Tag: Michael Turner

Michael Turner gives heartfelt goodbye to Hogs Nation

Michael Turner thanked Arkansas and its fans for “the most fun” he’s ever had.

Michael Turner’s Arkansas baseball career may have only lasted one season, but, my, what a season it was.

The man who transferred from Kent State for a final season in the sport may have been the most locally famous player on the team. He was a staple behind the plate and a late-season row between Turner and sports radio personality Derek Ruscin led to national recognition.

In the fall out (Ruscin’s fallout, as Turner didn’t have any, nor did he need any) of that event, Turner was on fire. He went 8 for 17 at the Stillwater Regional en route to being named MVP. The Razorbacks won the regional then went on to beat North Carolina in the Chapel Hill Super Regional.

Arkansas ultimately finished one game shy of playing for a national title, falling to eventual national champion Ole Miss in an elimination game.

Turner finished the season with a .323/.388/.502 split with nine home runs and 53 RBIs. He thanked Arkansas, across the board, on Wednesday, as his college career came to an end.

Three more Diamond Hogs to transfer portal, making seven off last year’s team

Arkansas will likely have to use the transfer portal to find a catcher as none remain on the roster.

Arkansas baseball currently has no catchers on its roster.

Starter Michael Turner has exhausted his eligibility. Top reserve Dylan Leach transferred to Missouri earlier in the week. And now, third-stringer Max Soliz is into the portal, as well.

Soliz’s entry is one of three transfer portal entries Arkansas has had this week. Pitchers Gabe Starks and Heston Tole also join him there. Tole announced on Tuesday he would transfer to Texas.

Starks’ and Soliz’s destinations are not yet known. All three players were part of Arkansas’ NCAA Tournament team and traveled to the College World Series, though only Starks played in the tournament.

Toles worked 14 1/3 innings with a 3.77 earned-run average and 20 strikeouts. Starks pitched 11 2/3 innings, striking out 18 with a 4.63.

Soliz played in five games with one start, at designated hitter. He had 10 plate appearances, going 2 for 9 with an RBI, two runs and a walk. His exit, combined with Leach’s and Turner’s likely means coach Dave Van Horn will examine the portal for catchers.

Arkansas’ 2022 recruiting class is ranked No. 5 in the nation by Perfect Game, but according to that site, none of the incoming players are catchers.

Arkansas loses catcher Dylan Leach to fellow SEC school

Dylan Leach spent the year as Arkansas’ No. 2 catcher to Michael Turner this past season.

Dylan Leach wasn’t in the transfer portal long.

The rising junior from Carthage, Texas, announced his entry into the portal over the weekend. On Monday, he announced his destination: Missouri.

“After talking with God and my family, I’d like to announce I will be continuing my baseball career at the University of Missouri,” Leach wrote on Twitter. “Thank you for everyone’s support through this process.”

Leach spent the season as the No. 2 catcher behind Michael Turner, who incidentally, came to Arkansas via the transfer portal from Kent State. Leach started 16 games and hit .224 with four home runs and 16 RBIs.

Leach’s biggest moment came against Central Arkansas on April 5 when he hit for the cycle, going 5 for 5 after entering the game just 1 for 22.

Arkansas will return only one catcher next season. Max Soliz Jr. was the No. 4 player in Alabama when he was in high school. Soliz played in five games this past season for the Razorbacks.

Stayin’ Alive: Arkansas forces winner-take-all game with Ole Miss after win Wednesday

Zack Morris’ brilliant ninth inning saves Arkansas, forces winner-take-all game against Ole Miss on Thursday.

With the bases loaded, nobody out in the ninth inning and Arkansas nursing a two-run lead, Zack Morris made his jog from the bullpen. Two nights before he recorded a grand total of one out in a start against Ole Miss.

On Wednesday, he recorded three. In that exact situation.

The junior gave up a run-scoring infield hit, but recorded a strikeout, induced a flyout and a lineout to lift Arkansas to a win, 3-2, over the Rebels.

The victory forced a winner-take-all game between the two teams on Thursday night. The winner of that will play in the national championship series against Oklahoma, which eliminated No. 5 Texas A&M earlier in the day.

Ole Miss loaded the bases with no one out in the ninth after Evan Taylor allowed a single on the first pitch and Brady Tygart hit back-to-back Rebels batters on consecutive pitches. Van Horn called for Morris.

Chris Lanzilli homered for Arkansas in the second but was immediately followed in the bottom of the inning by Kemp Alderman going solo. Hagen Smith came out recorded strikeouts on eight of the next nine outs he recorded.

