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Another abrupt ending | Arkansas Democrat Gazette

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Another abrupt ending | Arkansas Democrat Gazette


FAYETTEVILLE — Southeast Missouri State Coach Andy Sawyers knocked his mentor, Dave Van Horn, out of the NCAA Baseball Tournament on Sunday.

The Redhawks, champions of the Ohio Valley Conference Tournament and the No. 4 seeds of the Fayetteville Regional, beat the top-seeded University of Arkansas 6-3 at Baum-Walker Stadium before an announced crowd of 10,788 to end the Razorbacks’ season much earlier than expected.

As the No. 5 overall national seed, the Razorbacks were set to host a super regional next week and projected to advance to the College World Series.

Instead, Arkansas (44-16) was eliminated by Southeast Missouri State (36-26) to complete Van Horn’s 22nd season as coach at his alma mater.

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It was the first time Arkansas has lost to a No. 4 seed since the NCAA Tournament format changed in 1999.

The Razorbacks went 1-2 in the regional, with a 17-9 victory over Southeast Missouri State on Friday and 7-6 loss to Kansas State on Saturday, after being 33-3 at Baum-Walker Stadium during the regular season.

Arkansas was eliminated at its home regional for the second year in row after losing twice to TCU last season.

Sawyers played catcher for Van Horn at Nebraska in 1998 and was a volunteer assistant for him with the Cornhuskers in 2000. He has credited Van Horn with helping launch his coaching career.

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“I told Coach Van Horn, ‘Thank you. Every day I do something that you taught me,’ ” Sawyers said of his postgame talk with Van Horn. “I was a little emotional. I had some tears in my eyes behind the sunglasses because I got to beat my coach today.

“That doesn’t happen very often. That was a pretty cool moment.”

The Redhawks won their second consecutive NCAA Tournament game, along with a 9-3 victory over Louisiana Tech on Saturday, after being 1-10 all-time in the tournament with a 7-4 victory at Alabama in 2002.

Sawyers got his first NCAA Tournament victories in his eighth season at Southeast Missouri State, which he has led to a regional appearance in three of the past four seasons.

“I’ve been proud of Andy ever since he played for me a long time ago,” Van Horn said.

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The Redhawks did Sawyers proud Sunday, especially a pitching staff led by starter Collin Wilma that shut down the Razorbacks.

Arkansas trailed 6-1 going into the ninth inning before Parker Rowland hit a pinch-hit, two-run home run to make it 6-3.

Wilma, a fifth-year senior right-hander, worked 4 2/3 innings and held the Razorbacks to 1 run, 1 hit and 2 walks with 6 strikeouts. He estimated about 60% of his 71 pitches were curveballs that registered from 67 to 63 mph on the stadium scoreboard.

“He did a really good job,” Arkansas right fielder Kendall Diggs said. “He flipped that curveball in. Flipped it for a strike. He could bury it.

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“It complemented his heater, even the slider really well. So hats off to him.”

Van Horn said usually the slowest curveballs the Razorbacks see are in the low 70s.

“It was a true curveball, the old curveball,” Van Horn said. “You kind of try to sit on that thing a little bit, you try to guess, and then he throws the fastball so you can’t swing.”

Wilma, who allowed 3 runs and 3 hits in 3 innings of relief against Arkansas on Friday, came into Sunday’s game with a 5.60 ERA in 54 2/3 innings this season.

“That’s the absolute best he’s ever thrown,” Sawyers said. “Certainly for a school like SEMO to come to one of the Taj Mahals of college baseball and win a game like that in an elimination setting, it’s going to require some heroics. And I thought Collin’s outing today was heroic.”

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Logan Katen, Peyton Lawrence and Kyle Miller — all seniors — also pitched for the Redhawks.

“What a great job by SEMO’s pitchers,” Van Horn said. “They threw four guys at us that really located. They pitched out of a couple of jams.”

Miller got the final two outs and earned his ninth save, but Katen executed arguably the game’s key pitch when he left the bases loaded in the fifth inning by retiring Arkansas designated hitter Hudson White on a ground ball after left fielder Peyton Holt’s home run pulled the Razorbacks within 4-1.

