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Hogs split doubleheader with LSU for seventh league series win

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Hogs split doubleheader with LSU for seventh league series win

BATON ROUGE, La. — Arkansas won a series in Baton Rouge for the first time since 2004.

The top-ranked Hogs split Saturday’s doubleheader at LSU, claiming a 17-10 win in game one of the twin bill to secure a seventh consecutive SEC series win.

The mark is a new program record, topping the previous best of six in a row during the 2004 and 2015 campaigns.

The Razorbacks, who dropped the nightcap, 5-4, are now 34-8 overall and 15-6 in SEC play following Saturday’s action at Alex Box Stadium.

The Hogs have a one-game lead over second-place Mississippi State.

Arkansas gets back to work next weekend in the friendly confines of Baum-Walker Stadium.

The Hogs host Georgia for a three-game conference series, which is set to begin at 6:30 p.m. Friday, on SEC Network+.

Van Horn pleased overall winning weekend series over LSU

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Van Horn pleased overall winning weekend series over LSU

Arkansas coach Dave Van Horn was glad to get out of Baton Rouge with just the second series win over the Tigers in 17 seasons.

Razorbacks get 1-0 win over Tigers; one win from SEC title

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Razorbacks get 1-0 win over Tigers; one win from SEC title

BATON ROUGE, La. — Pinch hitter Ryan Jackson floated the go-ahead base hit to left in the top of the seventh inning and pitcher Mary Haff spun a complete game masterpiece as Arkansas took game one of the series, 1-0, at LSU on Saturday night in Baton Rouge.

With two games left this weekend, the Razorbacks (39-7, 18-4 SEC) are one win away from claiming at least a share of the program’s first SEC regular season title.

How it happened

Arkansas’ defense made big plays behind Haff to keep the game scoreless, stranding five LSU (28-16, 10-9 SEC) baserunners.

Second baseman Keely Huffine made a tremendous play ranging deep down the right field line, making a basket catch with her back facing home plate to end the first and leave a runner at third.

In the top of the fourth, the Razorbacks had a chance to score after infielder Hannah Gammill walked and infielder Danielle Gibson singled back to the pitcher.

Both runners advanced a base after a wild pitch, but a flyout to left, which LSU turned into a double play, and a groundout ended the threat.

By keeping the game scoreless, Haff gave the bats a chance to take the lead in the top of the seventh.

Catcher Kayla Green led off the inning with a walk and outfielder Aly Manzo popped up a ball that LSU’s catcher Morgan Cummins had to dive behind the dish to catch, allowing pinch runner Cally Kildow to take second base.

Huffine followed by singling and putting runners on the corners with one out, setting up Jackson’s go-ahead knock.

Haff slammed the door on LSU’s offense in the bottom of the seventh, striking out the side to end the game.

Haff (21-4) was electric and allowed just one Tiger runner to reach third base. She surrendered only four singles and did not allow a free baserunner while striking out four.

The redshirt junior tied the school’s career record with her 73rd victory.

Shelbi Sunseri (7-6) went the distance for LSU, allowing one run on four hits and six walks with three strikeouts.

Huffine’s two hits led the way for the Razorbacks, and the team coaxed six walks to total ten baserunners.

Both outfielder Hannah McEwen and Gammill recorded two walks each. Arkansas won in Baton Rouge for the first time since April 6, 2005.

The Razorbacks play game two of the series against LSU, on Sunday at 5 p.m. on the SEC Network.

Hogs get DT drafted three straight years when Jets take Marshall

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Hogs get DT drafted three straight years when Jets take Marshall

Arkansas defensive lineman Jonathan Marshall was selected by the New York Jets in the sixth round of the NFL Draft with the 207th overall pick Saturday afternoon.

He is the first Razorback drafted by the Jets since Nate Garner in 2008.

Marshall becomes just the fourth Razorback to be taken by the Jets all time and extends Arkansas’ streak of at least one player taken in each of the last 26 drafts.

Marshall joins former Razorbacks McTelvin Agim (Denver) and Armon Watts (Minnesota) to give Arkansas three straight drafts with a defensive lineman selected.

Marshall was a key piece to the Arkansas defense in 2020, starting all 10 games on the defensive line and making 35 tackles. His 6.5 tackles for loss were the second-most on the team and his 29 quarterback pressures led the squad.

He made a season-best six tackles at Auburn, including a tackle for loss that started a streak of six straight games with at least one TFL.

