Tag: Razorbacks

Arkansas baseball vs UCA: How to watch, stream, listen

Arkansas looks to avoid a weekend sweep hangover with the UCA Bears in town for a lone midweek battle.

Fresh off their huge series sweep of the Tennessee Volunteers over the weekend, the No. 5 [autotag]Diamond Hogs[/autotag] are back in Baum-Walker Stadium to face the UCA Bears (16-19, 7-8).

The [autotag]Razorbacks[/autotag] will be playing the Bears for the third consecutive season after having previously not met since 1948. The Diamond Hogs lead the overall series 6-4-2, but is 3-0 since the resumption of the series in 2021.

Arkansas won both meetings a year ago. First, a dominant 21-9 victory in Fayetteville. Then, in the rematch the Bears took the Diamond Hogs to extra innings before ultimately coming up short 2-1, in front of a packed Dickey-Stephens Park crowd in North Little Rock.

The Hogs have had great success against in-state schools in recent seasons. However, a potential hangover from a big weekend sweep might be the perfect storm for “little brother” to pull an upset.

Top 100 college football games of 2022: Arkansas in seven

Arkansas football has another loaded schedule in 2022. Seven of the team’s 12 games are in the Top 100.

September cannot come soon enough in the Natural State.

Arkansas is coming off its best season in a decade, complete with an Outback Bowl win over Penn State to cap a 9-4 season. The Razorbacks are likely to be ranked inside the Top 25, or at least receiving votes, when the preseason poll is announced.

In the meantime, we can all look ahead. Brandon Marcello at 247Sports ranked the Top 100 FBS games of the season last week and it is, unsurprisingly, replete with SEC matchups. Arkansas found seven of its games listed, including two nonconference matchups.

Take a look at those seven and whether or not you agree with their particular order below.

Arkansas media legends Bob Holt and Mike Irwin elected to Hall of Fame

Bob Holt, Mike Irwin, Mike Nail and Chris Mortensen were elected to the Arkansas Hall of Fame on Wednesday.

If you’ve listened to an Arkansas press conference at any point over the last 40ish years, you’ve heard Bob Holt.

If you’ve watched local sports TV at any point over last 45ish years, you’ve seen Mike Irwin.

Holt, a Razorbacks reporter for the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, and Irwin, an analyst for Pig Trail Nation, were among four elected to the Arkansas Sportswriters and Sportscasters Hall of Fame on Wednesday. They were joined by former Arkansas play-by-play man Mike Nail and Chris Mortensen, the long-time ESPN football reporter who is based in Northwest Arkansas.

Holt has spent his entire career covering the state of Arkansas. He began his sports career in 1981 and is known for his affable demeanor and interaction with players and coaches in post-game press conferences. He’s a godfather of sorts during SEC Media Week, when coaches from across the conference will interact with the long-time reporter.

Irwin’s career covering Arkansas began 46 years ago. He worked at KFSM until 2012 when he retired but then quickly re-joined the TV side to work at KNWA.

Nail was the play-by-play voice for Arkansas basketball during the Eddie Sutton and Nolan Richardson years. He spent 29 seasons calling the Hogs and, well, calling the Hogs.

Mortensen moved to Northwest Arkansas in the mid-2000s when his son, Alex, joined the Razorbacks football team. He has since made the area his home.

The group was enshrined during a Hawgs Illustrated luncheon at Mermaid’s restaurant in Fayetteville.

“Without you guys – the readers, the viewers – none of us could do what we do,” Holt said.

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Arkansas receives boost in national polls following sweep of LSU

Arkansas Baseball’s sweep over LSU was deemed impressive by the national polls

Arkansas Baseball is trending upward following a successful week that saw the Razorbacks finish with a 5-0 record.

Arkansas (28-7, 11-4 SEC) bounced back last week after suffering their first SEC weekend series loss since 2019 at Florida April 7-9 in Gainesville by taking two games from in-state foe Arkansas-Pine Bluff on Tuesday, and by sweeping rival LSU, all in front of the home fans at Baum-Walker Stadium.

Because of that, the national polls are on the side of the Razorbacks. Arkansas has now climbed back into the top-5 in all major polls, ranking as high as No. 2 according to one publication.

Arkansas’ placing in the top-5 is very telling, as the Southeastern Conference only has two teams remaining in the top-10 across the board, Arkansas and Tennessee.

Here’s a look at how Arkansas has fared this week in the latest polls:

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

Arkansas has another big opportunity awaiting them this weekend, when they take on No. 12 Kentucky at Bogle Park

Last week, No. 6 Arkansas had an opportunity to prove just how talented and worthy they were of a higher ranking by hosting the No. 17 Auburn Tigers. Arkansas took the chance that they were given, and ran with it.

