Arkansas
What we learned about Vanderbilt baseball during Arkansas’ sweep of the SEC series
Vanderbilt baseball made a big deal in the offseason of saying that the performance it put on the field in 2024 wasn’t good enough. The Commodores fired hitting coach Mike Baxter and assistant Tyler Shewmaker and brought in Jayson King as hitting coach and Ty Blankmeyer as recruiting coordinator.
After all that, though, it feels Vanderbilt is back to square one offensively after getting swept at home by Arkansas by scores of 9-0 on Friday, 6-4 in 10 innings on Saturday and 7-3 on Sunday. The Razorbacks (26-3, 8-1 SEC) displayed the modern offense of an SEC title contender, hitting eight home runs across the three games. The Commodores (20-8, 4-5) couldn’t come close to keeping up.
For most of the weekend, Vanderbilt’s pitching kept up. After the blowout Friday night, Vanderbilt managed to push Saturday’s game to extra innings before losing in the 10th and held a 3-2 lead in the eighth inning of Sunday’s game before giving up five runs in that inning.
Here’s what we learned:
Vanderbilt’s offense looked hapless all weekend
In Texas A&M and Arkansas, Vanderbilt faced two of the SEC’s top pitching staffs on back-to-back weekends. The Commodores swept the Aggies while scoring 16 runs on the weekend, with seven extra-base hits. Against the Razorbacks, Vanderbilt scored seven runs and had five extra-base hits.
But Texas A&M has been the SEC’s worst offense statistically, while Arkansas has been one of the best. The Razorbacks tallied 13 extra-base hits and eight home runs and scored 11 of their 22 runs in the series via the home run. The Commodores hit just one home run, a three-run shot by Colin Barczi in Sunday’s game.
“We didn’t, they did,” Corbin said Sunday when asked why Vanderbilt hasn’t managed to get the same level of power production as other SEC teams.
Cam Kozeal torches his former team
Cam Kozeal spent his freshman season at Vanderbilt in 2024, when he started for most of the year at second base and DH. But he transferred to Arkansas in the offseason and is now a first baseman.
Kozeal had the best performance of any of the Razorbacks’ hitters across the weekend, putting up five hits and eight RBIs, including two home runs off JD Thompson in Friday’s game and one Saturday.
“Good two-strike hitting, and he sat on a couple of fastballs that weren’t located well, and he hit them hard,” Corbin said Friday of Kozeal’s performance.
Cody Bowker, Sawyer Hawks, Connor Fennell impress
Thompson got touched up Friday night, giving up five runs in six innings (four on home runs). After him, relievers Brennan Seiber, Hudson Barton and Ryan Ginther combined to give up four runs over the next three innings with seven walks.
The pitching was much better for the rest of the weekend. On Saturday, Cody Bowker gave up two runs in five innings and Sawyer Hawks followed him with one run in four innings. Miller Green took a tough-luck loss in the 10th inning as three defensive miscues − one officially scored an error and two on squeeze bunts that didn’t record an out − led to three runs for Arkansas.
“Those were two good efforts (by Bowker and Hawks),” Corbin said Saturday. “I thought Bowker did a nice job after the home run Kozeal had. He did a good job of just coming back and kind of minimizing damage. Was a real good effort by both of them. So from a pitching standpoint, we deserve to win today.”
On Sunday, Connor Fennell gave up two runs in five innings, walking just one and striking out 10. Following him was Alex Kranzler, who held Arkansas scoreless for two innings but was charged with three runs in his third inning to take the loss. Ethan McElvain, who came in after Kranzler to try to escape the inning, allowed two runs in ⅓ of an inning.
“It was good baseball,” Corbin said Sunday. “It was hard-fought baseball. Certainly on their end, there’s really good pitching to the one inning that kind of blew us up. It was one inning yesterday, too. They were good baseball games up to a certain point, and lost it late yesterday. More the same today, different set of circumstances, but results the same.”
Aria Gerson covers Vanderbilt athletics for The Tennessean. Contact her at agerson@gannett.com or on X, formerly Twitter, @aria_gerson.
LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (KAIT) – Registration is open for the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission’s annual urban deer hunt.
This year’s hunts will be held in Cherokee Village, Fairfield Bay, Heber Springs, Helena-West Helena, Horseshoe Bend and Russellville.