Marshall played in 43 games for the Hogs and amassed 70 tackles with 11.5 tackles for loss over his four seasons on the field. He made an immediate impact as a redshirt freshman in 2017 seeing action in all of the Razorbacks’ 12 games then moved into a regular role among the Hogs’ defensive line the next season, amassing over 280 snaps on the d-line and making 14 tackles.

He became a force in the middle of the Razorbacks’ defense making a then career-high 17 tackles with 4.5 tackles for loss in 12 games.

Marshall impressed NFL scouts at Arkansas’ Pro Day in early March producing 36 reps of 225 pounds on the bench press to go along with a 32-inch vertical jump and an unofficial 4.75 in the 40-yard dash.

The final rounds of the NFL Draft conclude on Saturday.

Wicklander, Kopps combine for three-hit shutout to down LSU

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Wicklander, Kopps combine for three-hit shutout to down LSU

BATON ROUGE, La. — Hold That Hog.

No. 1 Arkansas bashed LSU, 7-0, in the series opener on Friday night at Alex Box Stadium.

The Razorbacks were no-hit for the first six innings of the ballgame before breaking out for two runs in the seventh and five more in the eighth to pull away.

The Hogs are now 33-7 overall, improving their SEC mark to 14-5 on the year with the victory. Arkansas, winners of its first six conference series of the season, will look to clinch a seventh consecutive SEC series win tomorrow and set a program record in the process.

Starter Patrick Wicklander went head-to-head with LSU’s Landon Marceaux from the very start.

The pair treated a full-capacity stadium in Baton Rouge to an old-fashioned pitchers’ duel as the Razorbacks and Tigers exchanged zeroes through the first six innings of the night.

Arkansas, however, struck in the top of the seventh. Matt Goodheart broke up Marceaux’s no-hitter with a leadoff single before Christian Franklin stepped up to the plate with two runners on.

The Razorback center fielder drove home both runners on base, singling to left center and scoring Goodheart and Brady Slavens to give the Hogs a 2-0 lead.

Wicklander recorded two outs in the bottom half of the frame before turning the ballgame over to Kevin Kopps, who came in and struck out the first batter he faced.

The lefty went 6.2 innings on the night, striking out five while walking none and limiting the Tigers to three hits.

Arkansas broke the game open in the eighth with five runs, including three more off the bat of Franklin.

After Slavens brought home two with a single to right, the consensus preseason All-American capped his five-RBI night with a three-run homer over the wall in left to put the Hogs ahead for good, 7-0.

Kopps locked down the final two innings, striking out the side in the bottom of the eighth before punching out one more in the ninth to secure his sixth save of the season.

The right-hander struck out 11 consecutive batters dating back to his appearance at South Carolina earlier this season, topping Jess Todd’s school record of nine straight strikeouts against South Carolina in 2007.

The Razorbacks will play a doubleheader for the fourth consecutive weekend as Sunday’s game has been moved up to Saturday, May 1, due to inclement weather.

Game one of the twin bill gets underway at 2 p.m., while the nightcap will begin at 6:30 p.m. on SEC Network+.

Franklin after big offensive night, lack of activity behind Kopps

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Franklin after big offensive night, lack of activity behind Kopps

Hogs centerfielder Kevin Kopps (home run, 5 RBIs) talked about his big hits later, plus not getting any fielding chances with Kevin Kopps on the mound.

Van Horn on great pitching from Wicklander, Kopps, in shutout win

ESPN Arkansas News Services
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Van Horn on great pitching from Wicklander, Kopps, in shutout win

Arkansas coach Dave Van Horn has about run out of ways to praise Patrick Wicklander and Kevin Kopps, who combined to shut down LSU, 7-0.

Weather could play role in attendance at wide open stadium

ESPN Arkansas News Services
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Weather could play role in attendance at wide open stadium

The Razorbacks are down on the bayou.

No. 1 Arkansas is on the road for the second consecutive weekend, trekking south to face LSU (25-15, 6-12 SEC) in a three-game conference series this weekend in Baton Rouge, La.

The action at Alex Box Stadium gets underway at 6 p.m. Friday, April 30, on the SEC Network.

You can also listen online HERE or on the radio at ESPN Arkansas 95.3 in the River Valley, 96.3 in Hot Springs and 104.3 in Harrison-Mountain Home.

The Hogs, 32-7 overall on the season, are in sole possession of first place in the SEC West with a 13-5 mark in conference play, ahead of second-place Mississippi State by 2.0 games.

