are No. 16 in the mysterious NET rankings system (Kentucky is No. 22). Usually, a team with a Top 20 spot in those rankings would guarantee a spot in the tournament, but a losing conference record is cause for pause.

Arkansas will host No. 23 Kentucky to close the 2022-23 regular season on Saturday. Tip-off is set for 1 p.m. and the game will be televised on CBS.

Arkansas will honor senior Kamani Johnson prior to the game.

• Arkansas and Kentucky have met on 47 previous occasions, all but four coming since Arkansas joined the SEC (1991-92). Kentucky owns a 33-14 advantage in the series, including a 29-14 mark in SEC games. In games played in Fayetteville, the series is tied 8-8.

• Arkansas won the last three meetings in the series, including twice at Rupp.

• This is the second of two meetings between the programs this season. This is just the second time since Arkansas joined the SEC that the Razorbacks and Wildcats will face each other twice in the regular season. The only other time came in 2013-14 when Arkansas swept Kentucky with a pair of overtime victories. First, Arkansas beat #13 Kentucky in Fayetteville (Jan. 14, 2014). Then, the Razorbacks handed the 17th-ranked Wildcats a 71-67 setback in Rupp Arena (Feb. 27, 2014).

• Earlyier this year, the Hogs beat Kentucky in Rupp Arena, 88-73 at Rupp Arena. Arkansas used a red-hot second half to roll to an 88-73 win at Kentucky to give Head Coach Eric Musselman his 200th win as a collegiate head coach. The Razorbacks went 18-for-25 (72.0%) from the field in the second half and shot 62.7% overall in the win. Leading by one coming out of halftime, back-to-back steals and dunks from Anthony Black spurred a 6-0 run to set the tone for the win. Black finished with 19 points, five assists and five steals. Ricky Council IV scored 20 and Davonte Davis added seven assists.

• Thanks to 497 points this year and ranking third in the SEC in scoring (16.6 ppg), Ricky Council IV is just 18 points shy of 1,000 for his career.

• Despite going 3-4 over its last seven games, Arkansas continued to climb in the NCAA NET, going from 28th to 15th.

Why is Arkansas’ NCAA Net So Good?

• Arkansas has the No. 3 strength of schedule in the nation (WarrenNolan.com) behind Baylor and Alabama.

Arkansas was 11-2 in the non-conference and those 13 teams Arkansas faced are having good seasons:

• Arkansas’ non-conference RPI is No. 4 nationally and non-conference schedule is No. 9 (WarrenNolan.com)

• 11 of the 13 teams are inside the NCAA NET 150

• 11 of the 13 are among their league’s top 5 including 3 in 1st place • 2 in 2nd • 4 in 3rd (UNCG was just 1 game out of 1st)

• 10 of the 13 with at least 18 wins … including 7 20-game winners

• Arkansas has played a perhaps the toughest SEC schedule as well

• Of the five teams it played twice, four are among the SEC top 5 (#1 Alabama, #2 Texas A&M, #3 Kentucky and #5 Missouri)

• Arkansas’ last three road games were at #2 Texas A&M, at #1 Alabama and at #4 Tennessee.

• Four of Arkansas’ last six were versus teams in the SEC top four (at No. 2 A&M, at No. 1 Alabama, at No. 4 Tennessee and vs No. 3 Kentucky).

Information from Arkansas Communications is included in this story.

Big offensive performance leads to Hogs’ run-rule win

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — Brady Slavens and Peyton Stovall each homered and drove in four runs, single-handedly outscoring Wright State (2-6) and powering No. 8 Arkansas (7-2) to a 12-2 run-rule win on Friday at Baum-Walker Stadium.

The Razorbacks put the game away early, jumping out to a five-run lead after three innings of play. Slavens swatted a three-run homer, his first of the season, before Stovall followed up with a solo shot to right, Arkansas’ second back-to-back homer in as many games, in an explosive four-run third inning.

Caleb Cali also continued to find his groove offensively, leaving the yard for the second time in as many games. The junior college transfer, who hit a solo homer in the second, finished 2-for-4 with two extra-base hits and two RBI.

On the mound, left-hander Hagen Smith dazzled with 4 2/3 innings of three-hit, one-run ball. The sophomore, who allowed his first run of the season on a solo home run in the top of the fifth, struck out seven while walking five.

Through three starts, Smith owns a 2-0 record with a 0.63 ERA over 14 1/3 innings. The lefty has struck out 21 on the year and limited opposing hitters to a .146 batting average.

The Hogs’ offense, led by Slavens and Stovall, was humming all night long. Arkansas extended its advantage with two runs in the fifth and four more in the seventh, as Slavens collected his fourth RBI on a two-out single in the bottom of the fifth and scored on Stovall’s two-out RBI double to right in the very next at-bat.

In the seventh, Stovall earned his third and fourth RBI of the ballgame on single to center. The Razorback second baseman finished with a team-high three hits, falling a triple shy of the cycle.

In relief of Smith, Dylan Carter was impressive out of the bullpen for the second game in a row. The right-hander from Bentonville, Ark., threw 2 1/3 innings of one-run ball with three strikeouts to prevent Wright State from rallying.

