Category: Other Sports

McEwen and Haff take home SEC weekly honors

The SEC loves the Razorbacks! Just one day after baseball took home two SEC weekly honors, softball joins by adding two more.

One day after Braydon Webb and Brady Tygart were named SEC Player and Freshman of the Week respectively, two softball players were also awarded by the league for their stellar weeks.

[autotag]Hannah McEwen[/autotag] has earned SEC Player of the Week, and [autotag]Mary Haff[/autotag] takes home SEC Pitcher of the week honors following Arkansas’ 4-0 week, which included a clinch of the SEC regular-season title.

Here is what the SEC said about each player:

Arkansas’ Hannah McEwen, a redshirt senior outfielder from San Diego, Calif., batted .692 over four games this past week as the Razorbacks clinched at least a share of the SEC regular-season title. McEwen recorded nine hits, including a pair of triples, three runs scored and nine RBI. She also posted a 1.000 slugging percentage, a 1.000 fielding percentage in left field and a .714 on-base percentage.

Arkansas’ Mary Haff, a redshirt senior right-hander from Winter Haven, Fla., went 3-0 in the circle and allowed two earned runs in 13.0 innings of work. Haff retired the first 12 batters she faced in game two against South Carolina, and then combined with Chenise Delce for the five-inning shutout in game three. To start the week, she retired all nine batters she faced, including four strikeouts, to pick up the win against Central Arkansas. On the week, Haff held her opponents to a .152 batting average.

The No. 4 Razorbacks travel to Bryan-College Station, Texas this weekend to close out the regular season by taking on Texas A&M. Game one of the three-game series begins at 6 p.m. CDT.

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Arkansas Softball: The SEC Champs climb in national polls

The two-time defending SEC regular season champions continue to catch the eye of the national polls!

The Arkansas Razorbacks claimed their second-straight Southeastern Conference regular-season title last weekend by sweeping South Carolina in a three-game set at Bogle Park.

With the series win, the Razorbacks sit at 17-4 in the SEC and have won all seven conference series played thus far, sweeping three of those series, including their last two series with Florida and South Carolina.

Each week, Arkansas has slowly climbed up the national polls. But, as the season draws closer to an end, the Razorbacks have caught the national media’s attention as they have placed Arkansas within the top-5 across the board.

Here’s a look at where Arkansas ranks across the national media this week, heading into the final regular-season weekend of SEC play.

Arkansas: SEC champs for a second straight year

Arkansas won its second straight SEC title on Sunday, shutting out South Carolina in the process.

A whole weekend remains in the SEC softball season and the league title is already wrapped up.

Arkansas captured its second straight regular-season conference crown with an 8-0 win over South Carolina on Sunday. The win was the Hogs’ eighth straight and will all but ensure the team doesn’t fall from their No. 7 national ranking.

The Gamecocks, the last-place team in the league, managed just four hits in the five-inning loss. Mary Haff struck out six South Carolina batters to lead the way.

Offensively, Hannah McEwen helped the Razorbacks with a 2-for-3 day. She had two RBI, a run and a triple. Taylor Ellsworth homered twice for Arkansas, in the first and in the fourth, both times two-run shots.

Arkansas will close the regular season Friday through Sunday at Texas A&M, the next-to-last team in the SEC standings.

Arkansas Softball uses long ball to defeat South Carolina

Arkansas scored all eight runs on four home runs in Saturday’s win over the Gamecocks, clinching the series.

It was business as usual for the “Bogle Bombers” on Saturday.

The No. 5 Arkansas Razorbacks (38-8, 16-4 SEC) defeated South Carolina (25-26, 2-18 SEC) by scoring all of their runs via the longball, en route to an 8-4 victory to claim the series at Bogle Park in Fayetteville.

The Razorbacks went down in order in the first inning but bounced back in their next frame to grab the early lead. [autotag]Danielle Gibson[/autotag] led off the inning by crushing the second pitch of the at-bat into the crowded berm in right field to give Arkansas the 1-0 lead.

The “big inning” came in the 4th, when six runs scored on two swings of the bat. [autotag]Taylor Ellsworth[/autotag] and Danielle Gibson reached base to open the inning, and came home on a three-run homer to right field, extending the Razorback lead to 4-0.

The fun did not stop there, as two more Razorbacks would reach base to give [autotag]KB Sides[/autotag] an equal opportunity. For the second time in the inning, an Arkansas batter would crush a three-run bomb. Sides’ home run would break the game open for Arkansas, as they jumped in front , 7-0.