The Razorbacks (30-7, 9-3 SEC) swept the Tigers, outscoring Auburn, 28-11, which included a 17-4 drubbing in run-rule fashion on Sunday.

This weekend, Arkansas has the opportunity to build on its impressive resume by hosting No. 12 Kentucky (28-9, 8-4 SEC) in a three-game series beginning Friday at Bogle Park.

The Wildcats started off the SEC schedule on the wrong foot, by losing two-of-three games to Alabama, but have since bounced back to win three straight series over Auburn, Ole Miss, and a three-game sweep of LSU in Baton Rouge.

Razorbacks shut out LSU to take series

The Razorbacks clinched the series over LSU by relying on the long ball and solid pitching.

In game one of the much-anticipated series between rivals No. 6 Arkansas and No. 12 LSU, the Razorbacks relied on solid pitching from Connor Noland, who carried a no-hitter into the 6th inning, and again on Brady Tygart late in the game to secure the win.

Friday’s game was much of the same, as freshman [autotag]Hagen Smith[/autotag] was dominant from the very beginning in Arkansas’ 4-0 win over LSU at Baum-Walker Stadium.

Arkansas (27-7, 10-4 SEC) got a solid outing from Smith on Friday, as he pitched arguably his best game against an SEC opponent in his young career. In the win over LSU (23-11, 7-7 SEC), Smith matched his season-high in strikeouts against SEC foes with seven and allowed a season-low two hits and zero earned runs in SEC play in seven innings of work.

[autotag]Zebulon Vermillion[/autotag] and [autotag]Evan Taylor[/autotag] finished the game and combined to allow one hit in the final three frames.

While Smith did his job on the mound, the Arkansas defense backed him up as well. The Razorbacks played errorless ball, and made elite plays such as this one from short stop [autotag]Jalen Battles[/autotag]:

All four of Arkansas’ runs came via the long ball, with two coming in the 3rd inning.

[autotag]Zack Gregory[/autotag] put the Razorbacks on the board with a solo home run to lead off the inning. He smashed the second pitch of the at-bat to left field to give Arkansas the 1-0 lead. [autotag]Brady Slavens[/autotag] walked later in the inning, setting up [autotag]Michael Turner[/autotag] to extend the lead by nailing his 4th home run to lift Arkansas to a 3-0 lead.

To add insurance, [autotag]Chris Lanzilli[/autotag] joined the home run party by hitting a lazer to left field, pushing the Arkansas lead to 4-0. Lanzilli’s 47th career home run traveled 361 feet, and left his bat at a screaming 100 miles per hour according to Arkansas Baseball Player Development.

Arkansas will go for the sweep over LSU on Saturday. First pitch for the final game of the series is set for 2 p.m. CT.

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Delce named SEC Pitcher of the Week

Delce wins player of the week following the sweep of Auburn, where she posted a 0.00 ERA in all three games.

Since transferring from Tulsa, [autotag]Chenise Delce[/autotag] has become an anchor for the Arkansas pitching staff.

After a near-perfect performance in the weekend sweep of No.17 Auburn, Delce was named SEC Pitcher of the Week, the league office announced Tuesday.

Arkansas’ Chenise Delce, a junior right-hander from Oklahoma City, Okla., earned two wins and compiled a 0.00 ERA in the series sweep over No. 17 Auburn. Delce tallied 15 strikeouts in 7.2 innings and held her opponents to a .080 batting average. She gave up just two hits, with one extra base hit, over the three games and struck out all four batters she faced in relief in the series finale on Sunday.

Delce joins a long list of Razorbacks who have won weekly honors from the Southeastern Conference this season. [autotag]Hannah Gammill[/autotag] and [autotag]Mary Haff[/autotag] won Player of the Week and Pitcher of the week respectively on March 15 following a 3-0 weekend at Liberty and James Madison. [autotag]Danielle Gibson[/autotag] won Player of the Week one week later after hitting three home runs in the series at Tennessee. Finally, [autotag]Kacie Hoffman[/autotag] won Freshman of the Week after grabbing five hits in the series with LSU.

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Arkansas runs winning streak to 8 games with sweep of SEMO

The red-hot Razorbacks continue to get the job done

It was business as usual for the No. 6 Arkansas Razorbacks (30-7, 9-3 SEC), as they swept Southeast Missouri State in a doubleheader on Tuesday, 9-1 and 14-0 respectively. By grabbing two wins on the day, the winning streak for Arkansas has now improved to eight games.