Freshman left-hander Parker Coil threw a scoreless top of the eighth with one strikeout, setting the table for Jared Wegner’s walk-off heroics in the bottom half of the frame.

The Hogs’ hottest hitter hammered a game-winning, two-out home run to center, which pushed the lead to 12-2 and invoked the run rule. For the season, Wegner is slashing a team-leading .424/.535/.909 with four homers and 16 RBI.

Arkansas looks to clinch its second weekend series win in tomorrow’s game two against Wright State. First pitch from inside Baum-Walker Stadium is set for 3 p.m. on SEC Network+.

Information from Arkansas Communications is included in this story.

Top-ranked Gamecocks overwhelm Hogs, knock them out of SEC

GREENVILLE, S.C. — Arkansas (21-12) showed vast improvement against No. 1 South Carolina (30-0), but ultimately fell to the defending NCAA Women’s Basketball Champions, 93-66.

The Razorbacks forced 13 turnovers and made the Gamecocks earn everything they got offensively.

The Hogs were led by Saylor Poffenbarger who put up 22 points, while breaking the single-season defensive rebound record, while Samara Spencer logged 16.

Arkansas won the tip, which would then set up Chrissy Carr to earn a trip to the line to knock down two free throws. South Carolina would then go on a 5-0 run, but Spencer made a nice move to the basket for a layup,

Arkansas’ first field goal of the game. Erynn Barnum tied the game at 7-7 with a 3-pointer, but then the Gamecocks went on a 10-0 run. Arkansas would turn it up, as Makayla Daniels knocked down back-to-back 3-pointers to make it a 17-13 game with 4:43 left in the first quarter.

South Carolina benefited from a third-chance opportunity, which set up an and-1, but then Jersey Wolfenbarger came off the bench with a nice cut to the basket for a layup.

South Carolina scored two more field goals, and Arkansas broke a three-minute scoring drought with a Saylor Poffenbarger jumper. Arkansas came up with a great stop on defense, and at the end of the first quarter, the Razorbacks trailed 24-17.

Arkansas began the quarter with turnovers on back-to-back possessions, but Spencer knocked down the Razorbacks first field goal of the quarter with a 3-pointer.

Arkansas made a pair of stops on defense, but South Carolina made back-to-back baskets to elevate ahead by 11. The Razorbacks were in a drought for over two minutes, but Spencer stopped it with a jumper.

At the media timeout, Arkansas was behind 32-23. Out of the break, South Carolina went on a 6-2 run, as Arkansas trailed 38-25 with 2:35 left in the quarter.

Poffenbarger then knocked down a 3-pointer and followed that up with a pullup jumper to cut the lead back down to 10. Arkansas had trouble stopping South Carolina in their final possessions, as the Gamecocks made 5-of-5 field goals down the stretch, including a 3-pointer. Arkansas was behind 45-30 at halftime.

South Carolina capitalized on their first possession of the second half with a jumper, but Poffenbarger responded with a jumper.

The Gamecocks went on a 5-0 run, but Poffenbarger responded yet again with a 3-pointer. Arkansas called a timeout, and with 7:35 left in the quarter, as Arkansas trailed 52-35.

Arkansas forced a pair of turnovers, but could not capitalize until Poffenbarger knocked down another jumper. Arkansas then fell in a two-minute scoring drought of their own until Spencer delivered back-to-back layups.

Another Spencer layup from Maryam Dauda made it a 12-point game, as South Carolina was in a drought for over three minutes.

The Gamecocks quickly dug out of the hole with a 4-0 run. Spencer knocked down a 3-pointer, but South Carolina responded with another layup as time expired. Arkansas fell down 62-47.

The Razorbacks out-rebounded the Gamecocks, 11-9 in the third, with both teams scoring 17 points.

Barnum drew a foul and made two free throws, cutting it back to 13, but the Gamecocks charged on a 9-0 run in just two minutes, while Arkansas fell in a scoring drought.

Poffenbarger dug Arkansas out of the hole with a 3-pointer. South Carolina continued to stay hot in the paint, going 6-of-6 on their next field goals.

Arkansas responded on a pair of possessions by getting to the free throw line, as Poffenbarger went 4-of-4 from the charity stripe.

Daniels then made a 3-pointer, as Arkansas trailed 83-62 with under four minutes left in the game. South Carolina went on another run, 8-0, as Arkansas dropped the game, 93-66.

Hogs Highlights

• Freshman Poffenbarger led the Razorbacks with 22 points off 7-of-11 shooting, Her 22 points marks the second 20-point game of the season, while also tallying four rebounds, four assists and one block

• Spencer followed with 16 points and two steals

• Daniels added 12 points and two boards

• The Razorbacks improved remarkably on the boards from their first time out against South Carolina. Rylee Langerman was a big contributor to that, as the junior pulled down seven rebounds, which led the team

• Barnum has eight points, three assists, two blocks and three steals

• The Razorbacks logged 10 3-pointers, marking their 11th game with 10+ triples

Next Game

The Razorbacks will wait their fate for their chances to earn a big to the NCAA Tournament, as the team sits on the bubble.

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