South Carolina scored their first run in the top of the 5th inning with a leadoff home run of their own, and Arkansas would respond by scoring their final run of the game on Malkin’s second home run of the game, ending the inning with an 8-1 lead. For Malkin, it was her third multi-home run game of the year, and her first since hitting two against Auburn on April 8.

Over the final two innings, the Gamecocks would score three runs to cut the Razorbacks lead in half, but would come up short in the final inning.

Malkin, Sides, and Gibson led the team in hits with two, with Malkin scoring four runs. [autotag]Mary Haff[/autotag], [autotag]Callie Turner[/autotag], and [autotag]Chenise Delce[/autotag] combined to strikeout 10 batters on the day, allowing just five hits and three earned runs.

The finale of the three-game series is set for a 10:30 a.m. CDT first pitch at Bogle Park.

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Arkansas vs. South Carolina: Game preview, how to stream Friday’s opener

The Razorbacks look to get better this weekend by hosting South Carolina at Bogle Park.

The No. 5 Arkansas Razorbacks look to stay hot this weekend as they host the South Carolina Gamecocks for a three-game series this weekend at Bogle Park.

Arkansas continues its string of dominance, as they grabbed national attention by sweeping No. 9 Florida last weekend in Gainesville. That series win was the sixth series win in as many tries this season for the Razorbacks.

The Gamecocks have found success this season, but not when it matters most. South Carolina enters this weekend at Arkansas with a 2-16 record in SEC play and has not won a game against an SEC opponent since March 19, when they took the first game of the series with Auburn, 10-7 in 11 innings.

Since then, the Gamecocks have been swept by the likes of Alabama, Missouri, LSU, and Ole Miss.

Arkansas opens a three-game SEC set with South Carolina beginning Friday night at 6 p.m. CDT at Bogle Park.

NCAA announces Mark Emmert retirement plan

NCAA announces retirement plan for president Mark Emmert.

The NCAA is preparing for a monumental change in leadership. On Tuesday evening, the NCAA released a statement announcing Mark Emmert will step down from his position as president of the NCAA effective in June 2023. Emmert is now officially entering his final season as president of the highest governing body in collegiate athletics.

“Throughout my tenure I’ve emphasized the need to focus on the experience and priorities of student-athletes,” Emmert said in a released statement. “I am extremely proud of the work of the Association over the last 12 years and especially pleased with the hard work and dedication of the national office staff here in Indianapolis.”

Emmert’s pending resignation comes as the entire collegiate athletics landscape is undergoing seismic changes. The era of NIL rules and years of conference realignment in search of larger media revenue packages has led to many questioning where the NCAA stands in all of this. Emmert, fairly or not, has been tasked with being the face of an organization seemingly losing more and more credibility and respect as the years have gone by.

Emmert has been in the position of president of the NCAA since 2010, a role he ascended to after a six-year run as the president of the University of Washington. Emmert has been the target of criticism over many NCAA investigations, including the one into Penn State in the fallout from the Jerry Sandusky scandal in 2011.

Emmert was also the voice of the NCAA in the landmark Ed O’Bannon lawsuit which challenged the authority the NCAA had over prohibiting the ability for athletes to capitalize on their own name, image, and likeness.

For all the controversy aside, the bottom line here is the NCAA is now in a position to hire a new president, and one that will carry on as the voice of an institution in need of respected leadership and able to take on the ever-changing landscape of the college sports world.

And while the list of worthy candidates for the job will no doubt be intriguing to monitor, one can’t help wonder if outgoing Penn State AD [autotag]Sandy Barbour[/autotag] could be a viable candidate, or if she would even be interested in such a position. Barbour has been a well-respected athletics director at Cal and Penn State, and she is heading into her own retirement from her current position at Penn State later this summer (and her successor may already be lined up).

Perhaps just something to keep tucked away in the back of your head for now. Odds are the NCAA will go for someone with experience as a university president, but this is a decision that will be watched very closely over the next year.

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Reports peg Boston College’s Patrick Kraft as next Penn State AD

Penn State AD search: Reports peg Boston College AD as successor to Sandy Barbour

Penn State’s search for a new athletics director may soon be coming to an official close. Multiple reports on Tuesday note Penn State is expected to name Patrick Kraft its next athletic director, possibly by the end of the week according to Pete Thamel of ESPN. Kraft is currently the athletics director for Boston College.

