Tye, Tommy and Chuck discuss the win over Florida, baseball’s performance this weekend and more!
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ARLINGTON, Texas — No. 8 Arkansas (2-1) bullied No. 9 Oklahoma State (1-2) from start to finish in an 18-1 run-rule win on Sunday afternoon to close out the College Baseball Showdown at Globe Life Field.
The Hogs scored five runs in the second, third and fifth innings, taking control early and never looking back.
The game was called after seven innings as Arkansas and Oklahoma State agreed to a 10-run rule on the final day in Arlington.
Arkansas was all over Oklahoma State starter Bayden Root, tagging the right-hander for five runs on four hits and two walks over 1.2 innings.
Jared Wegner was responsible for much of the damage against the Cowboy right-hander, picking up pair of two-out extra-base hits to cap the five-run second and third innings.
Wegner’s three-run triple to right center in the top half of the second extended the Razorbacks’ early lead to 5-0. His two-run home run down the left field line in the third put Arkansas up by 10, effectively silencing the Cowboys for good.
The Creighton transfer finished 2-for-4 with a walk, two runs scored and a season-high five RBI. For the weekend, Wegner slashed .545/.643/1.364 (6-for-11) with four extra-base hits, including two home runs, and eight runs batted in over three games in the College Baseball Showdown.
Wegner’s explosive bat gave Hunter Hollan, who was making his first start on the mound as a Razorback, a big cushion to work with. The left-hander made the most of it, twirling four innings of one-run ball with five strikeouts before he was lifted due to pitch count. The San Jacinto College transfer was credited with the win.
Arkansas padded its lead with a five-run fifth and three-run seventh. All five runs in the fifth inning came with two outs, started by Tavian Josenberger’s solo shot to right center. In total, 13 of the Razorbacks’ 18 runs came with two outs.
Right-handers Koty Frank, Cody Adcock and Gage Wood worked in relief of Hollan, combining for five strikeouts and three scoreless innings out of the bullpen.
Wood, a true freshman, struck out the side in the bottom of the seventh to close out the game and seal the Hogs’ dominant 18-1 win.
With the season-opening weekend in the books, Arkansas now turns its attention to Grambling. The Razorbacks will host the Tigers at 3 p.m. Tuesday in a rare midweek home opener at Baum-Walker Stadium.
ATHENS, Ga. — Arkansas (19-10, 6-8 SEC) melted down in the fourth quarter to drop a road game to Georgia, 71-48.
Going into the final quarter of play, it was an eight-point game, but the Razorbacks did not score for over five minutes and were out-scored 23-8.
Chrissy Carr led the team with 21 points and matching a career-high five 3-pointers, while Erynn Barnum reached 1,000 career points with 16 on the afternoon.
Georgia got on the board first, but Barnum responded by converting a 3-point play. After Barnum’s and-1, the Hogs were held in a scoring drought for over two minutes until Carr knocked down a triple to tie the score at 6-6.
At the media timeout, the Razorbacks were down by a basket, 8-6, with 4:52 remaining in the first quarter. Georgia scored a 3-pointer and a second-chance layup out of the timeout to continue on a 7-0 run, but Saylor Poffenbarger answered on the other end with a jumper.
Arkansas was 1-of-8 from the field until Makayla Daniels came up with a layup and got fouled in the process to be rewarded with the 3-point play. Arkansas trailed 15-11 after one quarter.
The Razorbacks continued a run with a Poffenbarger jumper and a Barnum basket, tying the game at 15-15 with 7:49 left in the quarter.
Georgia took a timeout after that 7-0 run and came out of the break with one of their own, 4-0, until Carr drained her second triple of the contest. The Razorbacks held the Lady Bulldogs to no field goals for over four minutes until a cut to the basket set up for a Lady Bulldog layup to lead the Razorbacks, 23-18.
Carr knocked down her third 3-pointer of the game and then made two free throws to earn her way to double digits in scoring early. Georgia responded after both of those Arkansas possessions to lead the Razorbacks, 27-23 with under two minutes left in the quarter.
At halftime, Georgia led 31-27.
Carr knocked down her fourth 3-pointer of the game to cut the Georgia lead to three, 34-31, under two minutes into the second half.
Whenever Arkansas seemed to get going offensively, Georgia would respond, until both teams were held in scoring drought for over two minutes. At the media timeout taken a 4:55,
Arkansas trailed 38-33. Georgia scored off a second-chance opportunity to extend their lead to seven, but Carr answered with a 3-pointer and after a Barnum layup, the Hogs were down by four. Georgia then went on a 4-0 run to force the Hogs to take a timeout, down 46-38 with 1:36 remaining in the quarter.