The archery-only hunts are designed to offer an “inexpensive and effective method of nuisance deer management,” according to an AGFC news release.
Deer harvested during the urban hunts do not count toward a hunter’s seasonal limit, and there are no limits to the number of deer that can be harvested.
However, the first deer taken must be donated to Arkansas Hunters Feeding the Hungry, which provides ground meat to food pantries across the state.
Hunters must pass the International Bowhunters Education Program before participating. The program is available at www.agfc.com/education/hunter-education.
Hunters also must attend orientation to learn the specific rules of the hunts and pass a shooting proficiency test.
For more information, visit www.agfc.com/urbanhunt.
To report a typo or correction, please click here.
Copyright 2026 KAIT. All rights reserved.
The Arkansas Lottery offers several draw games for those aiming to win big.
Here’s a look at Monday, June 22, 2026 results for each game:
Winning Powerball numbers from June 22 drawing
17-19-21-45-48, Powerball: 13, Power Play: 2
Check Powerball payouts and previous drawings here.
Winning Cash 3 numbers from June 22 drawing
Midday: 8-6-8
Evening: 4-9-7
Check Cash 3 payouts and previous drawings here.
Winning Cash 4 numbers from June 22 drawing
Midday: 4-4-6-9
Evening: 6-4-1-4
Check Cash 4 payouts and previous drawings here.
Winning Natural State Jackpot numbers from June 22 drawing
07-17-23-28-32
Check Natural State Jackpot payouts and previous drawings here.
Winning Millionaire for Life numbers from June 22 drawing
07-08-20-24-42, Bonus: 05
Check Millionaire for Life payouts and previous drawings here.
Feeling lucky? Explore the latest lottery news & results
When are the Arkansas Lottery drawings held?
- Powerball: 9:59 p.m. CT on Monday, Wednesday, and Saturday.
- Mega Millions: 10 p.m. CT on Tuesday and Friday.
- Cash 3 Midday: 12:59 p.m. CT daily except Sunday.
- Cash 3 Evening: 6:59 p.m. CT daily.
- Cash 4 Midday: 12:59 p.m. CT daily except Sunday.
- Cash 4 Evening: 6:59 p.m. CT daily.
- Lucky For Life: 9:30 p.m. CT daily.
- Natural State Jackpot: 8 p.m. CT daily except Sunday.
- LOTTO: 9 p.m. CT on Wednesday and Saturday.
- Millionaire for Life: 10:15 p.m. CT daily.
This results page was generated automatically using information from TinBu and a template written and reviewed by an Arkansas editor. You can send feedback using this form.
Arkansas
Latest Peppermint Hippo court filing alleges misconduct by Arkansas officials, asks for liquor license reinstatement
Video: Peppermint Hippo appeals liquor license revocation before Alcoholic Beverage Control board
LITTLE ROCK, Ark. – The latest court filing by a lawyer representing the Peppermint Hippo gentlemen’s club alleges misconduct by an Arkansas agency and its department head.
The filing asks that the club’s liquor license be reinstated pending judicial review of the January 2026 decision to revoke it. It alleges that Alcoholic Beverage Control (ABC) Director Christy Bjornson “tainted the entire administrative proceedings.”
The filing alleges Bjornson had ex parte, or single-sided, conversations with Peter Riberiro about the death of his brother, John Riberiro. John Riberiro was killed in November 2021 after being ejected from the club and climbing a fence alongside Interstate 40, where he was hit by a car.
Peter Riberiro contacted ABC by email in February 2025, calling for the club’s license to be revoked. Bjornson replied to the email personally, and she and ABC Director of Enforcement David Potter then had a series of phone conferences with Peter Riberiro and his attorney through January 2026, ex parte communications since Peppermint Hippo representatives were not included, the filing alleges.
The filing also alleges that Bjornson acted with “extreme bias” in the club’s list of violations, including those that had previously been investigated and found unfounded. Bjornson determined the club was in violation, then looked for evidence substantiating her views, the filing alleges.
The state maintains, in a separate filing, that Bjornson’s communications were not ex parte under Arkansas law because she was acting as an administrator and the final decision was made by the ABC board, not her. Even if she was, the state’s filing continues, the decision to revoke was due to “substantial evidence and was neither arbitrary, capricious, nor an abuse of discretion.”
A hearing about the reinstatement is scheduled for Aug. 3 in Pulaski County Circuit Court.
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