Tag: Arkansas Florida

Florida snaps Arkansas’ 27-game home winning streak

I told the team, ‘Start a new one,” Arkansas coach Dave Van Horn said.

The streak stopped at 27.

The second-ranked Arkansas baseball team finally saw its home winning streak snapped Saturday in the second game of a doubleheader as Florida, which lost the first two games of the series, knocked off the Diamond Hogs, 9-5.

Twenty-seven straight wins at Baum-Walker tied a school history.

“We knew we were going to get beat sometime with who we’re playing. (The streak has) been amazing. I told the team, ‘Start a new one,” Arkansas coach Dave Van Horn said.

Florida jumped on spot-starter Ben Bybee and Koty Frank in the third and fourth innings, chasing Bybee with three runs allowed and tagging Frank for four more.

Arkansas responded with a pair of runs in the bottom of the fourth when Peyton Stovall hit a two-run double, but it made the score only 7-3. Ty Evans hit a two-run home run in the sixth to seal things for the Gators.

The Razorbacks outhit Florida, 12-8, but five Arkansas pitchers gave up eight walks in the game to make things too difficult.

Arkansas is back at home Tuesday and Wednesday for a quick two-game series with visiting Missouri State before heading to Lexington on the weekend for a series at SEC-leading Kentucky.

No. 2 Arkansas locks up series win with 6-5 victory over Florida

The Diamond Hogs are staying in the hunt for first in the SEC.

No. 2 Arkansas tallied five runs in the seventh inning to slip past Florida, 6-5, at Baum-Walker Stadium in the first game a doubleheader Saturday.

The win was the 27th in a row at home for the Razorbacks (37-6 overall, 16-4 SEC), tying the school record set in 1984-85 for consecutive home victories.

The Diamond Hogs got this one with a five-run seventh inning that helped them erase a 4-1 deficit. Wehiwa Aloy and Peyton Holt hit a pair of two-run home runs to give Arkansas a 6-4 lead. Aloy became the first Razorback to reach 10 home runs this season. Holt followed with his second home run of the day, a no-doubt shot to

In the eighth, Holt used his glove — and his mind — to help keep the Razorbacks in the lead. On a well-hit fly ball to center, Holt threw to third base Colby Shelton

After Florida tacked on a run in the eighth inning to pull within one, coach Dave Van Horn used three pitchers in the ninth to help the Razorbacks close out the game.

Christian Foutch struck out Brody Donay swinging for the final out to give Arkansas the victory.

Will McEntire (3-0) earned his third win in relief despite allowing two Florida runs to cross the plate in the seventh inning.

Hagen Smith stellar as No. 2 Arkansas edges Florida in series opener

Arkansas Razorbacks Baseball: Hagen Smith continued his dominance in SEC play with another stellar start, and Arkansas defeated Florida, 2-1.

A sacrifice fly by Jared Sprague-Lott in the bottom of the eighth inning broke a 1-1 tie, and No. 2 Arkansas defeated Florida in a 2-1 series-opening victory in SEC play Friday night at Baum-Walker Stadium.

The win was the 26th straight at home for the Razorbacks (36-6 overall, 15-4 SEC), one shy of tying the school record set in 1984-85 for consecutive home victories.

Hagen Smith continued his dominance in SEC play with another stellar start. Smith pitched seven innings of two-hit ball, allowing just one unearned run while striking out 11 batters in a no-decision. He retired 17 straight batters at one point and lowered his ERA to 1.35 for the season.

With his 11 punchouts, Smith surpassed 300 strikeouts in his career and rose to second on Arkansas’ all-time strikeout list behind only Nick Schmidt.

Gabe Gaeckle (3-2) pitched two innings in relief to pick up his third win.

Offense was hard to come by for either team all night. Arkansas scored first off Florida starter Pierce Coppola in the second inning when Ryder Helfrick launched the game’s only home run to deep left field. The two-out solo shot was Helfrick’s third of the season.

Florida (21-20, 8-11) scored its only run in the seventh by way of a throwing error before the Razorbacks reclaimed the lead for good in the eighth.

Both teams were held to just three hits apiece.