Logan came in for Wilma and started 3-0 against White. The count went to 3-2 with two called strikes, then White grounded out on a 3-2 changeup.

“(Katen) throws one right there for a strike, and then 3-1 (White’s) got the green light to go, and he took it,” Van Horn said. “It was a borderline pitch, but (home plate umpire Matt Anderson) called it a strike.”

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Van Horn said Logan threw five consecutive fastballs before the changeup.

“Went to 82 miles per hour from 89,” Van Horn said. “(White) hit it off the end of the bat, and that was the pitch of the game in my opinion.”

The Redhawks increased their lead to 6-1 on Brooks Kettering’s RBI single in the fifth inning and his home run in the seventh.

After a home run by Ty Stauss in the first inning off Arkansas starter Gage Wood gave Southeast Missouri State — the designated home team — a 1-0 lead, the Redhawks added three more runs against Wood and Jake Faherty in the fourth inning, including Brad Palmer’s double and RBI singles by Josh Cameron and Ian Riley.

Arkansas managed 8 base runners on 6 hits and 2 walks, and left 7 runners on base.

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In the eight inning, Peyton Stovall hit a leadoff single and went to third on White’s double with Arkansas having its 3-4-5 hitters coming up.

Lawerence came in for Katen and got Jared Sprague-Lott on a groundout, Ben McLaughlin on a popout and Wehiwa Aloy on a groundout to strand the runners.

“That was difficult,” Van Horn said. “But you’ve got to give them credit. They pitched us good. They kept us off balance.”

Arkansas, which had a 27-game home winning streak earlier this season, lost back-to-back games at Baum-Walker Stadium for the only time this season.

“It’s always shocking when you want to go out there and win at home (and lose),” Stovall said. “We were fighting and wanted to keep playing as long as we could.”

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Sawyers said he believed it’s a coincidence the Razorbacks lost twice at home in the regional after their dominant regular season.

“I think they’re a fantastic club,” Sawyers said. “It’s tough for them and their kids to have such a great year and finish it the way they did.”

Sawyers said that before the game he was talking to Southeast Missouri State hitting coach Trevor Ezell, who is from Bryant and played for the Razorbacks after beginning his career with the Redhawks.

“Coach Ezell, who obviously wore this uniform here says, ‘If we win this game, I’m going to feel bad for those kids, because of how good they have played this year,’ ” Sawyers said. “I looked at him and he said, ‘But we’re still going to win the game.’ And I said, ‘Yeah we are, Trevor.’

“But certainly, you feel for those guys. I can’t explain why they lost two in a row at home.”

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Diggs struggled with the question as well.

“Yeah man, it sucks,” Diggs said. “We gave it all we had. But congrats to SEMO. They played a good game.”

    Southeast Missouri State’s Brooks Kettering (right) celebrates with teammate Ben Palmer after homering to lead off the bottom of the fifth inning Sunday against Arkansas in Fayetteville. (NWA Democrat-Gazette/Charlie Kaijo)
 
 



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Arkansas

New statewide group promotes, aids prescribed burns | Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette

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New statewide group promotes, aids prescribed burns | Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette


The newly formed Arkansas Prescribed Burn Association held its first meeting in mid-October.

The association works as an umbrella organization, recruiting and maintaining new groups of landowners to conduct prescribed burns throughout the state.

“Properly planned prescribed burns reduce the fuel load, which can lessen or even eliminate wildfires,” said Thomas Baldridge, one of the association’s three directors. “But that’s only part of the benefit of prescribed fire. It’s the best tool available to land managers to increase wildlife habitat for turkeys, quail, deer and all sorts of other species.”

North American bird populations have declined by more than 2.9 billion birds in the last 50 years and the loss of grassland habitat is one of the largest contributors to that loss, according to a recent study conducted by Kenneth Rosenberg and highlighted by the National Audubon Society. Fire helps open up dense underbrush to promote seed-producing grasses and plants that are beneficial to grassland species on a year-round basis.

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Instead of manipulating land through dirt work or planting food plots, many landowners can turn the tide on the loss of wildlife habitat with the proper use of prescribed fire.

