Mike Neighbors after the Hogs cleared quarantine this week and started preparations for Monday’s opening game against Wright State.
Dungee on being named All-American, Hogs in San Antonio
Arkansas’ Chelsea Dungee talked about postseason honor, how team is handling all of the things at NCAA Tournament site.
Spring scrimmage gives fans hope, but not really answers
There usually aren’t many answers to be found in spring scrimmages and apparently Saturday’s practice inside Razorback Stadium was no exception.
Being open to the fans, though, brought out a decent number who came seeking hope.
For a program that has gone 7-34 the previous three seasons that’s about as much as fans can do in the spring.
Sam Pittman knows what needs fixing and is using his first spring practice to go about doing just that. He didn’t get one last year with the covid shutdown.
A lot of what he would like to do is figure out how the offense can stay on the field after a third-down play and the defense get off the field. It worked exactly opposite too often last year.
“It’s not just the offense, our defense wasn’t very good on third down last year, either,” Pittman said after the scrimmage. “We’ve made a big, big emphasis on third down.”
A big concern is giving KJ Jefferson time to make a decision, then him getting rid of the ball faster and getting it to a talented bunch of receivers.
“Third down was our nemesis a little bit, getting off the field and staying on the field,” Pittman said. “Today I felt like the defense won that without really any question.”
Whether that’s good or bad is probably up for debate, but in today’s world if you want to compete for championships you do it by scoring points and getting a couple of key stops on third down.
Overall, though, Pittman got what he wanted out of the whole thing.
“It wasn’t a scrimmage that was dominated by one side,” he said. “As a head coach that’s a scrimmage you like.”
This entire spring is about getting a team ready for the season. Last year everybody was trying to figure it out until they could start getting players back on campus in the summer.
Probably a year behind, Pittman is trying to make this team more physical as much as anything.
“It’s a physical practice every day, and it will be again on Tuesday,” Pittman said. “There won’t be a lot of tapering off this spring, but on Tuesday I just want to get what we have corrected and play better fundamentals and be physical, and if we can do that then we will have had a great seven days.”
That starts with the run game on both sides of the ball. If you can run the ball and stop the run, things get easier.
“That’s been a big concentration for us,” Pittman said. “The bottom line is good teams they run the ball when they want to run the ball.
“That’s what it is, and the good teams stop the run when they want to stop the run, and they take half the game away from people.”
But the key is going to be how the quarterback spot develops and if they can figure out a way to give Jefferson time to make a decision.
“We have to move the quarterback … everybody knows that,” Pittman said. “The only way you can do that is get somebody back there around him. We knew that during the season as well.”
And they are getting bigger at running back with Dominique Johnson and true freshman Raheim Sanders hopefully able to add some wrinkles in protection schemes as well as running the ball.
Both are big backs that are completely different from Trelon Smith.
Sanders is the most intriguing of that duo.
“We moved him to running back day one,” Pittman said. “I don’t know that was necessarily the thought when we recruited him, but we need a big back.
“He is a couple of hundred pounds, a little bit more probably and we needed a little faster big back. We have Dominique, but we needed that so we went immediately there.”
About the only thing starting to really take shape right now as the Hogs get ready for Tuesday’s practice, then a spring break until resuming drills April 1 is Pittman is working on specific things.
Like being more physical and working on third down efficiency on both sides of the ball. They aren’t the only issues, but a couple of big ones.
And fixing them would help fulfill that hope for the fans.
That usually is tied to wins.
Zeb pitches Hogs back on track holding down Tide in 9-1 win
• Zebulon Vermillion after win over Crimson Tide
The Hogs are back on track.
Zebulon Vermillion tossed eight innings of one-hit, one-run ball while striking out four to lift No. 1 Arkansas to a 9-1 win against No. 22 Alabama on Saturday night at Baum-Walker Stadium.
The Razorbacks are now 13-3 on the year, stopping a three-game slide with their first SEC win of the season.
The big righty was untouchable through his first five innings of work, retiring 15 of the first 16 Crimson Tide batters he faced. He did not allow a hit until the sixth inning when Alabama’s Jim Jarvis singled to right field before eventually coming around to score on a sacrifice fly.
Arkansas’ bats, meanwhile, came alive after a quiet day at the plate in the first game of the series. The Razorbacks broke out for 12 base knocks, led by Casey Opitz and Cayden Wallace’s three-hit days.