The series will resume Saturday with a scheduled doubleheader beginning at 12 p.m. CDT. The first game of the doubleheader can be seen on ESPN2.

Arkansas lands former Florida safety out of transfer portal

Arkansas’ secondary was already a strength. Miguel Mitchell makes it even deeper.

Arkansas’ depth in the secondary increased Friday.

Former Florida safety Miguel Mitchell chose the Razorbacks out of the transfer portal days after visiting Fayetteville. Mitchell started eight games and finished sixth on the team in tackles last year.

Mitchell will likely slide right into Al Walcott’s place in the secondary. Walcott was Arkansas’ third leading tackler last year after transferring to Baylor but had just one season in Fayetteville.

The defensive backfield was already considered a position of strength for the Razorbacks. Jayden Johnson, Snaxx Johnson and Jaylon Braxton will all return as likely starters.

Arkansas’ defense as a whole had its best season since 2014 as the Razorbacks gave up just 249 yards per game, 47th in FBS.

Everything Eric Musselman said after Arkansas’ loss at Florida

Eric Musselman appears to have entered the acceptance phase of the grieving for Arkansas basketball’s death.

Eric Musselman has grown increasingly quieter after each of Arkansas’ last three games.

That happens over the five stages of grief.

At this point, Musselman is on the acceptance stage. His Razorbacks basketball team fell, 90-68, at Florida on Saturday in a game that the Gators owned within the first five minutes.

Musselman’s press conference after the loss was not the angry one that occurred after Arkansas’ first SEC loss to Auburn. It was not the disappointed, but encouraging one that occurred after Arkansas’ second SEC loss at Georgia.

This one was muted with moments of passive-aggressiveness. The coach is fully aware his team can’t even think about the NCAA Tournament right now. Everything right now is about survival.

Check out what Musselman had to say below.

Arkansas swamped by Florida for third straight SEC loss

Florida played with Arkansas on Saturday like a gator would a hog in the wild.

Forget the NCAA Tournament. Arkansas basketball just needs to function first.

The Razorbacks dropped their third straight game, all in SEC play, on Saturday, falling to Florida, 90-68.

It was never close. Florida took a double-digit lead just seven minutes into the game. The Gators shot 49% from the floor and outrebounded Arkansas by 17. Riley Kugel led five Florida players in double figures with 20 points.

Arkansas actually had five players in double figures, too. The Hogs had to, considering only six players scored at all.

Fourteen different Arkansas players played. Backcourt mainstays Khalif Battle and Keyon Menifield played three minutes and two minutes. Coach Eric Musselman sent a message.

Freshman Layden Blocker had a career high with 14 points. Joseph Pinion had a season high of 12, as well.

Arkansas’ next game is Tuesday at home against Texas A&M, which will be coming off a win over top-five Kentucky on Saturday.

Arkansas vs. Florida: How to watch, stream, listen, key players and more

Arkansas basketball (9-6, 0-2 SEC) is on the road to face the Florida Gators (10-5, 0-2 SEC) on Saturday. Here’s how you can watch, listen and stream all of the action.

[autotag]Arkansas basketball[/autotag] (9-6, 0-2 SEC) has dug themselves into an extremely deep hole through two games in conference play. The team’s NCAA Tournament hopes are bleak at best, as the team heads to Gainesville – a place where they’ve only won three games ever – to face the Florida Gators (10-5, 0-2).

Florida is in just as rough shape as the Hogs, as they too are winless in SEC play so far. That adds another layer of desperation for both teams as the loser of Saturday’s matchup can begin to kiss their March dreams goodbye.

There is some room for Razorback fans to be optimistic in this one, though. [autotag]Eric Musselman[/autotag]’s squad have won each of their last three matchups with the Gators, including their last trip to Gainesville in 2022.

While the recent history might help some believe an Arkansas win is inevitable, it’s going to be an uphill battle. This year’s team is struggling unlike any team so far in Musselman’s tenure.

We’ll see if Saturday is the day they can finally get back to their winning ways. Here’s how you can watch and stream all of the action between Arkansas and Florida.

Beyond the Box Score: Arkansas ends multiple losing streaks with win over Florida

How exactly did Arkansas come out with the win over Florida? Let’s take a closer look at the numbers behind this impressive Razorback victory.