Meanwhile, Brady Slavens went yard with another solo home run in the fifth and Michael Turner hit an RBI single in the eighth to provide a bit of insurance.

Taylor entered in the sixth and allowed just a single hit through his first three innings. Alderman took the first pitch of the ninth to right field, though, to bring the tying run to the plate and finish Taylor’s night for Brady Tygart, the man who served as Arkansas’ closer most of the year.

But it was Morris who closed it and kept the Diamond Hogs alive for another day.

Photo Gallery: Arkansas blasts, eliminates Auburn from College World Series

Will McEntire gave Arkansas a special performance as the Razorbacks eliminated Auburn from the College World Series.

Will McEntire gave Arkansas everything he could and everything the Razorbacks needed.

The sophomore from Bryant tossed seven innings, giving up just three hits and striking out nine in Arkansas’ 11-1 win over Auburn at the College World Series. The victory set up a rematch with Ole Miss on Wednesday. If the Rebels win, they’ll play for a national championship. If the Razorbacks win, the teams will meet again Thursday in a loser-goes-home game.

McEntire’s nine strikeouts were one shy of tying Arkansas’ school record at the College World Series. He carried a no-hitter to the fourth inning and shutout until the seventh. A solo home run was the only blemish on his night.

Meanwhile, his teammates racked up 16 hits, including a three-run third inning and a four-run fourth inning, to send Auburn packing.

Arkansas and Ole Miss will meet at 6 p.m. CT.

Monday’s Stillwater Regional final the third-most viewed game since 2006

College baseball fans were glued to their TV’s as they watched Arkansas Baseball defeat Oklahoma State to advance to the Super Regionals.

Arkansas’ regional-clinching victory over Oklahoma State on Monday night was a classic. The game was so exciting, that most college baseball fans could not keep their eyes away from their screens.

ESPN released the broadcast numbers from the game on Thursday and revealed that a total of 531,000 viewers watched Arkansas defeat Oklahoma State to advance to the Super Regionals for the fourth straight season. Dating back to 2006, it was the third most-viewed NCAA baseball regional game on the family of ESPN networks.

After splitting the first two games with Oklahoma State during the Stillwater Regional, the Razorbacks jumped out to a comfortable lead and fought off a late comeback attempt by the Cowboys to grab the 7-3 win.

Leading 5-3 in the 8th inning, freshman [autotag]Hagen Smith[/autotag] was given the task to hold Arkansas’ lead despite the fact that Oklahoma State loaded the bases. He got the job done by striking out the final two batters of the inning. To add insurance, [autotag]Michael Turner[/autotag] sent two runners across the plate in the 9th inning on a double to extend the Razorback lead to 7-3. Smith rode that momentum into the bottom half, where he sat down the Cowboys in order to seal the win.

Arkansas’ season continues in the Super Regionals beginning Saturday at North Carolina. Game one of the best-of-three series begins Saturday at 10 a.m. CDT, and can be seen on ESPN.

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Two Basketball signees sign early NIL deals

It did not take long at all for these athletes to land their first NIL deals.

It did not take long for these highly-touted freshmen to ink their first NIL deal.

[autotag]Nick Smith Jr[/autotag]. and [autotag]Jordan Walsh[/autotag], two headliners of the 2022 Arkansas Basketball recruiting class that ranks no. 2 in the nation, have announced their first NIL deals.

Smith has signed a deal with Topps, joining over 200 other student-athletes including Alabama’s Bryce Young and USC’s Caleb Williams who have signed agreements for their name and image to be featured on trading cards, in exchange for those athletes to earn profit.

According to On3’s Jeremy Crabtree, Fanatics said the agreements will include both exclusive and non-exclusive co-branded trading card products, incorporating official university trademarks and featuring current student-athletes and former athletes playing in the NFL, NBA, and MLB.

As for Walsh, he has agreed to partner with B-Unlimited, Inc. to release a line of apparel which features his name and image. The collection is supposed to be released later in the year.

B-Unlimited, based in Fayetteville, has partnered with several Razorback athletes including [autotag]Michael Turner[/autotag], [autotag]Brady Tygart[/autotag], [autotag]Connor Noland[/autotag], [autotag]Danielle Gibson[/autotag], and [autotag]KB Sides[/autotag], as well as other athletes from schools such as Ole Miss, Alabama, and Auburn.

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Rent-A-Catcher: Michael Turner signs NIL with Castle Rental and Pawn

Arkansas catcher signs NIL with Northwest Arkansas-based rental and pawn shop.

