Tag: Arkansas Kentucky

Kentucky overtakes Arkansas for first place in SEC standings

Arkansas Baseball: The Kentucky Wildcats are the new leader atop the SEC baseball standings.

There’s a new team atop the SEC standings.

Mason Molina struggled in three innings of work, and for the second straight day No. 2 Arkansas failed to capitalize with runners on base in a 7-4 loss to No. 8 Kentucky Sunday at Kentucky Pride Park.

The Wildcats (35-10 overall, 18-6 conference) won the rubber match of the series to overtake the Razorbacks (40-9, 17-7) for first place in the SEC with two weekend series’ remaining.

Just two batters into Molina’s outing, Émilien Pitre homered off the wall in right on an 0-2 fastball up in the zone to give Kentucky a 1-0 lead. Molina (3-2) was forced to throw 26 pitches in the first inning.

After tossing a scoreless second inning, Molina ran into trouble again in the third when he allowed a one-out walk to Devin Burkes. Nick Lopez then reached down in the zone to pull a two-run homer down the left-field line for a 3-0 Wildcats lead.

Kentucky chased Molina after just three innings of work, then upped the lead to 6-0 with a three-run fourth inning off reliever Will McEntire that included an RBI double from Pitre.

Arkansas broke through in the fifth when Wehiwa Aloy scored Hudson White with an RBI single for the Razorbacks’ first run. Jared Sprague-Lott added a sacrifice fly to cut the lead to 6-2 before Kendall Diggs singled in the seventh to make it 6-3.

But Kentucky tacked on another run for insurance on a Ryan Nicholson single in the bottom of the seventh, and the Razorbacks stranded two more runners in the ninth off Wildcats closer Johnny Hummel after a leadoff home run from Peyton Stovall. Hummel earned his sixth save of the season by retiring Diggs and Peyton Holt for the final two outs.

Mason Moore (8-1) earned the win for Kentucky despite allowing three hits and walking four in five innings of work. Moore struck out six batters in a 93-pitch effort.

Pitre, Lopez and Nolan McCarthy all had two hits for Kentucky. Pitre drove in six runs over the final two games of the series.

Arkansas finished with seven hits, including a three-hit performance atop the lineup from Stovall (3-for-5). White (2-3) added two hits. The Razorbacks stranded 11 on base in Sunday’s game after leaving nine on base Saturday.

The Diamond Hogs return home to face No. 21 Mississippi State in a three-game series beginning Friday at Baum-Walker Stadium. The Bulldogs took two of three from No. 17 Alabama over the weekend. First pitch Friday is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. CDT.

Kentucky strikes back to even series with Arkansas

Arkansas Baseball: No. 2 Arkansas was no match for No. 8 Kentucky Saturday.

Arkansas pitching didn’t have an answer for Kentucky’s bats Saturday. Three big innings at the plate — against three different pitchers — were enough to lead the eighth-ranked Wildcats past the second-ranked Razorbacks, 11-3, at Kentucky Pride Park.

Kentucky (34-10 overall, 17-6 conference) evened the three-game at a game apiece series and moved back into a first-place tie with Arkansas (40-8, 17-6 conference) atop the SEC standings.

Hudson White put Arkansas on the board in the second inning with a no-doubt two-run homer to deep left off Kentucky starter Dominic Niman. It was White’s first home run since the Razorbacks’ season-opener against James Madison.

Ross Lovich followed with a sharp single to right center, then advanced from first to third on two wild pitches. That got Kentucky’s bullpen up and going early, and it looked as if the Diamond Hogs’ bats were picking up right where they’d left off following Friday’s series-opening 10-3 victory.

Things didn’t work out that way.

Lovich was left stranded at third, and Arkansas starter Brady Tygart struggled on the bump right from the start. Tygart allowed five baserunners his first time through the order, and when Émilien Pitre batted for the second time, he lifted a deep fly to the warning track in left that Lovich appeared to misplay. The ball dropped for a two-run double to tie the game.

Devin Burkes followed with a go-ahead double down the left field line to give the Wildcats a 3-2 lead as seven of the first 12 Kentucky batters reached base.