Poffenbarger knocked down a jumper out of the timeout, but Georgia scored on another second-chance layup to take a 48-40 lead over Arkansas going into the fourth quarter.
Barnum delivered a layup for the first score of the fourth quarter, but Georgia came around on the other end with a 3-pointer to lead by nine. A turnaround jumper by Barnum pulled the lead down to seven, but the Lady Bulldogs rolled on a 4-0 run to take their largest lead of the game, 11, with 6:14 left in the game.
Barnum pulled the Razorbacks back within nine, but Georgia came back with a jumper, and following two technical fouls charged to Arkansas’ bench, Georgia made three of the four free throws.
That is when things started to crumble for Arkansas and Georgia went on a 16-0 run in just three minutes and Arkansas did not score for over five minutes halfway through the fourth quarter.
Hogs Highlights
• Carr led the way with 21 points, while matching a career-high five 3-pointers
• Barnum logged 16 points, while shooting 6-of-12 from the field and adding seven rebounds and a block
• Poffenbarger delivered six points and seven rebounds, all defensive, as well as three assists. She became the 32nd member of the 1,000-point club in the fourth quarter of the game
• Daniels registered six assists
Next Game
Arkansas stays on the road to face Mississippi State in Starkville, Mississippi on Thursday, Feb. 23 for an 8 p.m. tipoff on SEC Network.
ARLINGTON, Texas — Four Razorback homers were no match for the Horned Frogs’ offense as No. 8 Arkansas (1-1) stumbled to an 18-6 loss against No. 15 TCU (2-0) on Saturday night in the College Baseball Showdown at Globe Life Field.
Jared Wegner, Hudson Polk, Kendall Diggs and Jayson Jones each swatted their first home runs of the season in the setback. Wegner, a graduate transfer from Creighton, racked up a team-leading three hits with a team-high three RBI, falling a triple shy of the cycle.
Wegner’s three-run homer came in the bottom of the first inning after Arkansas found itself in an early 3-0 hole. His home run was a no-doubter to left center, leaving the bat at 111.9 miles per hour and traveling 442 feet.
The Horned Frogs retook the lead in the top half of the second, but Polk would quickly erase the one-run deficit with one swing in the bottom half of the frame. The Oklahoma transfer deposited a 3-2 pitch over the wall in left, evening the score at four apiece.
From there, however, it was all TCU as the Arkansas pitching staff was tagged for 14 runs over the final five innings of Saturday night’s contest. Razorback pitchers combined to walk 11 batters and allow 19 hits in the game.
Diggs provided some offensive fireworks in the bottom of the sixth, launching a solo home run to right. Jones, a true freshman from Savannah, Texas, who made his collegiate debut in the ballgame, socked his first career home run – a solo shot to left – in his second career at-bat, which came with two outs in the bottom of the ninth.
On the mound, veteran Zack Morris turned in the Razorbacks’ best pitching effort of the night. The left-hander emerged from the bullpen in relief of starter Will McEntire and thew 3.1 innings of two-run ball with a pair of strikeouts.
Arkansas will conclude its season-opening weekend in the College Baseball Showdown tomorrow afternoon against No. 9 Oklahoma State. First pitch from Globe Life Field is set for 2:30 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 19, on FloBaseball.
FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — For the second time this season, Arkansas had five players score in double figures, including a career-high 26 points from Jalen Graham and a double-double by Makhi Mitchell (10 points and 10 rebounds), to defeat Florida, 84-65, Saturday afternoon at Bud Walton Arena.
Arkansas, the SEC leader in field goal percentage, shot 57.6 percent from the field and held Florida to 37.3 percent. Of the Razorbacks’ 84 points, 52 points came in the paint. Graham made 12 of his 14 shots in the paint and the Razorbacks threw down seven dunks, two each from Graham and Ricky Council IV.
The offenses for both teams started slowly with the first points being scored at 17:47 by Mitchell. Florida led by five (15-10), with 11:27 left in the first half. The flow picked up and Florida led 23-19 with 8:36 left.
From that point, Arkansas took control with an 11-0 run, to lead 30-23, and took a 37-31 lead into the locker room.
The Razorbacks put the game away in the first six minutes of the second half with a 17-2 run and led by at least 18 the rest of the game. Jordan Walsh kicked the scoring off with a 3-pointer and added a dunk while Mitchell scored six in the spurt.