Arkansas hasn’t had a lot go their way this season. That changed on Saturday as the Hogs were, finally, on the other end of a one-possession ballgame.

With the 39-36 overtime win in Gainesville, [autotag]Sam Pittman[/autotag]’s team did something that no other Razorback team had ever been able to do before – win in “The Swamp.”

The Hogs were also able to snap their six-game losing skid and remain in contention for bowl berth, as hard as that may be to believe.

Saturday’s win felt like a major win for the program and one that could give the team momentum to keep those victories coming. Pittman likely saved his job for another season and [autotag]Kenny Guiton[/autotag] made an impactful statement in his first audition for the permanent offensive coordinator gig.

Let’s take a closer look at the numbers behind Arkansas’ impressive and historic overtime win over the Florida Gators.

Guiton, Jefferson video proof Arkansas never quit on the season

Some wanted to move on from KJ Jefferson and the season. But Jefferson never quit, never wanted to do the same.

Different people like different things. Some may dig tea instead of coffee. They may like steaks well-done, not medium-rare. Orange juice with pulp preferred over sans pulp. The boss you hate may be one your co-worker loves.

Heck, have you seen the way people vote in elections?

In other words, no one can account for personal taste.

The suggestions, or outright assertion, some fans that Arkansas’ players had quit on the season a few weeks ago was always wrong. A bunch of teenagers and 20-somethings who have dedicated their lives, most of them, to the sport they play at the university weren’t about to give up just because things weren’t going their way. What they needed was motivation, like a teacher who finally ‘got you’ when you were in high school.

That teacher turned out to be Kenny Guiton, the man promoted to offensive coordinator two weeks ago when Arkansas coach Sam Pittman fired then-OC Dan Enos. Guiton was the team’s wide receivers coach. Pittman said a big reason he promoted him was because of the rapport he had with the offensive players, not just receivers.

Arkansas responded with a season-high 481 yards in a 39-36 overtime win over Florida, the program’s first in Gainesville. Afterward, video surfaced of Guiton and quarterback KJ Jefferson – the only man dragged more than Pittman and Enos by the angries of the fan base during the Razorbacks losing streak – celebrating the win in the bowels of Ben Hill-Griffin Stadium.

Jefferson had looked out of sorts under Enos. He looked a little slower. He looked a bit more indecisive. He was taking a beating behind a porous offensive line.

Turns out, he isn’t slower. He isn’t indecisive. When upright, he’s still the same quarterback who earned preseason All-SEC second-team honors, the same quarterback whose darkhorse Heisman hopes before the season were legit (if definitely darkhorse). Jefferson’s 92 yards rushing were the fourth-most of his career and his 255 yards passing more in line were with his 2022 and 2021 results. Arkansas’ win more in line with the same.

Jefferson has been born again under Guiton. At least for a day. But like those born again, they know every day is a challenge. Every day is a job at which perseverance and piousness must lead the way.

If Guiton and Jefferson can keep the faith and walk the path, Arkansas can turn things all the way around and end things on a high note. And then, just maybe, the switch from Coke to Pepsi will make lasting change.

Photo gallery: Arkansas’ first-ever win in the Swamp

Check out the best images from Arkansas’ wild 39-36 overtime victory over Florida in Gainesville on Saturday.

Arkansas was 0-5 all-time in Gainesville before Saturday.

Make that 1-5.

The Razorbacks’ thrilling 39-36 come-from-behind victory in overtime over Florida broke a six-game losing streak and infused some life into the season.

Arkansas quickly took a 14-0 lead before many of the Gator fans had even taken their seats. AJ Green’s first touchdown since the BYU game capped a 80-yard drive, and then on Florida’s first play from scrimmage, their receiver was stripped and Jalen Braxton returned it all the way for a touchdown.

It was tied 17-17 at halftime, and Florida actually had a 44-yard field goal that would’ve won the game in regulation go wide right after a wild sequence where Florida got whistled for an illegal substitution penalty that made it a longer field goal try.

The Razorbacks will now head home for three straight games in Fayetteville to close out and try and get bowl eligible for the fourth consecutive season.

Here are the best photos.