Arkansas, college baseball’s unanimously top-ranked team, have won six consecutive SEC series for the third time in program history (2004 and 2015) and enter Friday night’s nationally televised contest at LSU as the country’s leader in home runs (74) and walks (240).

Schedule
Friday, April 30 – 6 p.m. – at LSU – SEC Network – Listen – Live Stats
Saturday, May 1 – 6:30 p.m. – at LSU – SEC Network+ – Listen – Live Stats
Sunday, May 2 – 2 p.m. – at LSU – SEC Network+ – Listen – Live Stats

Matchups & History
Friday
Arkansas LHP Patrick Wicklander (2-1, 2.20 ERA) vs. LSU RHP Landon Marceaux (4-3, 2.10 ERA)

Saturday
Arkansas RHP Peyton Pallette (1-2, 3.98 ERA) vs. LSU RHP AJ Labas (3-0, 3.15 ERA)

Sunday
Arkansas TBA vs. LSU TBA

The Razorbacks and Tigers will clash for the 109th, 110th and 111th time in history. Arkansas has the upper hand entering this weekend’s series, taking two of three from LSU when the two programs faced off in Fayetteville during the 2019 campaign.

The Tigers, however, own a significant advantage in all-time meetings, boasting a 74-34 record.

Arkansas last won a series in Baton Rouge during the 2004 season. The Razorbacks, under second-year head coach Dave Van Horn, swept the three-game road set against the Tigers.

Tune In
Friday’s series opener will broadcast nationally on the SEC Network with Clay Matvick (play-by-play) and Chris Burke (analyst) on the call. Saturday and Sunday’s ballgames, meanwhile, will air on SEC Network+.

Undisputed No. 1

Indisputable and undeniable.

Arkansas held its position as the unanimous No. 1 team in college baseball for Week 11 of the season, leading all six major polls released Monday. Baseball America, Collegiate Baseball Newspaper, D1Baseball, NCBWA, Perfect Game and USA Today each put the Razorbacks atop their respective rankings for the third straight week.

It is the fifth time this season that Arkansas is the undisputed No. 1 squad as well as the ninth consecutive week that the Hogs maintain the top spot in at least one of the six.

Sooieville Sluggers

Arkansas is college baseball’s leader in home runs.

The Razorbacks have hit 74 homers in 39 games this year, seven more than any other team in the country this year. Old Dominion ranks second with 67 in 38 ballgames, while Mercer checks in at third with 62 in 40 games. LSU, this weekend’s opponent, is tied for fourth in the country with 60 long balls in 40 contests.

The Hogs’ astounding 1.90 homers per game is second in the country behind only Northwestern (1.93). The Wildcats have swatted 54 home runs in 28 games.

Two Razorbacks have blasted double-digit homers this season, including Matt Goodheart (11), Robert Moore (10) and Brady Slavens (10). Goodheart was named the National Player of the Week by Collegiate Baseball Newspaper and Perfect Game/Rawlings earlier in the month after swatting five dingers in four games against UA Pine Bluff and Texas A&M (April 14-18).

Call the Kopps

One of college baseball’s top relief pitchers is a Razorback.

Kevin Kopps has been named to the midseason watch list of the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association Stopper of the Year Award. He is one of 65 student-athletes included on the list for the honor, which is given to the top reliever in the nation.

The right-hander has been flat-out dominant during the 2021 campaign, owning a 0.97 ERA in 37.0 innings of relief work (18 appearances) on the year. Kopps has struck out 66 batters and limited opposing hitters to a .177 batting average, allowing only four runs while issuing just 11 walks.

Kopps, the Hogs’ closer, is 6-0 with a team-best five saves this season. Four of his five are of the multi-inning variety, most recently carding a three-inning, six-strikeout save against nationally ranked South Carolina on April 22.

Torres on Saban’s development of star recruits keeps Tide on top

ESPN Arkansas News Services
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Torres on Saban’s development of star recruits keeps Tide on top

Other teams are recruiting similar to Alabama, but not developing players as well as what Nick Saban keeps doing to keep Alabama on top.

Halftime Pod Presented By Eastside Liquor — April 30, 2021

ESPN Arkansas News Services
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Halftime Pod Presented By Eastside Liquor — April 30, 2021

Tabor on Hogs going on road to face LSU with Wicklander starting

ESPN Arkansas News Services
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Tabor on Hogs going on road to face LSU with Wicklander starting

Former Razorback pitcher Scott Tabor on The Morning Rush about how tough it is playing Baton Rouge, how Dave Van Horn handles pitching.

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