Arkansas catcher Michael Turner has had quite the last couple weeks.

The Kent State transfer was named Stillwater Regional MVP after an 8-for-18 weekend in which the Diamond Hogs upset host Oklahoma State to advance to the Chapel Hill Super Regional.

That performance came after a Northwest Arkansas sports-radio host took a swipe at Turner for being, in other words, not a true Razorback. Apparently, because Turner was in the midst of his first and only season in Fayetteville, he didn’t have a right to voice his concerns.

Three days after the Stillwater Regional and three days before Arkansas is back in action, Turner is the new owner of an NIL from Castle Rental and Pawn.

Turner has played in 57 games for Arkansas this season after transferring from the MAC school in Ohio. He’s slashed .310/.382/.504 for the Diamond Hogs, who are one of just five of the 16 teams remaining who beat the host school in the Regional round.

The Chapel Hill Supers begin Saturday at 10 a.m.

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Diamond Hogs land likely starter for outfield via transfer portal before season ends

Former Creighton outfielder Jared Wegner will play for the Diamond Hogs next year.

As Arkansas baseball prepares for the Super Regionals in North Carolina on the weekend, next year’s roster is rounding into a different shape.

Jared Wegner, who was an All-Big East pick with Creighton this season, committed to play for Arkansas next year from the transfer portal.

Wegner hit 11 home runs, knocked in 53 RBIs, stole 11 bags and hit .343 with the Bluejays. His OPS was 1.094, tops on the team.

The Nebraska native is likely to start in the outfield after doing so primarily in left for his career. Arkansas will lose starters Braydon Webb and Chris Lanzilli to exhausted eligibility after the season. Wegner will join Zack Gregory, Jace Bohrofen as the projected starters.

Wegner’s transfer announcement comes on the heels of an excellent season in which another transfer player, catcher Michael Turner (Kent State), won Stillwater Regional MVP after the Hogs dispatched the hosts, Oklahoma State.

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Hagen Smith becomes unlikely hero in Stillwater Regional final

Smith texted Head Coach Dave Van Horn “my arm feels awesome. I want the ball” on Sunday night. The rest, is history.

In what was an exciting, unrelenting grind of a Regional, the Arkansas Razorbacks stood tall and left Stillwater with the opportunity to continue their season in the Super Regional round.

When it came down to all-around effort, catcher [autotag]Michael Turner[/autotag] did it all for the Razorbacks. He was amazing in the field and was clutch at the plate, en route to winning the Stillwater Regional MVP.

But, in the regional-clinching game, an unlikely hero came at a time when his squad needed him to step up the most, and he delivered.

In the top of the 8th inning of Arkansas’ 7-3 win over Oklahoma State, freshman [autotag]Hagen Smith[/autotag] got the call to step on the rubber and hold the Razorbacks’ lead.

Smith, who was chased from his start after 1.1 innings in Saturday’s 20-12 win over the Cowboys, had not seen significant time on the mound since the  April 30 game against Ole Miss. Early on, he showed signs of distress as he allowed the first three batters that he faced to reach base. However, his first recorded out was a three-pitch strikeout to Chase Adkison, and that seemed to light the fire that Smith had been missing for a few weeks.

In the next at-bat, Smith went toe-to-toe with the Oklahoma State freshman who has played the role of villain in the regional, Roc Riggio. In an at-bat that lasted five pitches, Smith forced Riggio to swing and miss, ending the Cowboys’ bases-loaded threat.

Using the momentum built in the 8th inning, as well as a two-run double by Turner in the top of the 9th to provide more cushion, Smith was able to sit down the Cowboys in order to close the game, and to solidify the Razorbacks’ victory.

The confidence that Smith showed on the mound in Monday’s win stems from late Sunday night, following Arkansas’ 14-10 loss to Oklahoma State. Head Coach Dave Van Horn shared why he trusted Smith to get the job done in the 8th inning during his postgame press conference:

I asked the pitchers to text me last night. “If you got anything, tell me what you got. Hagen Smith was the first text on my phone. He said “my arm feels awesome. I want the ball in any situation.” That meant something to me. I felt like he really wanted the ball. He has all the ability in the world. He didn’t have a good outing the day before last. To get out those good hitters, we needed that kind of stuff on the mound. Once he got it together, and he struck out the nine-hole and the one-hole, our team was jacked.

Hagen Smith and Arkansas will now prepare to face North Carolina this weekend in the Chapel Hill Super Regional. The dates and times for this weekend will be released at a later time.

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