Joining Graham and Mitchell in double digits were Council (15), Anthony Black (14) and Nick Smith Jr. (10). Graham and Council added seven rebounds each while Black had five boards, three assists and three steals.
Arkansas stays at home to host Georgia on Tuesday (Feb. 21) at Bud Walton Arena. Tipoff is set for 8 p.m. and the game will be televised on the SEC Network.
FIRST HALF: Arkansas 37, Florida: 31
• Arkansas used an 11-0 run to take a 30-23 lead, capped by a Nick Smith Jr., old-fashion, 3-point play.
• Arkansas shot an impressive 55.6% and held Florida to 30% shooting.
• Florida stayed in the game by making 12-of-16 from the free throw line.
• Both teams combined to shoot 1-of-16 from the 3-point line. Florida was 1-of-11 and Arkansas was 0-of-5.
• Jalen Graham led Arkansas with 14 points (6-of-7 FG).
• Makhi Mitchell had eight rebounds and two blocked shots.
SECOND HALF: Arkansas 47, Florida: 34
• In the 17-2 run, Arkansas bettered its first-half shooting by making 59.4% of its shots.
• Arkansas out-rebounded the Gators 20-10 in the half which led to the Razorbacks out-scoring the Gators 13-4 on second-chance points.
• Graham scored 12 of his 26 in the half while Council and Black each had nine.
Game Notes
• Arkansas wore new uniforms for today’s “Red Out.” The Hogs wore cardinal versions of its 1994 Throwback Uniforms. Arkansas is 4-0 in “Red Out” games in the Musselman era.
• Florida is one of three SEC teams that have a winning record against the Razorbacks. The Gators now lead 26-15 but Arkansas has won three straight in the series and is 10-7 versus the Gators in Fayetteville.
• Arkansas’ starting lineup was Anthony Black – Nick Smith Jr. – Davonte Davis – Jordan Walsh – Makhi Mitchell for the first time.
• Arkansas won the tip.
• Makhi Mitchell scored the first points, a layup at 17:47.
• Ricky Council IV was the first Razorback sub.
• Arkansas is 10-0 this year when leading at the half in Bud Walton Arena. In the Eric Musselman era, Arkansas is 48-1 when leading at the half at home.
• Arkansas’ shooting percentage of .576 was the ninth-best percentage by the Razorbacks in an SEC game in program history.
• Arkansas has shot at least 44% from the field in 11 straight games and has shot over 50% nine times this season, including four of the last seven games.
• Arkansas blocked six shots. The Hogs entered the game 13th in the NCAA in blocked shots (5.3 avg.) and have blocked at least five shots in eight straight games.
Information from Arkansas Communications is included in this story.
ARLINGTON, Texas — Hagen Smith looked like he might fit someday in a major league ballpark Friday night.
The left-hander threw five innings and only allowed one hit, striking out eight in the Razorbacks’ 3-2 win over Texas at Globe Life Park in Arlington, Texas, on Friday night.
In case you’re wondering that’s the home field of the Texas Rangers.
“Hagen was outstanding,” Dave Van Horn said later. “His stuff was amazing, big-league stuff — sitting in the mid-90s, left-hander with him throwing a cutter and pretty good breaking ball. Really pitched well and gave us a chance to get into the game.”
Brady Tygart, who retired each of the five hitters he faced, tgot his first save of the season and he probably won’t face more pressure than against the Longhors to close out the Hogs’ win over the team’s fans love to hate.
“He did a tremendous job,” Van Horn said about Tygart’s closing out the win. “He got off to a little bit of a slow start this spring in our scrimmages. Tonight, he was back to what he used to be, and I guess he caught up. Pitched great.”
Tygart, who wasn’t impressing many folks in spring scrimmages, solved a lot of questions on opening night.
“Everybody knows him for having a really good breaking ball,” Van Horn said, “but he’s got a two-seamer now that really darts, throwing the ball 93, 94, 95 mph and he throws that breaking ball in there, plus he’s got a big breaking ball and got a slider and he’s starting to throw that changeup. It sounds like to me that he might be able to start for us one day.”
It was a scoreless pitcher’s duel until the seventh inning when all the offense happened.
Brady Slavens and Jared Wegner started the inning with singles to right field and Kendall Diggs drove them home with a single to left after Jace Bohrofen drew a walk to load the bases.
Bolton picked up his second hit of the day with an RBI double down the line in left to make it a 3-0 game.
The Longhorns answered in the bottom half as Porter Brown hit a solo home run to right to start the frame.
Garret Guillemette followed with double, prompting the Hogs to turn to Frank out of the bullpen.
