Razorback Roundup -- Feb. 22

BASEBALL: The Razorbacks opened the season by taking two of three from Ball State at Baum Stadium. In game one, Arkansas totaled 13 hits and got six strikeouts from Mike Bolsinger en route to a 10-2 victory. Four Razorbacks had at least two hits, including Andy Wilkins, who hit the team’s first home run of the season, a solo shot to lead off the eighth inning. The visiting Cardinals took game two, 5-2. James McCann went 2-for-3 with a double and an RBI. The Razorbacks were hurt by four errors and 12 runners left on base. Before Saturday’s game, Ricardo Martinelli Berrocal, the president of the Republic of Panama and a 1973 University of Arkansas graduate, threw out the first pitch. In the series finale, the Hogs regrouped for a 9-3 victory. Monk Kreder logged three hits and a pair of RBI in the victory while McCann hit a three-run home run in the first inning. On the mound, Brett Eibner worked three scoreless innings and struck out five to pick up the win. Off the field, Arkansas was picked to finish second in the Southeastern Conference Western Division by the league coaches. The Razorbacks also received three votes to win the overall conference title. Individually, Eibner and Zack Cox were named to the watch list for the Golden Spikes Award, which is awarded to the top amateur baseball player in the nation. The baseball radio affiliates for the Razorback Sports Network from ISP were also announced. The 17-station network covers areas across the state with KQSM 92.1 FM in Northwest Arkansas being the flagship. With no midweek games scheduled, Arkansas returns to the field Friday at 3:05 p.m. at Baum Stadium for the first game of its series against Troy. Games two and three are set for a 1:05 p.m. start on Saturday and Sunday.MEN’S BASKETBALL (14-13, 7-5): The Razorbacks split their games last week with a victory over South Carolina at home, 92-79, before a tough loss on the road at Auburn, 92-83. Arkansas’ split keeps it in a tie with Mississippi State atop the SEC Western Division with four games to play. Arkansas’ schedule includes home games with Vanderbilt and Ole Miss over the next two Saturdays with road contests against LSU and Tennessee on the next two Wednesdays. Freshman Marshawn Powell continues to play outstanding as he posted back-to-back 20-point efforts for the first time in his career. Powell scored an SEC-high 26 points against South Carolina, then notched 23 against Auburn. He also averaged 7.5 rebounds to lead Arkansas in both categories in both games. Against South Carolina, senior Mike Washington became the 33rd member of the 1,000-point club. He is also one of just five players to score 1,000 points, grab 600 rebounds and block 100 shots in his career.WOMEN’S BASKETBALL (12-15, 4-10): Arkansas dropped a 69-58 decision in the home finale against Alabama Sunday. Lyndsay Harris scored a game-high 16 points. Arkansas travels to LSU and Georgia as the regular season winds down.FOOTBALL (8-5): The Razorbacks begin spring practice on March 30 and the Red-White Spring Game is scheduled to be played on April 24.MEN’S GOLF: The Razorbacks return to the links on March 5 at the Border Olympics in Laredo, Texas. Played at the Laredo Country Club near Houston, the Razorbacks are looking to continue their hot start against one of the toughest fields it will face this season. Arkansas opened the spring with an individual victory for senior David Lingmerth and a second-place finish for the team at the Battle at the Beach at Newport Coast, Calif.WOMEN’S GOLF: The spring season gets underway Monday (today) and Tuesday at the Central District Invitational in Parrish, Fla. The Razorbacks are taking part in the first of six regular season spring events leading up to the SEC Championship. Follow the action on golfstat.com.GYMNASTICS (3-3-1, 2-3-1): Casey Jo Magee and Jaime Pisani posted scores of 9.875 and 9.925, respectively, in the final two spots of the floor lineup to help No. 6 Arkansas rally for a 196.200-196.200 tie with No. 11 LSU on Friday. LSU led after the second and third rotations, and with just one competitor, Pisani, remaining in the meet. Magee