Baldridge said the formation of the prescribed burn association was a natural evolution to what the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission and other partnering organizations had been studying the last few years.

“Game and Fish started building prescribed burn associations a few years ago. Most of our members have been fortunate to have worked with many of the staff from Game and Fish, Quail Forever and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service on burns and other private land habitat projects. The prescribed burn association just sort of seemed to be a missing piece to the puzzle that was already being put together,” Baldridge said.

Hunter Johnson of Des Arc and Catrina Mendoza of Searcy share director duties with Baldridge, who also lives in Searcy.

Baldridge said the association used states like Oklahoma and Florida as templates to follow in their formation.

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“Oklahoma really sets the standard for a statewide prescribed burn association. They’ve grown to a massive organization with a budget over $1 million and eight full-time staff members to support all of their chapters.”

Game and Fish, Arkansas Game and Fish Foundation, U.S. Fish and Wildlife and Quail Forever all pitched in financially to help the new association build a firm foundation. Game and Fish granted the organization $25,000. Fish and Wildlife gave it $50,000 and Quail Forever provided $17,000 derived from its specialty license plate sales.

Baldridge says trailers, safety gear and other prescribed burn necessities also were donated to the association, increasing its startup assistance to more than $200,000 in funding and equipment. Since the organization is entirely volunteer-based, all of this funding is put directly into putting prescribed fire on the landscape.

Visit www.arfire.org for more information and to learn how to set up a new prescribed burn association in any area of Arkansas.



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Arkansas' official depth chart for Missouri game

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Arkansas' official depth chart for Missouri game


FAYETTEVILLE — The Arkansas Razorbacks (6-4, 3-4 SEC) have released the depth chart for Saturday’s regular season finale against the No. 24 Missouri Tigers (8-3, 4-3 SEC) at Razorback Stadium.

Arkansas recovered from a slow start to take down Louisiana Tech, 35-14, over the weekend in Fayetteville. Missouri bounced back from a loss to South Carolina on Sept. 16 with a 39-20 win at Mississippi State on Saturday.

A few changes were made to this week’s depth chart, most notably the absence of junior defensive end Nico Davillier at the defensive end position. The pass-rusher did not play against Louisiana Tech on Saturday due to a knee injury, and senior Anton Juncaj is the lone listed starter in Davillier’s place. Backing up Juncaj is freshman Charlie Collins.

At safety, sophomore TJ Metcalf and junior Miguel Mitchell no longer have an “or” listed between them. Metcalf is the starter with Mitchell backing him up. Finally, redshirt sophomore Brooks Edmonson is listed as the backup center behind Addison Nichols instead of redshirt sophomore Amaury Wiggins, who is no longer listed on the depth chart.

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Here is the full Arkansas depth chart ahead of Saturday’s game against Missouri, which is set to kick off at 2:30 p.m. CT on SEC Network at Memorial Stadium.



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Higginbottom key in win vs. old team | Arkansas Democrat Gazette

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Higginbottom key in win vs. old team | Arkansas Democrat Gazette


FAYETTEVILLE — Izzy Higginbottom sent a text message to her teammates on the University of Arkansas women’s basketball team Saturday night.

The note contained a list of things she felt the team needed to work on from its 94-71 loss Thursday night to Oral Roberts. First on the list was better energy.

Her message resonated.

Higginbottom played with passion and excelled against her former team as Arkansas found its defense in the second half to defeat Arkansas State 76-60 on Sunday afternoon at Walton Arena.

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“I personally knew how much this game meant to her,” Arkansas forward Jenna Lawrence said of Higginbottom. “Obviously, you want to beat the team that you’ve recently been on, so I just think she was really amped up — the most amped I’ve seen her for a game.

“I’m just really proud of how she performed and how she was a leader on and off the court.”

Higginbottom, a 5-7 transfer guard who played two seasons with the Red Wolves, filled the stat sheet with 15 points, a career-high 8 rebounds and 5 assists.

“When the other team shoots threes, they become speed rebounds,” Arkansas Coach Mike Neighbors said. “I thought she dug a bunch of those out, and then that got us going on transition, too. She was out in front of the break leading it, getting to the foul line and created a couple of good catch and shoot looks for (teammates).”