Frank got the first three hitters he faced to ground out, but not before a wild pitch brought home the second Longhorn run.
That was all the scoring in this one. Brady Slavens led off the eighth with a double, but that was squandered. Nobody pushed anything across the plate the rest of the way.
Who: Arkansas Razorbacks (17-9, 6-7 SEC) vs Florida Gators (14-12, 7-6 SEC)
What: It will be a “Red Out” at Bud Walton Arena.
When: Saturday, Feb. 18, 1 p.m.
Where: Nolan Richardson Court at Bud Walton Arena in Fayetteville, Ark.
Television: ESPN2 (Kevin Fitzgerald and Jimmy Dykes)
Listen Online: HitThatLine.com
Radio: ESPN Arkansas 99.5 in Fayetteville, 95.3 in the River Valley, 96.3 in Hot Springs and Harrison-Mountain Home (Chuck Barrett and Matt Zimmerman)
Sirius/XM: 111 (Sirius) / 192 (XM) || SXM App: Channel 963
FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — Arkansas will play to first of consecutive home games on Saturday when the Razorbacks host the Florida Gators for this year’s “Red Out” game.
That’s for the fans. For the Razorbacks it’s a must-win game to try and salvage a season that has sailed off the rails.
It won’t be easy, even if the Gators will likely be without star forward Colin Castleton, who reportedly suffered a broken hand last year.
“Probably the same impact … we’ve had Brazile out the whole year,” Musselman said. “If you look at injuries, it allows opportunities for other guys to play. Florida played a really good last 15 minutes of the game today against Ole Miss. Todd Golden is a very good coach.
“They have a talented roster. Somebody else will get an opportunity, and their style of play, I thought, in the second half tonight, I thought they adjusted really well. They still have a big guy inside in No. 33 (Jason Jitoboh) — a big, strong player. They’ll have a little bit more probably perimeter players on Saturday.”
Tipoff is set for 1 p.m. and the game will be televised on ESPN2.
Game Notes
• Arkansas and Florida have met on 40 previous occasions, all coming since the Razorbacks joined the SEC for the 1991-92 season.
• Arkansas has won two straight versus Florida and leads 9-7 in games played in Fayetteville. The series is tied, 3-3 over the last six, but the Gators own a 26-14 overall advantage in the series including wins in 11 of the last 14.
• Over the last 10 games, Arkansas has shot at least 44% from the field each game. With its recent success, Arkansas now leads the SEC (and ranks 35th in the NCAA) in field goal percentage at 47.7%.
• In SEC games, Arkansas is shooting 45.5% from the field, which ranks second behind Alabama (45.9%). NOTE: Texas A&M is 3rd at 44.1% in SEC games. At its current rate, Arkansas’s SEC FG% of .455 would tie for the 7th-best in school history and best in SEC play since shooting 47% in 2018.
• Arkansas ranks 13th in the NCAA (3rd in the SEC) in blocked shots 5.3 per game. Makhel Mitchell is 4th in the SEC in rejections (1.9) and Makhi Mitchell ranks 7th (1.38). Arkansas has blocked at least six shots in each of the last six games
• Despite back-to-back losses, Arkansas has remained among the NCAA NET top 25. After the Kentucky win, Arkansas went from 28 to 23 in the NCAA NET. After the Mississippi State loss, Arkansas stayed at 23 and improved to 20 without even playing a game. After the Texas A&M loss, Arkansas only dropped one to 21.
ARLINGTON, Texas — Razorback baseball is back.
No. 8 Arkansas opens the 2023 season against three Big 12 teams, No. 9 Oklahoma State, No. 15 TCU and Texas, in the College Baseball Showdown this weekend at Globe Life Field, home of the Texas Rangers, in Arlington, Texas.
First pitch in the Hogs’ season opener against the Longhorns is set for 7 p.m. Friday.
The Razorbacks will square off with the Horned Frogs at 7 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 18, before concluding their season-opening weekend against the Cowboys at 2:30 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 19. All three games will stream on FloSports.
You can listen to Brett Dolan online at HitThatLine.com or on ESPN Arkansas 95.3 in the River Valley, 96.3 in Hot Springs and 104.3 in Harrison-Mountain-Home.
Arkansas enters the 2023 campaign on the heels of the program’s 11th trip to the College World Series and its third in the last four postseasons. The Razorbacks posted a 46-21 overall record in 2022, cementing themselves as the only team in the country with at least 45 wins in each of the last five full seasons.