won the all-around with a 39.525, which ties for second-best in school history. Her 9.925 on beam ties for fourth-best while Pisani’s 9.925 on floor ties for third-best. Arkansas is at Washington on Friday at 8 p.m.SOFTBALL (5-4): Arkansas went 3-1 at the North Texas/Sleep Inn Classic on the campus of North Texas last week. The Razorbacks dropped the first game to North Texas, 10-2, before going on a three-game winning streak with victories over Sam Houston State, 12-1, Missouri State, 6-5, and Buffalo, 6-0. Center fielder Jessica Bachkora was 6-16 (.375) in four games with four home runs, seven RBI, five runs scored, 17 total bases, a walk and a stolen base. She accounted for 12 of the 26 Razorback runs on the weekend. Freshman pitcher Hope McLemore played in three of Arkansas’ four games, winning two and saving another. On the weekend, she totaled 13.1 innings, allowed one earned run, struck out 10 and posted an ERA of .053. She is 3-1 on the season with an ERA of 1.15. Coach Mike Larabee’s team returns to Fayetteville to prepare for this weekend’s tournament, the NFCA Lead-Off Classic, in Columbus, Ga., Friday-Sunday. SWIMMING AND DIVING (6-2, 2-1): Arkansas senior Yi-Ting Siow became the first Razorback swimmer to win back-to-back Southeastern Conference titles at the SEC Swimming and Diving Championship inside the University of Georgia’s Gabrielsen Natatorium. Siow won her second SEC championship, and second medal of this year’s event, touching in at 2:09.23 in the 200y breaststroke. The Malaysia native becomes the fourth SEC swimmer to win back-to-back titles in the 200y breaststroke since 1981. The 20th-ranked Razorbacks finished sixth with 262.5 points after scoring 113 points in their most productive day Saturday. Arkansas finished just behind Alabama in fifth with 272 points and just ahead of LSU with 262 points. In the four-day event, the Razorbacks broke nine school records, tied one and posted numerous career best times. Arkansas returns to Athens to compete in the NCAA Last Chance Invitational on Saturday and Sunday. MEN’S TENNIS (6-4): No. 51 Arkansas went 2-0 over the weekend at the Student Tennis Center in Eugene, Ore., with wins over Oregon and Cal Poly. At the No. 1 position, Christopher Nott posted a 2-0 mark, picking up his 14th win of the season. Down 4-0 in the first against Oregon’s Marcos Verdasco, he won 12 consecutive games to win the match. Senior Dmitry Lebedev and Nott, ranked 29th in the nation, picked up two more wins and improved to a 9-1 doubles record. The duo of Taylor King and Bradwin Williams went 2-0 on the weekend, including an 8-4 win over Oregon’s 58th-ranked team in the nation. Arkansas returns to Fayetteville to host UMKC and Johnson County C.C. Saturday at noon and 5 p.m.WOMEN’S TENNIS (7-2): After losing to Rice on Saturday, No. 18 Arkansas bounced back with a 5-2 victory at No. 27 TCU on Sunday. The match was a re-match of last year’s NCAA Tournament round of 32 contest. Arkansas won all three doubles matches and freshman Claudine Paulson clinched the win at No. 6 singles. On Saturday, the Razorbacks fell 4-3 at No. 60 Rice. Arkansas is home on Friday for a doubleheader against Memphis and Oral Roberts at noon and 4 p.m., respectively, and on Sunday for a noon match against Oklahoma.MEN’S INDOOR TRACK AND FIELD: No. 6 Arkansas competes next when it hosts the 2010 SEC Indoor Men’s and Women’s Track and Field Championships, Friday-Sunday. The three-day competition will be at the Randal Tyson Track Center. Arkansas student-athletes hold the top times in the SEC in the mile, the 3,000 meters, the 5,000 meters and the distance medley relay. In the 3,000 meters and the long jump, Arkansas student-athletes hold the SEC’s No. 2 marks.WOMEN’S INDOOR TRACK AND FIELD: No. 5 Arkansas competes next when it hosts the 2010 SEC Indoor Men’s and Women’s Track and Field Championships, Friday-Sunday. The three-day competition will be at the Randal Tyson Track Center. Arkansas student-athletes hold the top times in the SEC in the 400 meters and the 4×400-meter relay. In the distance medley relay and the pole vault, Arkansas student-athletes hold the SEC’s No. 2 marks.