FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — Arkansas first baseman Cam Kozeal will be in no rush to usher the Missouri Tigers pitching staff back to Columbia. Kozeal’s two-homer, six-RBI game capped off a 16-2 sweep in the second game of a seven-inning doubleheader.
“I liked the way our guys played,” Van Horn said. “They competed hard, stayed into it and they know the importance of winning league games, and you could kind of see that.”
Across the three-game series, Arkansas outscored Missouri 51-9 for a run differential of +42. It’s the most runs scored by the Hogs in a three-game SEC series, breaking the previous record when they scored 50 against South Carolina in 1997.
Kozeal finished the weekend 9-for-12 with 13 RBIs. He’s put another 20 points on his batting average since Friday and now leads the team (.417).
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“Kozeal was in-and-out of the lineup early,” Van Horn said. “[He] wasn’t going to be denied for the most part. Just got better and better. Now he’s really hitting, and if you make a mistake he hits it pretty hard all over the field. He’ll fight you with two strikes, and his RBI count, he’s up to like 37 and probably 10 days ago, two weeks ago he might have had 18 or something.”
He hit his pair of homers to right field, a two-run shot in the second inning before crushing a grand slam in the third to a similar spot.
“There’s something I’ve kind of figured out over the past couple of weeks just with my swing,” Kozeal said. “That’s translated for sure. Just staying tall in my stance. Staying tall, letting the barrel get through the zone easier.”
For the second game in a row, Mizzou took the lead in the top of the first with a passed ball. Arkansas wasted no time, putting up five runs in the home half.
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It was Carson Boles who got the homer parade off and running with his first in a Razorback uniform. Boles got his first SEC start because of the doubleheader and hit a three-run homer into the Hog Pen to give the Hogs a 5-1 lead. He continues to produce in limited chances and is now 9-for-22 (.409) on the season with four extra-base hits.
Catcher Ryder Helfrick started both games of the doubleheader behind the plate and finished the day a combined 5-for-6 over the plate and raised his season average to .310. It’s the first time his average is above .300 across his two seasons at Arkansas since he started his freshman season 1-for-3.
Landon Beidelschies got through four innings allowing just the first-inning blemish and tying a season-high seven strikeouts on 73 pitches. Christian Foutch took over for him in the fifth and had his best outing of the season, a 1-2-3 fifth inning.
Lefty Cole Gibler made his SEC debut a scoreless inning before Carson Wiggins got the last three outs.
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Arkansas remains home to face in-state rival Arkansas State 6 p.m. Tuesday. The game will be broadcast on SEC Network.
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RICHMOND, Texas (KTRK) — Former Missouri City police officer Blademir Viveros was convicted of aggravated assault by a public servant on Monday.
After five days of witness testimony, body camera footage, and tears in the courtroom, the jury found Viveros guilty after he was accused of killing three people in a high-speed wreck while responding to an emergency.
PREVIOUS REPORT: Families of victims testify, state and defense rest cases in former MCPD officer manslaughter trial
Arguments closed just after 2:30 p.m. on Monday.
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Chief Prosecutor Alison Baimbridge made it clear throughout the trial that no stone was left unturned in the investigation in this case, saying that this crash was avoidable and not an accident.
Defense attorneys tag-teamed their closing argument, with Eric Cagle going first as he told the jury Viveros intended to help the victims of the robbery he was responding to.
Defense attorney Robert McCabe then spoke, adding that Viveros has a servant’s heart. He called the crash an accident and said that Viveros did not drive his car intentionally into the car of Mason and Angela Stewart.
McCabe told the jurors Viveros was negligent and should’ve done better, and mentioned the failures by the police department and his supervisors.
“This case just doesn’t belong here, it just doesn’t in this court…in criminal court…in criminal district court on a felony offense with a weapon, alleged for these facts. For this case, it doesn’t belong here. Justice comes in many forms and shouldn’t be sought in this court. There’s plenty of reasonable doubt.” McCabe said.
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“If you think about the facts in this case, they’re not disputed,” Baimbridge said. “Nobody is arguing that this crash did not happen in the way that the officers say it did. No one is arguing the defendant turned off his patrol lights and his sirens. No one is arguing he was going 107 miles per hour when he took lives from our community – he just wants a pass.”
After the closing arguments, the jury was sent out of the courtroom to deliberate. The jury then returned about two and a half hours later, finding Viveros guilty on all three counts of aggravated assault by a public servant.
The punishment phase of the trial begins on Tuesday morning. Viveros now faces five years to life in prison.
For updates on this story, follow Daniela Hurtado on Facebook, X and Instagram.
The Missouri Department of Transportation announced a segment of I-70 Drive Southeast from Woodridge to Glenstone Drive in Columbia will close beginning Monday after being delayed for 14 days.
The entrance to Woodridge Drive from I-70 Drive Southeast will also be closed. The closure is set to last 300 days and aims to be completed in January 2027, according to a news release from MoDOT.
The closure will enable crews to shift traffic on I-70 to construct two new bridges on I-70. This will allow the construction of the new underpass connecting Hanover Boulevard to I-70 Drive Southeast.
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All businesses will remain accessible during the closure. Motorists will be directed around the closure via Keene Street and St. Charles Road, according to the news release.
The closure was originally set for March 9. According to past KOMU 8 reporting, MoDOT postponed the project due to weather and crew availability.
A 29-year-old man was seriously injured in a Friday night motorcycle crash in Morgan County.
The crash happened around 7:50 p.m. on Old Five Road north of Leatherman Road, according to a Missouri State Highway Patrol crash report.
A Ford Explorer crossed the center of the roadway while heading southbound and struck a Kawasaki motorcycle heading northbound, according to the crash report.
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The 29-year-old man was airlifted to University Hospital with serious injuries, according to the crash report.
The motorcyclist was not wearing a helmet. The driver of the Ford Explorer had no reported injuries and was wearing a seatbelt, according to the crash report.
