Chad Crunk, Athletic Media Relations

FAYETTEVILLE – Matt Reynolds had three hits with two RBI, while Jacob Morris had two hits and two RBI to lead No. 18 Arkansas to a 7-6 series-evening win on Saturday afternoon at Baum Stadium.

The Razorbacks improve to 34-14 overall and 12-11 in Southeastern Conference play, while the Gamecocks fall to 35-12 and 15-8 in league play. The loss by South Carolina snapped a 12-game winning streak in conference play.

The Razorback offense generated 17 hits in the victory, with six starters recording two or more hits. Reynolds tied for the team lead with three hits and two RBI, including a clutch single in the bottom of the eighth inning to drive in an insurance run. With his three hits in the game, Reynolds extended his streak of reaching base to 31 straight games. Tim Carver also added three hits with a RBI and a run scored, while Derrick Bleeker had three hits and a run scored. Morris had a pair of RBI with two runs scored, while Bo Bigham and Matt Vinson also had two hits each.

Christian Walker had three hits for the Gamecocks, including hitting his ninth homer of the season. Walker finished the game with two RBI and a run scored. Chase Vergason also homered, his first of the season, while Kyle Martin and Evan Marzilli each had a RBI.

Arkansas reliever Tyler Wright (1-0) earned his first win of the season. Wright threw 1.2 hitless innings, striking out a pair. Barrett Astin earned his ninth save of the season after giving up a run on two hits and striking out one in the ninth inning.

Colby Suggs was effective out of the Arkansas bullpen, throwing a scoreless inning and allowing one hit with a strikeout.

South Carolina starter Jordan Montgomery (4-1) took the loss. Montgomery surrendered five runs on nine hits and struck out two in 5.1 innings.

Arkansas starter Randall Fant received a no decision. Fant pitched 2.1 innings and allowed a run on no hits and struck out two.

After a quiet first two innings, South Carolina scratched across the game’s first run in the top of the third. Tanner English walked and then moved to second on a sacrifice bunt by Adam Matthews. A walk to Vergason and a hit by pitch to Joey Pankake loaded the bases. Marzilli then drew a walk to bring home a run and put the Gamecocks in front.

The Razorbacks quickly answered with two runs in the home half of the third. Vinson doubled down the left field line to begin the inning. John Clay Reeves then hit a grounder to the shortstop, who attempted to throw Vinson out at third, but his thrown was late, putting runners at the corners. Morris then laid down a bunt single to score Vinson and tie the game. A sacrifice bunt by Carver put runners at second and third with one out. Brian Anderson then hit a grounder to short. The shortstop’s throw to first was dropped by Walker at first with Reeves scoring on the play.

South Carolina tied the game at two in the top of the fourth on a leadoff homer into the left field bullpen by Walker.

Arkansas again regained the lead with a run of its own in the bottom of the fourth. With one out and Bigham at first base, Bleeker lined a single to center field to put runners at first and second. Vinson’s second double of the day, this one to the right-center field gap, scored Bigham to make the score 3-2.

The Gamecocks put together a two-run rally in the top of the fifth to take a 4-3 lead. Vergason began the inning with a homer just over the right field wall to tie the game. Pankake then singled to center and advanced to second on a ground out to first by Marzilli. After a strikeout of Grayson Greiner for the second out, Walker bounced a single to center, scoring Pankake with the go-ahead run.

The Razorbacks tied the game at four with a run in the bottom of the fifth. Carver led off the inning with a single to left and advanced to second on a sacrifice bunt by Anderson. Ficociello grounded out to short to move Carver to third. Reynolds reached on an infield single to third, scoring Carver with the tying run.

Arkansas grabbed a 6-4 lead with two runs in the bottom of the sixth. Bleeker singled to begin the inning and moved to second on a sacrifice bunt by Vinson. A hit to right-center field by Jake Wise put runners at the corners. Morris then lined a single to left, scoring Bleeker and advancing Wise to second. Carver followed with a single of his own to left field, scoring Wise.

South Carolina cut the lead back to one in the top of the eighth. TJ Costen started the inning with a walk. After a strikeout of Tanner English, Michael Roth hit a pinch hit single to center to put runners at first and second. A wild pitch put runners at second and third with one out. Pinch hitter Brison Celek brought home a run with a groundout to second.

The Razorbacks pushed across a big insurance run in the bottom half of the eighth. With one out, Carver singled into right, but was later thrown out trying to steal second. Anderson quickly reached base with a double inside the third base bag and down the left field line. A wild pitch advanced Anderson to third and Ficociello was hit by a pitch to put runners at the corners. Reynolds extended Arkansas’ lead to two with a single to center field to score Carver.