Kentucky never trailed afterwards, adding four runs in the fourth inning off Tygart and reliever Gage Wood. Pitre had another two-run double, this time to right field off Wood, and Burkes grounded out to plate another run for a 6-2 lead. Nick Lopez followed with a run-scoring single to end the inning with Kentucky up 7-2.

The Wildcats struck for four more in the eighth inning off Koty Frank thanks to a three-run bases-clearing double from Lopez and an RBI single from Mitchell Daly to cap their scoring.

Arkansas got a run in the ninth inning on an RBI groundout from Peyton Stovall against Ryan Hagenow.

Kentucky out-hit Arkansas, 11-8. Niman (8-3) picked up his eighth win of the year with Tygart (4-2) suffering his second loss. Stovall (2-for-5) was the only player to pick up two hits for Arkansas, which left nine on base.

Pitre (2-for-3) had four RBIs, and Burkes (2-4), Lopez (2-5) and Daly (2-4) also had two hits apiece for Kentucky.

The rubber match of the series is scheduled for noon CDT Sunday. The game can be seen on SEC Network+.

Hagen Smith, Kendall Diggs power Arkansas in series-opening win at Kentucky

No. 2 Arkansas scored nine runs over the sixth and seventh innings to take down No. 8 Kentucky, 10-3, Friday in Lexington.

Hagen Smith turned in another gem pitching performance, Kendall Diggs drove in four runs, and No. 2 Arkansas defeated No. 8 Kentucky, 10-3, on Friday night at Kentucky Proud Park.

The win gave Arkansas (40-7 overall, 17-5 SEC) a one-game lead over Kentucky (33-10, 16-6) in conference standings.

Smith (9-0) struck out 14 batters in his 12th start and limited the Wildcats to one run on three hits over six innings. He threw 101 pitches, 70 for strikes.

After Ryan Waldschmidt’s RBI double in the third inning gave Kentucky a 1-0 lead, Smith settled in to allow only one hit the rest of the night. The final five outs recorded by the left-hander were all strikeouts.

Will McEntire and Dylan Carter pitched the final four innings in relief to close things out. Kentucky plated two ninth-inning runs against Carter after the game was already out of reach.

Arkansas built its lead by erupting for nine runs over the course of the sixth and seventh innings.

After Peyton Stovall tied the game with a ground-rule double in the fifth off Kentucky starter Trey Pooser, the Razorbacks took the lead for good with a three-run sixth inning.

Peyton Holt and Ryder Helfrick drew back-to-back walks before Kendall Diggs doubled both runners home for a 3-1 lead. One out later, Ross Lovich pinch hit for Ty Wilmsmeyer and scored Diggs with an RBI double that made it 4-1.

In the seventh, the Hogs put the game out of reach by tacking on six runs — all with two outs. Diggs started the scoring with a two-run bases-loaded single to center that gave him four RBIs for the night and pushed the lead to 6-1. Hudson White followed Diggs with an RBI single for another run.

Arkansas then drew three consecutive walks against Kentucky pitching, including two with the bases loaded for a 9-1 lead. Lovich scored on a wild pitch to plate the final Razorback run for a 10-1 lead. The Hogs batted 11 times in the seventh against Kentucky relievers Cooper Robinson and Jackson Nove, who allowed four runs.

Arkansas out-hit Kentucky, 11-5. Stovall (2-for-5), Diggs (2-4) and White (2-4) had two hits apiece for the Razorbacks.

Pooser (3-1) suffered his first loss in seven starts, finishing the night with three runs allowed on four hits in 5 1/3 innings.

The series resumes Saturday with first pitch scheduled for 1 p.m. CDT. The game can be seen on SEC Network+.

Twitter/X reacts to Arkansas’ loss to Kentucky

Twitter is never a place for sane people and definitely for Arkansas fans on Saturday.

Arkansas played its best basketball game of the season against Kentucky.

Arkansas lost.

Arkansas could have been playing like that all season long.

Arkansas is cooked.

All four statements are true. The Razorbacks, after Saturday’s 111-102 loss at 15th-ranked Kentucky are now below .500 and in danger of finishing with a losing record for the first time since John Pelphrey’s 2009-10 team.

