Tye & Tommy on Kevin Kopps in 2021, Clay on Hog FB NFL prospects, best Chuck Barrett stories and more!
Hogs bats come alive to hammer Missouri, avoiding sweep
Arkansas scored six runs in the first two innings and banged out a season-high 13 hits to defeat Missouri, 8-4, in the Bogle Park regular season finale on Monday night.
The Razorbacks never trailed and finish the week 1.5 games ahead of Florida for first place in the SEC standings.
How it happened
The offense wasted no time jumping on the scoreboard in the bottom of the first inning.
Back-to-back walks drawn by outfielder Hannah McEwen and infielder Braxton Burnside allowed infielder Hannah Gammill to launch her eighth home run of the year to left, giving Arkansas a 3-0 lead.
Infielder Danielle Gibson went yard two pitches later, combining with Gammill for the Razorbacks’ ninth back-to-back home runs this year.
Gibson is tied for second on the team alongside designated player Linnie Malkin with 15 home runs.
Arkansas extended its lead to 6-0 in the bottom of the second on Gibson’s RBI groundout and Malkin’s single up the middle.
Missouri (34-11, 12-6 SEC) scored all of its runs via a pair of two-run home runs in the fourth inning by Kim Wert and Emma Raabe, bringing the Tigers within two.
Burnside gave Arkansas a three-run advantage the next half inning, homering for the 24th time this season to left center on a 1-0 pitch, making the score, 7-4.
Burnside’s blast tied her with Oklahoma’s Jocelyn Alo atop the nation’s home run leaderboard.
Gibson’s single up the middle with two outs in the bottom of the fifth inning scored Gammaill from second and gave the Hogs an 8-4 lead.
The Tigers attempted to come back in the top of the seventh inning and put two runners on with one out.
Arkansas turned to Autumn Storms out of the pen, and after and walking the first batter she faced, induced a game ending 4-6-3 double play.
Mary Haff (21-4) gave the Razorbacks 6.1 innings of work and allowed just four earned runs in the fourth inning.
She surrendered eight hits and one walk while striking out five. Storms earned her fourth save of the year, entering the game with the game’s tying run in the on deck circle.
The Tigers used a quartet of hurlers, with starter Jordan Weber (9-3) taking the loss allowing four earned runs on three hits and two walks.
Arkansas outhit Missouri 13-8, which tied a season-high (March 13 at South Carolina). Gammill, Gibson and catcher Kayla Green each paced the squad with three hits.
The Razorbacks finish out their regular season with a three-game road trip to LSU from Saturday, May 1 through Monday, May 3.
O’Gara rates Jefferson squarely in middle of QB rankings
Saturday Down South’s Connor O’Gara released his post-spring rankings of SEC quarterbacks and he has KJ Jefferson at sixth, which is up.
Kopps picks up several weekly awards, but still co-SEC
Kevin Kopps is not of this world, but in the SEC (as usual) with an Arkansas player that only gets you halfway to being top player in the league.
The right-handed reliever was named Collegiate Baseball Newspaper national player of the week as well as the SEC co-pitcher of the week on Monday after helping lead the top-ranked Hogs to a series win at South Carolina.
The SEC probably has some sort of answer that by having a co-whatever recognizes more players all that does really is water down the award.
You would think the Southeastern Conference would be a little above the participation trophy sort of recognition. Players are either the best … or they aren’t.
Matt Goodheart is the only Hogs baseball player this year to not have to share the honors and that was when he was named the player of the week back at the end of March.
In college baseball, especially the SEC, Kopps is the best pitcher and second place the last couple of weeks really hasn’t been able to be in the same discussion.
Kopps struck out 12 of the 15 batters he faced in two relief appearances during the series. He picked up a save, his fifth of the season, in the 6-1 series-opening win on Thursday, striking out six in three perfect innings.
The reliver then punched out all six in his two-inning appearance in the series finale, locking down the series win in the nightcap of Friday’s doubleheader.
Kopps threw 43 of his 59 pitches for strikes in the series, generating 21 swings-and-misses while not allowing a single baserunner.
He has a ridiculous 0.97 ERA in 37.0 innings pitched, striking out 66 batters this season.
He is the second Arkansas student-athlete to earn a national weekly award this year. Matt Goodheart took home honors from both CB Newspaper and Perfect Game/Rawlings one week ago.
Five Hogs, meanwhile, have earned weekly honors from the conference this season.
Kopps joins pitcher Caleb Bolden (co-pitcher of the week, Feb. 23), catcher Casey Opitz (co-player of the Week, March 22), Goodheart (player of the week, March 29) and outfielder Cayden Wallace (co-freshman of the Week, April 12 and 19) as Arkansas’ recipients.
Information from Arkansas Communications is included in this story.
Murphy says Hogs ‘keep finding ways’ to get wins this season
Democrat-Gazette writer Tom Murphy said Arkansas has “just patched it together” mainly with pitching in piling up victories.
Bud Light Seltzer Morning Rush Podcast – Series win in Columbia
Tye & Tommy on Mike Woods choosing OU, beating the Gamecocks, Bielema buyout situation and more!
Missouri hands Hogs first back-to-back losses of season, 10-1
Missouri handed Arkansas back-to-back losses for the first time all season, as it won game two of a three-game series, 10-1, at Bogle Park on Sunday afternoon.
Seniors Kayla Green and Aly Manzo recorded the Razorbacks’ only two hits of the day.
How it happened
Missouri scored first in the top of the second inning on a solo home run, and Arkansas evened the score in the bottom half of the inning on catcher Green’s solo home run to left, her 11th of the season.