The red-hot Razorbacks would produce 11 hits in game one’s win off the bat of eight different batters. [autotag]KB Sides[/autotag], [autotag]Danielle Gibson[/autotag], and [autotag]Hannah Gammill[/autotag] would pace the offense with two hits each; Sides and Gammill would also record three RBI apiece.

Arkansas would also add three home runs to their season total as well. Sides and Gammill would score multiple home runs on their solo shots, while [autotag]Linnie Malkin[/autotag] would hit her 10th home run of the year.

[autotag]Chenise Delce[/autotag] would win her 8th game of the season by striking out eight batters while allowing five hits and an earned run in 5.0 innings of work.

Arkansas added 13 more hits and did their damage in two innings against SEMO in game two’s 14-0 win. Malkin would go deep two more times, scoring five runs. [autotag]Audrie LaValle[/autotag]y and [autotag]Taylor Ellsworth[/autotag] would also homer in the game. Danielle Gibson went 3-for-3 with 2 RBI. She collected both RBI on a single in the 1st inning, contributing to the six-run inning.

[autotag]Callie Turner[/autotag] grabbed her 2nd win of the year, allowing just three hits in 3.0 IP. [autotag]Lauren Howell[/autotag] struck out two batters in 2.0 innings of relief.

Arkansas will now look ahead to their meeting with No. 12 Kentucky. The three-game set will begin Friday evening at Bogle Park.

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How the sweep of Auburn affects Arkansas in the latest polls

By sweeping the then-No. 17 team in the nation over the weekend, the Razorbacks are beginning to climb in the national polls

Following an impressive showing last weekend against the then-No. 17 Auburn Tigers at Bogle Park, the Arkansas Razorbacks are beginning to gain ground in the latest national polls.

With the series win, Arkansas is now the only team in the SEC to win every series played thus far. However, with the top teams also finding ways to win, it has been difficult for the Razorbacks to climb in the polls. A weekend series sweep helped their case, as they have seen their biggest jump of the season, moving as high as four spots in some polls.

Arkansas will have another opportunity to make a statement this weekend, as they host the Kentucky Wildcats beginning Friday night. The Wildcats are a top-15 team across the board, ranking as high as No. 8.

Here’s how last weekend’s sweep of Auburn affected Arkansas in the latest polls:

Where does Arkansas rank among Jay Bilas’ way-to-early Top-10?

Oh, so NOW Jay Bilas puts respect on the Razorbacks name?

ESPN College Basketball Analyst Jay Bilas caught heat from Arkansas fans prior to their Round of 64 matchup with Vermont on March 17, calling for the No. 13 seed Catamounts to upset the No. 4 seed Razorbacks in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament.

“One of the matchups I think is going to be really interesting is Vermont vs. Arkansas,” Bilas said following Selection Sunday. “Arkansas doesn’t shoot the ball great, although they are very athletic, but they don’t shoot it great — and Vermont does. Vermont runs a five-out offense; they take care of the ball; they’re very smart and they’re all seniors. Vermont dominated the America East, and I think they’ve got with Ryan Davis and Ben Shungu a great opportunity to win that game.”

Arkansas would go on to defeat Vermont, and win their next two games in the NCAA Tournament, including an upset of No. 1 overall seed Gonzaga, to advance to their second-straight Elite 8 appearance.

Arkansas’ finish, plus the plethora of talent that head coach [autotag]Eric Musselman[/autotag] has coming in from high school as well as the Transfer Portal, has made a believer out of Bilas, as he has ranked Arkansas No. 1 in his way-to-early top-10 released on Monday.

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Griffin McVeigh of On3 added his thoughts on Arkansas in response to Bilas’ selection of the Razorbacks for the No. 1 spot:

Eric Musselman has been relentless on the recruiting trail, bringing in the No. 3 class in the 2022 cycle. Three different On3 Consensus five-star prospects will be in Fayetville next season, with in-state shooting guard [autotag]Nick Smith[/autotag] highlighting the group. Small forward [autotag]Jordan Walsh[/autotag] has signed his national letter of intent, while [autotag]Anthony Black[/autotag] recently made his commitment. The transfer portal is also a place Musselman has excelled in before and won’t be afraid this go around either. It’s been two straight Elite Eight for Arkansas. They will be wanting to get over that hump and make their way down to Houston for the Final Four in 2023.

Jay Bilas is not the only one to have Arkansas as the top-team in the nation heading into the 2022-23 season. ESPN’s Jeff Borcello recently named Arkansas as his No. 1 team heading into next season.

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