Razorback Roundup -- April 6

RAZORBACK ROUNDUPApril 6, 2009BASEBALL (22-6, 10-2): Arkansas was 3-1 last week with a mid-week victory at Missouri State, 2-0, and then took two of three at South Carolina, 6-4, 1-9, 7-4. The Razorbacks’ 10-2 start in SEC play is its best start ever. The Hogs have won four straight SEC series for the first time since 2006. Arkansas’ victory against the Gamecocks is their sixth straight series win against USC. In the polls last week, Arkansas was ranked between No. 4 (Collegiate Baseball) and No. 14, its highest rankings since 2006. At Missouri State, sophomore Brett Eibner started and pitched four no-hit innings and also hit two solo home runs. In the Missouri State shutout, six Arkansas pitchers combined to keep the Bears off the scoreboard and allowed just three hits. The Razorbacks won their seventh game of the season when Friday night starter Dallas Keuchel got the win at USC. He is now 5-0 overall and 4-0 in SEC play in his first four starts, and is the first Razorback to do so dating back to the 2002 season. The Razorbacks battled back from a 4-0 deficit on Sunday afternoon to win 6-4 and take the series from South Carolina. Junior Mike Bolsinger pitched six innings to earn the win, allowing one hit and one walk while striking out three and throwing just 61 pitches. Chase Leavitt batted .375 for the week with six hits, one run, two doubles and three RBI. Freshman Zack Cox belted two home runs against South Carolina and drove in seven. Cox also collected both game-winning hits in the South Carolina series. The Razorbacks prepare for a mid-week series against top 10 Arizona State at Baum Stadium Tuesday and Wednesday before welcoming the Vanderbilt Commodores to Fayetteville for the weekend.FOOTBALL: The football team completed its second week of spring practice this past Saturday and is halfway through spring drills. The Razorbacks continue practice this week with workouts scheduled for Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday. The Red-White Spring Game is April 18 at 6 p.m. MEN’S GOLF: Arkansas finished second to No. 2 Oklahoma State in last week’s Morris Williams Intercollegiate in Austin, Texas. OSU won with an 863 while the No. 25 Razorbacks moved past Southern California in the final round to finish second at 888. USC, Texas, TCU, Texas Tech, Pepperdine, SMU, New Mexico and Texas A&M rounded out the top 10 in the 18-team event. Junior David Lingmerth finished fourth with a five-over 218. Jason Cuthbertson and Ethan Tracy tied for ninth with a nine-over 222, and Andrew Landry tied for 25th with a 13-over 226. The Razorbacks play in the Bank of America Intercollegiate in Madison, Miss., Monday (today) and Tuesday before competing in the SEC Championship April 17-19 at St. Simon Island, Ga.WOMEN’S GOLF: The 24th-ranked Razorbacks finished in a tie for ninth place at the Bryan National Intercollegiate last weekend in the final regular season event of the 2009 season. The Razorbacks sprinted through the fall season with a balanced attack from senior Lucy Nunn, and juniors Kristin Ingram and Alex Schulte, all of whom stepped up this spring. The Razorbacks travel to Columbia, S.C., April 17-19, for the 2009 SEC Championship.GYMNASTICS (11-9, 3-3): The 10th-ranked Razorbacks won the program’s first NCAA Regional Championship, scoring a 196.300 to advance to the NCAA Championships in Lincoln, Neb., in two weeks. The Razorbacks won their first team regional title and Arkansas co-head coaches Mark and Rene Cook earned South Central Regional Coach of the Year honors. Assistant coach Dave Kuzara was named South Central Regional Assistant Coach of the Year. Juniors Casey Jo Magee and Michelle Stout were individual winners, also a program first for the Razorbacks. Magee won the beam title with a 9.90 and tied for the floor win with the same score. Stout captured the vault title with a 9.875. The Razorbacks travel to Lincoln, Neb., April 16-18, for their second consecutive national championship appearance.MEN’S OUTDOOR TRACK AND FIELD: Arkansas picked up two regional qualifiers and a relay title at the Texas Relays. The Hogs picked up their 11th-straight title win in the 4×1,500-meter relay. Scott MacPherson (4:02), Rick Elliott (3:58), Alex McClary (3:55) and Michael Chinchar (4:00) combined for a time of 15:57.97. Tarik Batchelor finished second in the long jump with a regional-qualifying mark of 25-6.75. Luke Laird marked a regional-qualifying javelin toss of 205-11 to finish eighth.WOMEN’S OUTDOOR TRACK AND FIELD: The Razorbacks picked up five regional qualifiers and an event win at the Florida Relays. Katie Stripling won the pole vault with a regional-qualifying height of 13-9.25. Shelise Williams clocked a personal best and regional qualifier in the 400 meters. Her time of 52.87 ranks third in the NCAA. At the Texas Relays, Etienne Chaplin hit the NCAA provisional mark in the heptathlon. She scored 5,400 points to finish third.SOCCER: Arkansas continued its spring exhibition season with a Saturday contest against Oklahoma. The game was tied at halftime, but a pair of second-half goals, including one in the closing minutes, pushed the Sooners to a 2-0 victory. The Razorbacks head to Lawrence, Kan., for a Saturday matchup with the Jayhawks at 2 p.m. Arkansas closes its spring season April 25 with a 1 p.m. home match against Missouri State. Following the game, the Razorbacks will host a youth soccer clinic for those in attendance.SOFTBALL (22-15, 9-6): The Razorbacks opened their week by winning the Border War, their annual series with games against Oklahoma State and Tulsa. For the third time in program history, and the first since 2002, Arkansas swept both games. The Razorbacks run ruled Oklahoma State, 8-0, in the opener and completed the sweep with a 9-5 victory over host Tulsa. For its weekend series, Arkansas and Auburn split Saturday’s doubleheader at Bogle Park. The Tigers won game one, 4-3, in eight innings before Arkansas responded to win game two, 4-2. With the win, Miranda Dixon improved to 14-4 in the circle and the Razorbacks snapped a six-game losing streak to Auburn. In Sunday’s series finale, Dixon homered and Sandra Smith hit her fourth and fifth home runs of the season, including the go-ahead shot in the bottom of the sixth, but it wasn’t enough as Auburn scored two in the seventh for a 5-4 win to clinch the series. Arkansas travels to Norman, Okla., for a mid-week contest against the Oklahoma Sooners on Wednesday at 5 p.m. The Razorbacks host LSU to close out their week of competition. Saturday’s series finale, set for a noon start, will also feature the dedication of Bogle Park, Arkansas’ new home field.MEN’S TENNIS (10-10, 2-6): The No. 45 Razorbacks split their East Coast matches last weekend at South Carolina and Florida. Friday against the No. 17 Gamecocks, the Hogs were solid from the start, securing the doubles point with wins from Blake Strode and Chris Nott at No. 1 and Matt Walters and Taylor King at No. 3. In singles, Arkansas took five of six matches from South Carolina, picking up the 6-1 win. Strode posted his 10th singles win in dual play and his 20th overall. Playing against the No. 10 Gators on Sunday, the Razorbacks were kept off balance from the start, dropping the doubles point and all six of their singles matches, falling 7-0. This weekend, the Hogs play host to Mississippi State Friday at 1:30 p.m. and Ole Miss on Sunday at 1 p.m. in their final home matches of the season. Also on Sunday, the Razorbacks will celebrate Senior Day, recognizing Strode and Connor Smith for their accomplishments and contributions to the team.WOMEN’S TENNIS (10-6, 5-3): The 15th-ranked Razorbacks split their home SEC series over the weekend. The Hogs fell to No. 30 South Carolina, 5-2, before dropping No. 16 Florida, 4-0. The win on Sunday against the Gators marked the first time in program history the Razorbacks have defeated Florida. Senior Aurelija Miseviciute, ranked 5th nationally, enhanced her perfect record against SEC opponents to 8-0 over the weekend with two more wins. Arkansas hits the road next week against Mississippi State on Friday and Ole Miss on Sunday.VOLLEYBALL: The volleyball team is anticipating the addition of a couple of student-athletes to the roster later this week. Arkansas will compete in the program’s only spring event April 17-19, traveling to the SEC Coaches Beach Volleyball Tournament in Florida.OLYMPIC SPORTS PRESS CONFERENCE:Tuesday at 1 p.m. in the Barnhill Arena interview room.