Opitz put the Hogs ahead early, launching his first home run of the year deep to right in the third inning to open a 1-0 lead. Arkansas would score runs in the fourth, fifth, sixth and eighth innings, steadily extending its advantage throughout the ballgame.
The big blow came in the sixth. After Alabama cut its deficit to two, the Razorbacks scored three in the bottom half of the inning to take control.
An Opitz single, his second hit of the game, scored one and set the table for Cullen Smith and Jalen Battles to each drive in runs of their own.
Up 6-1 in the eighth, the Hogs tacked on three more to put the game away for good. Opitz collected his third hit of the night in the inning and now has five multi-hit efforts on the year.
Vermillion, meanwhile, was cruising on the mound. After allowing a run in the sixth, the right-hander settled down to retire six of the next seven he faced before departing the ballgame after eight innings of work.
He and reliever Zack Morris, who tossed a scoreless ninth with two strikeouts, combined for Arkansas’ second two-hitter of the season.
The Hogs pitching staff also did so against nationally ranked TCU earlier this season at the State Farm College Baseball Showdown at Globe Life Field in Arlington, Texas.
Tomorrow’s contest will decide the series.
The rubber game is set for 2 p.m. at Baum-Walker Stadium and will broadcast nationally on the SEC Network.
Strong start by Vermillion gives Hogs pitching depth
Dave Van Horn was pleased with Zebulon Vermillion’s strong, deep start in 9-1 win over Alabama to set up good Sunday game to win series.
Vermillion on strong eight innings, getting win over Alabama
Hogs pitcher Zebulon Vermillion (8 innings, 1 hit, 1 earned run, 4 strikeouts) talked about what’s been different last two games for him on mound.
Gibson’s walk-off homer clinches series win over Ole Miss
Danielle Gibson launched a walk-off home run in the bottom of the eighth inning as Arkansas came from behind to defeat Ole Miss, 3-2, in extra innings on Saturday afternoon at Bogle Park.
The Razorback (22-3, 5-0 SEC) offense scored all its runs in the game’s final three innings and improved to 5-0 in SEC play.
How it happened
Ole Miss (18-9, 3-2 SEC) scored their only runs of the game on a two-run homer in the top of the third inning, forcing Arkansas to play from behind most of the game.
Arkansas’ bats came alive when trailing 2-0 in the bottom of the sixth. Outfielder Hannah McEwen led off the frame homering to center, and cut the deficit in half.
After McEwen’s bomb, infielder Braxton Burnside was hit by a pitch, putting a runner on first with nobody out. Gibson followed, lacing a double down the right field line, and Burnside motored all the way home, tying the game, 2-2.
The Rebels had a chance to take the lead in the top of the seventh putting runners on second and third with one out, however, pitcher Mary Haff entered from the bullpen and promptly struck out the next two hitters keeping the game tied.
The Razorbacks almost won the game in the seventh inning, as McEwen shot a ball deep to the wall in center that was caught for the third out.
Haff allowed a runner on a hit by pitch in the top of the eighth but stranded her on first. Gibson hit her 10th homer, and second walk-off blast of the season in the eighth on a 1-1 pitch. She accounted for two of the team’s three RBI.
Pitcher Autumn Storms earned the start and gave the Razorbacks quality innings, tossing 6.1 frames and allowed five hits with a walk. She struck out three in the no decision. Haff (14-2) recorded her nation-leading 14th win in relief, striking out four in 1.2 innings.
Arkansas joined the 12 other SEC softball playing institutions by wearing teal to honor Alex Wilcox, a member of the 2018 Mississippi State softball team who inspired the nation with her courageous fight against ovarian cancer that ultimately took her life in the summer of 2018.
Arkansas looks to sweep the Rebels at 1 p.m. tomorrow, March 21. The game will air on SEC Network+.
Pittman after scrimmage: ‘We saw enough to be encouraged’
Hogs coach Sam Pittman said after Saturday morning’s scrimmage (the first of three this spring) there were some good things, but more to work on.
Muss on difficulty getting to tournament, then advancing
Hogs coach Eric Musselman talked Saturday about the difficulty getting to the NCAA, moving on, facing Texas Tech and getting his hour outside.
Tate on living in NCAA’s bubble, recapping opening-round win
Arkansas’ Jalen Tate said Saturday they have put the win behind them over the Raiders, now looking ahead to playing Texas Tech.
Van Horn after loss to Tide: ‘Obviously that didn’t go very well’
Arkansas coach Dave Van Horn said later pitcher Patrick Wicklander’s solid outing, Christian Franklin’s hitting part of few positives.