Kraft has been the athletics director for Boston College since 2020, but he served for six years as the director of athletics for Temple prior to shipping up to Boston. One of Kraft’s biggest successes while at Temple may have been finding a way to keep former head coach [autotag]Matt Rhule[/autotag] in Philadelphia for as long as he did. With Kraft as the AD at Temple, Rhule announced he would remain the head coach of the Owls after coaching the program to a record of 10-4 and a top 20 ranking during the season.

Kraft left Temple to take on the same position at Boston College in 2020, where he has reportedly been a solid leader behind the scenes and out of the limelight. Kraft is responsible for the hiring of former Ohio State assistant Jeff Hafley to be head coach of the Boston College football program.

Oddly enough, the hiring of Kraft will present a unique reunion for the football program. Kraft once hired current defensive coordinator [autotag]Manny Diaz[/autotag] to be the head coach at Temple, only for Diaz to turn around after an introductory press conference and accept a head coaching offer from Miami. To be a fly on the wall for that first interaction in Happy Valley.

[autotag]Sandy Barbour[/autotag], Penn State’s current athletics director, will be resigning from her position later this year.

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Arkansas Softball rises in national polls following sweep of Florida

Arkansas softball’s stock continues to rise with two weeks remaining in the regular season.

The Arkansas Razorbacks softball program did something over the weekend that had never been done before.

In their 26-year history, Arkansas had never won a series with Florida in Gainesville. They did that with a 5-4 win over Florida on Saturday. Arkansas made history again on Sunday by sweeping Florida for the first time in history, defeating the Gators 2-0.

Beating Florida in softball is no easy task, let alone taking all three games of a weekend series in Gainesville. The national polls took note, and Arkansas continues to climb.

Here’s a look at where Arkansas ranks in the latest national polls, for the week of April 25:

Arkansas Softball inks NIL deal unlike any before

A local car dealership is partnering with Arkansas Softball in an effort to shed more light on women’s collegiate athletics.

One local car dealership is dedicated to shedding more light on women’s collegiate athletics in a way that has never been done before.

Everett Buick GMC in Bryant, Ark. is partnering with Arkansas Softball to provide a Name, Image, Likeness (NIL) opportunity to all softball players in an effort to increase the visibility of women’s sports through Buick’s “See Her Greatness” campaign. Pig Trail Nation was the first to report the story.

“Female athletes make up 40 percent of total athletes in the NCAA, but they get less than 10 percent of the media coverage,” says Susie Everett of Everett Buick GMC. β€œWe are committed to doing something to help these women by partnering with each Division I softball athlete at the University of Arkansas.”

Head coach [autotag]Courtney Diefe[/autotag]l says that she is appreciative of Everett Buick GMC’s generosity and advocacy towards promoting women’s athletics.

According to Buick’s website, the “See Her Greatness” movement’s mission is to help increase women’s visibility in sports by encouraging viewership, supporting initiatives that drive equity, and creating platforms for women to have meaningful conversations about the issues that face them.

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Arkansas vs. Central Arkansas: Game preview, how to stream Tuesday’s game

Since Arkansas’ 6-4 win in Conway on April 5, both teams have a combined record of 19-2. Tuesday’s game should be a treat to softball fans across the state.

Fresh off of a series sweep at Florida, the No. 5 Arkansas Razorbacks are looking ahead to their final non-conference game of the season.

The Razorbacks welcome Central Arkansas to Bogle Park for a non-SEC contest on Tuesday night and look to keep perfecting their craft heading into the final two SEC weekend series of the season.

These two in-state foes squared off on April 5, with Arkansas winning 6-4 in Conway. Arkansas broke the game open early with a grand slam off the bat of [autotag]Danielle Gibson[/autotag]. [autotag]Hannah Gammill[/autotag] was also hit by a pitch with the bases loaded to give the Razorbacks the 5-0 lead before the Sugar Bears could pick up a bat.

Arkansas extended its lead in the 4th inning on a solo blast by [autotag]Audrie LaValley[/autotag], making their lead 5-0.

Central Arkansas began a comeback effort in the bottom of the 4th inning, beginning with a solo home run by Tyla Vernon. Jayla Englekes would plate three runs over the final three innings to cut Arkansas’ lead to 6-4. Central Arkansas’ comeback effort fell short following the RBI double by Englekes that scored two runs, when Kylie Griffin grounded out to end the game.

Since then, both teams have been playing great softball. Central Arkansas has won 9 of their last 10 games, with their lone loss being a 2-1 decision to Lipscomb on April 23. Arkansas has won 10 of their last 11 games, with sweeps over Auburn and Florida in that stretch.