The insurance run turned out to be important as South Carolina scored once in the top of the ninth. With one out, Walker singled to left field. Pinch runner Joel Seddon advanced to second on a wild pitch with two outs and a base hit to right field by pinch hitter Kyle Martin brought home Seddon to cut the lead to one. Astin was able to finish off the save as he struck out English to end the game.

Arkansas and South Carolina play the rubber game of the weekend series on Sunday with first pitch set for 1:05 p.m. The Razorbacks will start junior right hander DJ Baxendale (6-2, 3.47), while the Gamecocks have not announced a starter for the series finale.

More information about this game and highlights on ArkansasRazorbacks.com.

The Arkansas roster is loaded with riches. It boasts not one, but potentially two Heisman Trophy candidates in quarterback Tyler Wilson and running back Knile Davis.

Anyone can see there exists the opportunity to do something really special. John L. Smith’s wife could see it clear as day.

“She said, ‘Here’s the deal. You’re going back to the people that love you, to a team that is a good football team, and you have a chance to fight for a national championship,” Smith recalled in Tuesday’s press conference. “She said, ‘You’ve done this your entire life, and this might be the only chance you have left.’ You’re going back.”

Truth is, this is designed as a temporary setup. Smith’s main job is to make sure things don’t fall apart in the wake of the scandal that led to Bobby Petrino’s dismissal. Smith has a 10-month deal worth $875,000.

But, with one of the most talented teams in the SEC West, he’s thinking bigger than that. Much bigger. Smith was an assistant at Arkansas under Petrino for three years before leaving in December for his alma mater, Weber State.

He spun on his heels and walked away after just four months on the job. As heartless as it seems, it’s hard to resist what he turned to—a chance to win it all.

“Our expectations here are the same,” Smith said. “Nothing is going to slow down. In fact, we’re going to speed up. Our expectations are that we’re going to go ahead and we’re going to battle, and we’re going to fight for a national title.” READ MORE

Why The Red Team Won
Did you glance at the rosters before kickoff? Arkansas coaches loaded the Red team with starters from the offense and defense, effectively ending the game before it began. Quarterback Tyler Wilson led the Red team to a 37-0 halftime lead in completing 75.6 percent of his passes. Red receiver Cobi Hamilton had 11 catches for 156 yards to lead all receivers and tight end Chris Gragg had 130 yards receiving and two touchdowns on nine catches. Red offensive possessions resulted in 698 yards of total offense. Arkansas’ first-team defense held the White squad scoreless and allowed only 126 yards of total offense.

Player Of The Game
No player had been more impressive throughout spring practice than Tyler Wilson. Nobody was more impressive in the spring game as Wilson completed 31 of 41 passes for 467 yards and two touchdowns. Red team drives led by Wilson resulted in touchdowns seven of nine times. Both touchdown passes went to tight end Chris Gragg, one going six yards and the other 60. It continued a masterful spring for Wilson, who totaled 101 of 1046 passing for 1,600 yards and 15 touchdowns with no interceptions in four scrimmages. READ MORE

Tyler Wilson completed 22 of 27 passes for 368 yards and 6 touchdowns during a scrimmage Friday afternoon at Donald W. Reynolds Razorback Stadium.

The redshirt senior quarterback worked solely with the first-team offense and had touchdown passes of 4 and 14 yards to Cobi Hamilton, 21 and 22 yards to Marquel Wade, 14 yards to Chris Gragg and 7 yards to Dennis Johnson.

Wilson, an all-SEC selection last season, has been especially sharp this spring working against the Razorbacks’ first-team defense. In two scrimmages, Wilson has completed 41 of 55 passes for 678 yards and 10 touchdowns.

In 19 possessions this spring, Arkansas’ first-team offense has scored 13 touchdowns. READ MORE

University of Arkansas student-athletes Ben Skidmore, Courtney O’Grady, Matt Walters and Kelli Stipanovich have been nominated for a pair of Southeastern Conference post-graduate scholarships. A male and female student-athlete from the SEC are awarded both scholarships annually.

For their accomplishments in the classroom, Skidmore and O’Grady have been nominated for the H. Boyd McWhorter Scholar-Athlete Post-Graduate Scholarship. The H. Boyd McWhorter Scholar-Athlete Post-Graduate Scholarship has been presented by the Southeastern Conference since 1986 to the league’s top male and female scholar-athletes. Skidmore and O’Grady compete on the men’s track and field and women’s swimming team, respectively.

In recognition of their commitment to service in Northwest Arkansas, Walters and Stipanovich have been nominated for the Brad Davis Community Service Post-Graduate Scholarship. The SEC Community Service Post-Graduate Scholarship was named for former Associate Commissioner Brad Davis. Davis succumbed to cancer on March 2, 2006. He had been a member of the SEC staff since 1988, first serving as an assistant commissioner until 1994 when he was promoted to associate commissioner. Walters is on the Razorback men’s tennis team while Stipanovich competes for the University of Arkansas in volleyball.