This year’s version of the Hogs isn’t nearly as bad as that one, which is what makes the season so frustrating for Arkansas fans. Coach Eric Musselman is with them in that emotion, though his cries aren’t made on Twitter. He’s a bit more stable than that.

Some Arkansas fans are convinced this is his last year with the Hogs. For whatever reason. Some are convinced Devo Davis is gone, too. And Khalif Battle. And Tramon Mark.

In other words, Twitter/X, that basion of sanity on the internet, continued to have wild takes even after the Hogs’ best game of the year. These are but a sampling.

Everything Eric Musselman said after Arkansas lost to Kentucky

Eric Musselman wishes he would have received that kind of Saturday all season long.

Arkansas basketball coach Eric Musselman has been frustrated all year long. Saturday’s game against Kentucky was a perfect example.

The Razorbacks, who started the year ranked inside the Top 25, are in danger of their first losing season in more than a decade. But against the 15th-ranked Wildcats, Arkansas looked like the team many thought the Hogs would have at the beginning of the year.

That’s just the way things have gone.

Arkansas was excellent offensively, but Kentucky could be barely be stopped in the Wildcats’ 111-102 win. The Wildcats had seven players score in double figures as Arkansas countered by going 27 of 28 at the free-throw line and with 34 points from Khalif Battle.

Musselman stressed the pride he had in his team in fighting against a potential national-championship-winning team in the Wildcats. But his voice also held the frustration of a coach who believes his team should be – and should have been – playing that kind of basketball all year.

Here’s what Musselman had to say after the game.

Arkansas falls to Kentucky in offensive explosion from both

That was an absolute dogfight between the Hogs and Cats.

Kentucky went on a 7-0 run in the final five minutes to overcome a late deficit and beat Arkansas in Lexington, 111-102.

The Razorbacks had taken an edge of control midway through the secnod half via an 18-3 run. But the Wildcats countered late by keeping Arkansas without a field goal from the 8:42 mark to 1:38.

Khalif Battle kept the Hogs in the game as best he could. He scored 34 points on 8 of 16 shooting from the floor and 17 of 18 from the free-throw line. He was joined in double figures by Tramon Mark (23), Jeremiah Davenport (14) and Makhi Mitchell (13).

But Kentucky was too much on its offensive end. The Wildcats made their last six field goals to put things away. They shot 57% as a team and seven different Wildcats players had double-digit point totals, led by Antonio Reeves’ 22 points.

Ten of Arkansas’ points in those final nearly nine minutes came at the line. The Razorbacks shot 27 of 28 at the stripe overall to make a game of it.

Kentucky, ultimately, won its third straight in the series after Arkansas had won the previous three in a row.

Arkansas is back at Bud Walton Arena on Wednesday for its final home game of the season against LSU.

With just three games remaining, Hogs fans ready for season to end

Arkansas enters Saturday’s showdown at Kentucky as a 13.5-point underdogs.

The Arkansas basketball team has just three regular-season games remaining, including today’s trip to Kentucky’s Rupp Arena for a showdown with the No. 15 Wildcats.

For most Razorback fans, the end can’t get here soon enough. Although there is still a good chance that the Razorbacks qualify for at least one game in the upcoming SEC Tournament, the true interest level is waning.

After Arkansas had won it’s two prior games, before Tuesday night’s disappointing defeat at home to Vanderbilt, there was a last-sap effort to bring hope to the season. The Commodores made sure to crush those hopes.

Most of the chatter on X and social media has focused on baseball and softball, of late – two programs that have a chance to pull Hog fans out of the doldrums.

There is the somewhat positive fact that Arkansas has defeated Kentucky the last two games they have played in Lexington. But being 13.5-point underdogs when they tip off today at 12:30 on CBS, that fact seems meaningless.

Here is some of what was posted on X:

Hogs tangle with No. 15 Kentucky; Battle on verge of scoring history

Arkansas has a two-game win streak at Rupp Arena, but the Razorbacks enter Saturday’s game as a 13.5-point underdog.

Just when it looked like it may finally be turning the corner this season, the disappointing Arkansas basketball team squashed any momentum with an 85-82 loss to Vanderbilt in Bud Walton Arena on Tuesday night.