The Razorbacks (4-3) snapped a two-game losing streak and won their second game against an in-state opponent this year. Arkansas won 71-60 in overtime at Arkansas-Little Rock on Nov. 11.

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“It stinks to lose any day,” Neighbors said, “but especially if you get on a little bit of a streak, it’s easy to get (down). So, I thought it was important for us to stay above .500. You feel different when you win. I don’t know if we played any better yet. I’ll have to go home and watch, but I think we did.”

After giving up 38 points before halftime, the Razorbacks held the Red Wolves to 22 points on 8-of-36 (22%) shooting in the second half.

Arkansas State (2-3) went seven-plus minutes without a field goal between the third and fourth quarters. That stretch proved decisive as a 38-35 halftime deficit for Arkansas turned into a double-digit lead for most of the final quarter.

“We started getting all the 50-50 balls,” Neighbors said. “Before that, it was about (half). I think it was like 90-10 in that third quarter. The effort was much better. I thought our focus was a lot better.”

Arkansas State entered on a two-game win streak, which included a 100-96 victory at Arizona State. The Red Wolves fell to 3-9 all-time against the Razorbacks, last winning in the 2005 Women’s National Invitation Tournament.

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A fast-paced, back-and-forth first quarter saw two lead changes and runs of 6-0 and 5-0 that helped Arkansas State take a 23-19 lead into the second quarter. The Razorbacks committed six turnovers in the period that resulted in 10 points for the Red Wolves.

Arkansas took a 33-27 with 3:32 remaining in the first half before Arkansas State closed with an 11-2 run. Kennedie Montue beat the shot clock with a three-pointer to give Arkansas State a 38-35 lead just before halftime.

Fatigue appeared to play a factor in the first half, in which Arkansas was outscored 26-2 in bench points. Arkansas State Coach Destinee Rogers made mass substitutions throughout the game and had 10 players log minutes.

Arkansas forward Vera Ojenuwa, who put up a double-double with a game-high 20 points and 10 rebounds, scored 12 points before halftime.

The Razorbacks took a 39-38 lead early in the third quarter on a jumper by Kiki Smith, who finished with 15 points. The teams went back and forth for a while before Lawrence connected on her first three-pointer of the game to put Arkansas up for good at 46-43 with 4:01 remaining in the third. Lawrence finished with eight points and 10 rebounds.

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Arkansas State ran a full-court press for most of the game and Arkansas fared better against it as time went on. The Razorbacks found Ojenuwa alone under the basket on multiple press breaks.

“For two days straight, we worked on just breaking their press and making sure we see Vera wide open,” Lawrence said. “Because the way their press was, they put all of their players in front and left Vera wide open in the back.”

As the Razorbacks built their double-digit lead in the fourth quarter, Higginbottom drove past defenders for three fast-break layups.

Arkansas finished the game on a 12-4 run, including six unanswered, to close the door.

The Razorbacks shot 30 of 67 (45%), including 7 of 27 (26%) from three-point range, and 9 of 12 (75%) from the free-throw line.

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Arkansas State went 23 of 74 (31%), 9 of 35 (26%) and 5 of 7 (71%) in those categories, respectively.

Anna Griffin led the Red Wolves with 16 points and 8 rebounds, followed by Montue, who made 3 three-pointers and scored 13 points. Both Griffin and Montue played off the bench, while Wynter Rogers was Arkansas State’s highest-scoring starter with 8 points to go along with 8 rebounds and 4 blocks.

Arkansas State’s starters outside of Rogers — Crislyn Rose, Zyion Shannon, Kyanna Morgan and Shaunae Brown — combined to go 4 of 36 from the field and scored eight points. Bella Weary and Mimi McCollister provided 7 and 6 points, respectively, off the bench for the Red Wolves.

Arkansas won the rebound battle 48-42 and had a season-high 16 assists.

Six Razorbacks scored at least eight points: Ojenuwa (20), Higginbottom (15), Smith (15), Lawrence (8), Carly Keats (8) and Danika Galea (8). Karley Johnson and Lawrence led the Razorbacks with three steals apiece.

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