“Congratulations to our student-athletes for being selected as nominees for some of the Southeastern Conference’s most prestigious awards,” Vice Chancellor and Director of Athletics Jeff Long said. “We are proud of the work our student-athletes are doing in the classroom on the path to graduation. For Ben and Courtney to be selected from the more than 233 Razorback student-athletes who achieved a 3.0 GPA, last semester is truly a special accomplishment. Matt and Kelli have also established themselves as leaders on their respective teams and in the community. Thanks to their efforts and the voluntary efforts of their fellow Razorback student-athletes, approximately 100 organizations have benefitted from more than 3,500 hours of community service.” READ MORE

Joe Adams has added another award to his trophy case.

Adams, a consensus All-American punt return specialist, has been named the winner of the Johnny “The Jet” Rodgers National College Football Return Specialist Award. Adams led the NCAA with four punt return touchdowns and ranked second nationally with 16.8 yards per return.

“I’m honored to be the first recipient of the Johnny ‘The Jet’ Rodgers National College Football Return Specialist Award,” Adams said. “First of all, I want to thank my mom because she helped me get where I am today. Also, I’d like to thank Johnny for choosing me for this award and my coaches at Arkansas for putting me in a position to succeed. This award would not have been possible without the other guys on the punt return unit who made key blocks during my returns. I’m looking forward to going to Omaha to accept this award on behalf of our program.” READ MORE

Chad Crunk, Athletic Media Relations

STARKVILLE, Miss. – Arkansas scored five runs in the top of the 11th to break a 3-3 tie as the No. 3 Razorbacks defeated Mississippi State, 8-5, on Sunday afternoon at Dudy Noble Field.

The victory clinched the series for Arkansas, which improved to 22-3 on the season and 5-1 in league play. The road series win marked Arkansas’ first since May 20-22, 2010, when the Razorbacks took two of three games at Vanderbilt. Mississippi State dropped to 16-9 and 2-4 in league play with the loss.

With the scored tied at three in the top of the 11th, the Razorbacks regained the lead with five runs. Bo Bigham started the rally with a leadoff double to left field and Ficociello followed with a walk. A sacrifice bunt by Matt Reynolds moved runners to second and third with one out. Pinch hitter Joe Serrano then hit a grounder to third. The third baseman’s throw home was high, allowing Bigham to score the go-ahead run. A walk to Derrick Bleeker loaded the bases with one out. Jimmy Bosco then doubled to the gap in left-center field to score Serrano and Ficociello. A base hit to right by Jake Wise brought home two more runs. The second run scored after a fielding error by the Mississippi State right fielder.

Mississippi State made things interesting, scoring twice in the bottom of the 11th. Matthew Britton led off the inning with a single. With one out, Sam Frost singled to right field to put runners at first and second. A walk to Trey Porter loaded the bases with one out. Hunter Renfroe then walked to force in a run. Nick Ammirati brought in the second run of the inning with a base hit to left field. The Bulldogs could not get any closer as Cade Lynch got Wes Rea to pop out to short and Demarcus Henderson to fly out to center to end the ball game.

The Arkansas defense recorded just the third triple play in program history in the bottom of the fourth inning. The Bulldogs had runners at first and second with nobody out. On the 3-2 pitch, the runners were going. Adam Frazier hit a liner right at Ficociello, who caught the liner, stepped on first for the second out and then threw to Carver at short to complete the triple play. Before Sunday’s game, Arkansas’ last triple play was against Auburn in the 1998 SEC Tournament. Arkansas also turned a triple play in the 1983 Southwest Conference Tournament against Texas.

Read the rest of the article and check out the video on ArkansasRazorbacks.com.

Chad Crunk, Athletic Media Relations

STARKVILLE, Miss. – Ryne Stanek and Cade Lynch combined for a three-hit shutout as the third-ranked Arkansas baseball team blanked Mississippi State 8-0 on Saturday afternoon at Dudy Noble Field.

With the win, the Razorbacks improved to 21-3, 4-1 in the Southeastern Conference, while Mississippi State dropped to 16-8 and 2-3 in league play.

Stanek was masterful on the mound for the Razorbacks to improve to 6-0 on the season and run his winning streak to eight dating back to last season. The sophomore right hander tossed 6.1 scoreless innings, giving up just three hits and striking out six.

Lynch finished up the shutout by pitching 2.2 shutout innings. Lynch retired all eight batters he faced, striking out two. The shutout was the fifth of the season for the Razorback pitching staff.

Mississippi State starter Nick Routt took the loss to drop to 1-3 on the season. Routt allowed two runs on seven hits and struck out eight in 4.2 innings.