Now, the ravaged Razorbacks (14-14, 5-10 SEC), a 13.5-point underdog,  must now try to get back in the win column playing inside one of college basketball’s toughest environments, Kentucky’s legendary Rupp Arena. The Hogs and No. 15 Wildcats will tip off at 12:30 p.m. on CBS.

Arkansas had won its previous two games, prior to Tuesday, taking out Texas A&M on the road and Missouri at home – completing the season-sweep against both teams. But Vandy (8-20, 3-12) hobbled into Fayetteville and defeated the Razorbacks for the third straight time.

This will be the second meeting of the season for the Cats and Hogs, after Kentucky (20-8, 10-5 SEC) won 63-57 in Fayetteville on Jan. 27. Arkansas led at halftime of that game, and even held the advantage with 13 minutes left in the game, but then allowed the Wildcats to score eight unanswered points down the stretch to seal their fate.

Arkansas and Kentucky have a celebrated history against each other, although the Wildcats do hold a 35-14 lead in the all-time series. This will be the 50th meeting between the two schools on the hardwood. Although Kentucky does hold a 15-5 edge in Rupp, the Razorbacks have won the past two meetings in that arena.

Senior Khalif Battle has been on fire the past two games for Arkansas, putting up a career-high 42 points in the win over Missouri, then 36 against Vanderbilt. The 78 points in back-to-back games rank second in program history, only behind Martin Terry’s 82 in back-to-back games in 1973. Terry scored 35 at TCU, then 47 at home against SMU.

If Battle can score 30 points on Saturday, he would join Mason Jones as the only Razorbacks to score 30-plus in three straight contests. In 2020, Jones put up 34 against South Carolina, then 30 at Alabama, followed by 40 at home against Auburn. He was named AP SEC Player of the Year following that season.

After Kentucky, the Hogs have two regular-season games remaining Those include its final home game against LSU on Mar. 6, then the finale at Alabama on Mar. 9.

What are the odds Arkansas beats Kentucky? Seven percent, per ESPN

Arkansas hasn’t been this big an underdog against Kentucky in at least a decade.

The Arkansas basketball team would not have been favored or predicted to beat Kentucky on Saturday regardless of how the team’s last several games worth of outcomes.

But when the Razorbacks lost to lowly Vanderbilt on Tuesday at home, Kentucky’s chances of beating Arkansas grew even larger. Now, according to ESPN’s Basketball Power Index, the Wildcats have a 93% chance of winning Saturday’s matinee.

Arkansas had been playing good basketball until the Commodores arrived in Fayetteville. Vanderbilt left Bud Walton Arena with its first road win in almost a whole calendar year and left Arkansas in danger of its worst season in more than a decade.

Kentucky meanwhile is climbing. The Wildcats are projected as a No. 4-seed in the NCAA Tournament in Joe Lunardi’s most recent Bracketology for ESPN. They own wins over Auburn, Alabama and Mississippi State over the last two weeks – all teams also projected to make the Dance.

Arkansas hasn’t beaten a team that is currently “in” Lunardi’s projections in since November when the Razorbacks beat Duke.

Beyond the box: Arkansas proves it can go toe-to-toe with the best still

Tramon Mark’s consistency is all Arkansas has on the offensive end. Can Khalif Battle or El Ellis step up to be his lieutenant?

The phrase goes “close only counts in horseshoes and hand grenades.” But if you don’t think the Arkansas basketball team took a step in the right direction on Saturday against Kentucky, think again.

No, the Razorbacks aren’t a very good basketball team currently. The key is the adverb. Currently, the Razorbacks aren’t very good. That doesn’t mean they will be next time out or by the end of the season, even.

What it does mean that when Arkansas plays up to its capabilities, the Hogs are still the team that was preseason Top 25 and beat Duke in November, plus knocked off Purdue in exhibition.

The numbers against Kentucky are evidence the Hogs aren’t dead. They have serious offensive problems and a lack of consistency has plagued the program more than a year.

Let’s take a look at some of the numbers beyond the box score and examine what’s holding Arkansas back and, really, just how close the Razorbacks could be to turning the corner.