Schedule
Friday, Feb. 17
No. 8 Arkansas vs. Texas – 7 p.m.
Saturday, Feb. 18
No. 8 Arkansas vs. No. 15 TCU – 7 p.m.
Sunday, Feb. 19
No. 9 Oklahoma State vs. No. 8 Arkansas – 2:30 p.m.
On the Mound
Friday
Arkansas LHP Hagen Smith (2022: 7-2, 4.66 ERA) vs. Texas LHP Lucas Gordon (2022: 7-2, 3.05 ERA)
Saturday
Arkansas RHP Will McEntire (2022: 2-2, 2.59 ERA) vs. TCU RHP Cam Brown (2022: 5-2, 4.42 ERA)
Sunday
Arkansas LHP Hunter Hollan (2022: N/A) vs. Oklahoma State TBA
Tune In
Two broadcast crews – Danny Lee (play-by-play) and Pat Combs (analyst) & Ben Wilson (play-by-play) and Mike Hardge (analyst) – will split the call this weekend from Globe Field Life. Fans can catch all the action on FloSports.
You can listen to Brett Dolan online at HitThatLine.com or on ESPN Arkansas 95.3 in the River Valley, 96.3 in Hot Springs and 104.3 in Harrison-Mountain-Home.
In the Polls
Arkansas is ranked by all six major college baseball polls to begin the season:
Perfect Game – No. 4
NCBWA – No. 6
USA Today Coaches – No. 6
Collegiate Baseball – No. 7
D1Baseball – No. 8
Baseball America – No. 11
Honored Hogs
Four Razorbacks — pitcher Hagen Smith, infielder Peyton Stovall, pitcher Brady Tygart and outfielder Jared Wegner — enter the 2023 campaign as preseason All-Americans.
Stovall, one of the Razorbacks’ three team captains, heads into the season as a preseason All-American as well as a preseason All-SEC honoree after slashing .295/.373/.425 with six homers and 31 RBI over 52 games as a true freshman in 2022. In the NCAA Tournament, he slashed a team-leading .429/.451/.571 with two homers and 13 RBI over 11 games.
Tygart also heads into the season as a preseason All-American and preseason All-SEC honoree. He emerged as Arkansas’ closer as a true freshman in 2022, going 3-4 with a 3.82 ERA and a team-leading eight saves in 37.2 innings of work.
Tygart, who was named a Freshman All-American and earned a spot on the Freshman All-SEC Team at the year’s end, begins the 2023 season on the preseason watch list for the NCBWA Stopper of the Year Award.
Smith is a preseason All-American after going 7-2 with a 4.66 ERA in 77.1 innings on the mound as a true freshman in 2022.
Smith, who struck out 90 and limited opposing hitters to a .232 batting average, racked up numerous accolades following his stellar year, including Freshman All-America praise and a spot on the Freshman All-SEC Team.
Wegner, a newcomer to the Razorbacks after transferring to Arkansas from Creighton, is a preseason All-American after slashing an eye-popping .343/.459/.635 with 11 home runs, 53 RBI and 11 stolen bases for the Bluejays in 2022. Over his four-year playing career at Creighton, he slashed .303/.408/.483 with 14 home runs, 80 RBI and 21 stolen bases.
Toughen Up
On paper, Arkansas appears to boast the SEC’s toughest regular-season schedule. The Hogs’ 2023 regular-season slate features 15 teams, including Texas, TCU and Oklahoma, that participated in last year’s NCAA Tournament. The next-closest SEC teams are Missouri and Vanderbilt, who each play 11 opponents that advanced to the postseason in 2022.
Arkansas – 15
Missouri – 11
Vanderbilt – 11
Alabama – 10
Florida – 10
Georgia – 10
Mississippi State – 10
Ole Miss – 10
Texas A&M – 10
LSU – 9
Tennessee – 9
Auburn – 8
Kentucky – 8
South Carolina – 8
Arkansas last finished a season with the country’s toughest schedule in 2021, when its opponents combined for a nation-leading .613 winning percentage.
Information from Arkansas Communications is included in this story.
Guests- Aaron Torres, James Teague & Neal Atkinson College Baseball OPENING DAY! Basketball Weekend; Happy Birthday MJ
Plus former player Matt Jones weighs in on Ricky Council IV’s problems shooting three-pointers, which isn’t his thing.
HitThatLine.com is the website for ESPN Arkansas. Listen at 99.5 in Fayetteville, 95.3 FM in Fort Smith and the River Valley, 96.3 FM in Hot Springs and 104.3 FM in Harrison.
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