Five players in the Arkansas starting lineup had at least two hits in the win. Matt Reynolds drove in a game-high three runs and went 3-for-5 in the win. Tim Carver went 2-for-4 with two RBI. Dominic Ficociello and Jacob Mahan each drove in a run and added two hits, while Derrick Bleeker also added two hits.

Seven of Arkansas’ nine starters recorded at least one hit as the Razorback offense had 14 hits in the win. The top four batters in the Razorback lineup combined to 9-for-19 with seven RBI and four runs scored.

Sam Frost, Trey Porter and Hunter Renfroe each had one hit to account for the three Bulldog base hits in the game.

After a quiet first four innings, Arkansas struck first with two runs in the top of the fifth. Jacob Morris drew a leadoff walk and then moved to second after a successful sacrifice bunt by Carver. After a strike out of Mahan for the second out of the inning, Ficociello provided a two-out RBI single to center field to score Morris for the game’s first run. Reynolds followed that up with a clutch hit of his own, doubling into left field to bring home Ficociello and put Arkansas in front 2-0.

The Razorbacks broke the game open with six runs in the top of the sixth inning. A walk to Jake Wise, an infield single by Bleeker and a walk to Morris loaded the bases with nobody out. Carver then drove in a pair of runs with a single to center field. Morris and Carver then executed a double steal to move up to third and second. The catcher’s throw to third was high and went into left field, allowing Morris to score and moving Carver to third. Mahan brought home Carver with a single to right field to make the score 6-0. Ficociello then laid down a bunt single up the third base line and the third baseman’s throw to first was wild, allowing Mahan to advance to third on the error. Reynolds scored both Mahan and Ficociello with a double to the gap in right-center field to put the Razorbacks on top 8-0.

Stanek and Lynch took care of the rest for Arkansas, completing the shut out of Mississippi State over the final four innings to give the Razorbacks an 8-0 win.

The three-game weekend series wraps up on Sunday afternoon at 12 p.m. Arkansas will start junior left hander Randall Fant (1-1, 4.82), while Mississippi State will start junior righty Kendall Graveman (2-0, 2.30). The series finale will be televised by FSN and SportSouth.

BRADENTON, Fla. – The No. 8 University of Arkansas men’s golf team swept Chattanooga, 5-0, to earn a spot in the championship final of the Callaway Collegiate Match Play Championship on Monday.  The Razorbacks will play Duke in the final which is scheduled for Tuesday morning at Concession Golf Club in Bradenton, Fla.

The Razorbacks, who have improved in each round of the tournament and came in as the No. 1 seed in the 16-team field, knocked off the five seed Chattanooga, 5-0, with three matches going down to the final hole at all square before Arkansas players pulled out victories.  Duke, the No. 3 seed and ranked No. 18 nationally, edged California in a one-hole playoff to advance to the tournament championship.

“I’m looking forward to playing for the championship,” Arkansas Head Coach Brad McMakin said.  “We were fortunate to get the win because it was close the whole day.  We just made a couple putts down the stretch.  Our younger players have been really good this week and I think that our match with Duke will be very competitive.”

Sophomore Sebastian Cappelen, playing in the No. 1 spot for Arkansas, was the first Razorback to earn a point on Monday as he defeated Steven Fox, 4 & 3.  Dropping the first hole, Cappelen won the second to bring the match all square and took the lead on the fourth hole.  He would win three straight to go up three on the sixth and dropped just a single hole the rest of the way, concluding the match with matching pars on No. 15.  The win for Cappelen was his third in three matches at the event.

Junior Austin Cook won his first match of the tournament when he took down Benjamin Weilguni, 4 & 2.  The second Arkansas player to clinch victory on Monday, Cook fell behind on the third hole of the day, but returned the match to even on the fourth with a par.  He took the lead on the seventh hole, sixth of the day, and never looked back, opening up a five-hole lead at one point and wrapping things up with a par on 17. READ MORE

The Arkansas Razorbacks knew they could play better defense than they showed in the first half of their NCAA tournament opener against Dayton on Saturday.They made up for it at the end, holding the Flyers without a field goal for the last 12 minutes of a 72-55 victory.Quistelle Williams scored 15 points, Keira Peak and Lyndsay Harris added 14 apiece, and Arkansas rallied from an early double-digit deficit with a smothering defensive effort in the second half.C’eira Ricketts had 13 points and five assists for the sixth-seeded Razorbacks (24-8), who finished the game with a 20-2 run after trailing by as many as 14 in the first half.”First half, we knew our defense was kind of slow, and that’s not what we thrive on,” Ricketts said. “So we told each other that we’re going to come out (in the) second half and pressure them, and that’s what we did.”Andrea Hoover scored 16 and Justine Raterman added 14 for the No. 11-seeded Flyers (23-7), who withered under the Razorbacks’ full-court pressure and missed their final 15 shot attempts. READ MORE