The Tigers added another single tally in the third and never looked back, scoring a single run in the fourth before striking for five in the sixth and two in the seventh.
Jenna Bloom (8-2) worked the first 4.0 innings allowing three earned runs on seven hits with a strikeout.
Freshmen arms Allie Light and Lauren Howell combined to finish the final 3.0 frames and allowed seven runs, however, only three were earned.
Laurin Krings (7-2) picked up the win in relief for Mizzou, tossing 5.1 hitless innings with five strikeouts.
The Tigers outhit Arkansas, 11-2, with Manzo singling in the second to record the team’s only other hit. Infielder Hannah Gammill and designated player Linnie Malkin also reached on a walk and a hit by pitch, respectively.
Before the game, the Razorbacks honored their nine seniors: Braxton Burnside, Nicole Duncan, Lauren Graves, Kayla Green, Keely Huffine, Ryan Jackson, Aly Manzo, Autumn Storms and Sydney Parr (graduated in 2020).
Arkansas plays the Bogle Park regular season finale at 6 p.m. tomorrow, April 26 against Missouri on SEC Network.
Keeping spring momentum with long break Pittman’s concern
After an incredibly busy month and a half everything has slowed down to a crawl around Arkansas sports over the weekend.
It’s a big change for Dave Van Horn, who wasn’t really sure exactly how he was going to handle the long break especially after Missouri State canceled a midweek game due to covid issues.
There’s no way of knowing how badly that frustrated the Bears, but Van Horn wasn’t exactly thrilled with the development, especially playing two games at South Carolina and ending up with a Saturday AND Sunday off for the first time in awhile.
He’ll figure it out. Van Horn is the best college baseball coach in the country, so fans should have zero worries there.
Sam Pittman is probably the one having to deal with the biggest potential headaches. His players will have some light conditioning requests but are pretty much on their own until late May.
“We can’t make them, but certainly would like them to,” Pittman said after last week’s concluding spring scrimmage. “I expect them to.”
To be honest, that’s probably not a concern. Dealing with the NCAA’s answer to free agency in the ongoing effort to hang onto some degree of control over million-dollar businesses being run by 18-22 year-olds creates bigger pains for coaches.
Arkansas lost a couple of more last week and the only people who really know aren’t talking so it is what it is. While the Hogs may have some players that would be difficult to replace in my opinion, those two weren’t on the list.
Pittman has the most number of people to deal with and there are some communities in Arkansas with less people than he has to oversee.
He finally got a full spring practice after not even seeing his team on the field due to the covid thing. That will only be a positive.
They have been asked to do some weight-lifting to stay in shape and get a couple of weeks off to go home. They won’t really be back on campus until probably the last full week of May in what has turned into a year-round deal.
Keeping spring momentum is what every coach wants to see.
“We didn’t have a bad practice and we moved forward each day,” Pittman said summarizing the spring last week. “We got better.”
Now that has to continue in a conference where it’s hard to advance because the other teams have scholarship players and get better, too.
Pittman is confident.
“We’ll continue to get better just because of the character of the kids we have on our team,” he said.
And that’s the hope heading into a crucial month.
Hogs can’t keep early lead, falling to Missouri in series opener
Danielle Gibson’s first inning three-run home run gave No. 6 Arkansas an early lead, but it wasn’t enough against Missouri on Saturday.
The Razorbacks (37-6, 16-3 SEC) fell to No. 19 Missouri, 6-3, in the series opener on Saturday afternoon at Bogle Park.
How it happened
Infielder Braxton Burnside and outfielder Hannah McEwen both walked in front of Gibson, setting up her 14th home run of the season in the first inning.
The Tigers (33-10, 11-5 SEC) then scored the game’s final six runs and plated three in the top of the third, tying the game. Infielder Jenna Laird recorded an RBI single to center and outfielder Casidy Chaumont drove in two on a double to left center.
On Gibson’s double to left center with two outs in the bottom of the third, a Razorback runner was thrown out at the plate, and Missouri’s Kendyll Bailey took the momentum from her defense and hit a solo home run in the top of the fourth to grab a 4-3 lead.
The Tigers scored single tallies in the sixth and seventh frames widening their lead.
Arkansas pitcher Mary Haff (20-4) worked 5.0 innings and allowed five runs on six hits and four walks while striking out six.
One earned run was charged to relief pitcher Jenna Bloom over her 2.0 innings. Jordan Weber (9-2) registered the win for Missouri, tossing 4.2 innings and allowing three runs on two hits and four walks with two strikeouts.
Emma Nichols (7) worked a clean 2.1 innings of relief, notching a save.
The Tigers outhit Arkansas, 9-2, holding the Razorbacks to a season-low in hits. Gibson recorded both hits, and each went for extra bases.
The two teams will meet for the middle game of the series at 3 p.m. tomorrow, April 25 on SEC Network. Arkansas will honor its nine seniors before the game.
Van Horn on strong pitching in series-winning third game
COLUMBIA, S.C. — The only team that hasn’t lost a series in SEC play this season? The Arkansas Razorbacks.
The unanimously top-ranked Hogs only needed two days to clinch their sixth conference series win of the year, splitting Friday’s doubleheader against No. 11 South Carolina to improve to 32-7 overall on the season.
Arkansas dropped the day’s first game, 6-2, before picking up a 5-1 victory in the nightcap at Founders Park to secure the series win.
Arkansas, in sole possession of first place in the SEC West, is now 13-5 in league action for the year.
The Hogs return to action next weekend in Baton Rouge, La. Arkansas’ series at LSU gets underway at 6 p.m. Friday, April 30, on the SEC Network.
