FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – No. 16 Arkansas (26-14, 9-8 SEC) fell behind early and was unable to catch up with No. 5 Georgia (31-9, 12-5 SEC) in its 5-3 setback Friday night at Baum-Walker Stadium. The Razorbacks and Bulldogs will play for the series at 1 p.m. Sunday, April 18, on SEC Network+ with Josh Haley (play-by-play) and Troy Eklund (analyst) on the call.

Entering tomorrow’s finale, Arkansas has won four consecutive weekend series against Georgia inside Baum-Walker Stadium (2010, 2012, 2017 & 2021). The Hogs have not lost a series to the Bulldogs at home since the 2008 campaign.

Cole Gibler, making his second career start on the mound, provided Arkansas with five innings of four-run ball and two strikeouts. Georgia tagged the left-hander for a solo homer in the top half of the second and scored a pair of two-out runs in the top half of the third before adding a fourth run on a double in the sixth inning to open a 4-0 advantage.

Arkansas responded to its deficit with Damian Ruiz’s two-run home run in the bottom of the sixth and cut the deficit to two, but Georgia tacked on its fifth and final run of the night on a solo shot in the seventh inning to take a 5-2 lead.

The Razorbacks scratched out a run in the bottom half of the seventh on a wild pitch to bring their deficit back to two. It was as close as they would get, however, as Georgia’s Caden Aoki, who took over in relief for injured starter Dylan Vigue (2.0 IP, 4 SO), turned in five innings of three-run ball (two earned) with five walks and four strikeouts on 105 pitches.

In relief of Gibler, Tate McGuire (2.2 IP,1 R, 2 SO) and Steele Eaves (1.1 IP, 1 SO) combined for four innings of one-run ball with three strikeouts. Offensively, Zack Stewart was the lone Hog with multiple hits, finishing 2-for-3 with a walk.

Ruiz, meanwhile, is now the Razorbacks’ leading hitter in SEC play after going 1-for-3 with a homer, two RBI, a walk and stolen base. Through 13 league games this season, he is slashing .304/.418/.565 with three home runs and eight RBI.

For complete coverage of Arkansas baseball, follow the Hogs on Twitter (@RazorbackBSB), Instagram (@RazorbackBSB) and Facebook (Arkansas Razorback Baseball).

The No. 9 Gymbacks saw their season come to an end on Thursday night as they placed fourth in the NCAA Gymnastics Championships evening semifinal and seventh overall with a score of 196.9625.

Arkansas finished behind No. 1 Oklahoma (198.300), No. 13 Minnesota (197.4625) and No. 4 UCLA (197.275) in its session, with the Sooners and Golden Gophers advancing to Saturday’s national championship. In the afternoon session, No. 3 Florida (197.7875) and No. 2 LSU (197.4375) advanced, while No. 6 Georgia placed sixth overall (197.2625) and No. 7 Stanford placed eighth (196.9375).

The Gymbacks’ team score of 196.9625 is the second highest in program history at NCAAs for Arkansas, and highest since 2009. The team got out to a strong start on floor, in which the Razorbacks scored 49.300, a new NCAA championships record for Arkansas on the event.

The day was highlighted by a great all-around performance by senior Morgan Price. She scored 39.4625, which was good for fifth in the session and tied for ninth overall, good for Second Team All-America honors. She also tied for eighth on vault (9.900) and fifth on bars (9.9125) to bring her All-America total to three, the most by a Gymback at a single nationals since Kennedy Hambrick in 2021.

Fifth year Leah Smith sent her Arkansas career out with a bang as she notched a pair of 9.900s on vault and bars, both of which tied for the session for All-America nods. Smith is now a three-time All-American with two on vault.

Freshman Allison Cucci had a fantastic first NCAA Championships with Arkansas’ highest individual score of the day, 9.9375 on vault. She tied for fourth in the session to earn First Team All-America honors and tied for sixth overall. Her score is the third highest ever by a Gymback on vault at NCAAs, and the best for Arkansas since 2014.

Sophomore Joscelyn Roberson closed out her second season with her first All-American honor on floor. She scored 9.9125 and placed eighth in the evening semifinal. Roberson has now earned two All-America nods in as many seasons at Arkansas.

Floor

After an uncharacteristic start from Hailey Klein on floor, Smith got the Gymbacks on track again in the two spot with a 9.8375. The Price duo of Morgan and Frankie earned matching 9.825 marks back-to-back, and Lauren Williams broke through for the first 9.900 of the night for Arkansas in the fifth spot. Roberson anchored the Gymbacks with a 9.9125, which brought the floor total to 49.300.

Vault

After a 9.7875 from Cami Weaver in the lead-off position, Smith stuck her Yurchenko full up second and earned a 9.900. The sticks were contagious as Cucci delivered one of her own midway through the lineup on her Yurchenko 1.5 for a 9.9375. Klein and Williams scored 9.8125 and 9.825, respectively. Morgan Price finished the rotation with a 9.900, and Arkansas posted 49.375 on vault.

Bars

Roberson led off with a 9.7875 for Arkansas, and the scores built from there with a 9.800 from Klein and a 9.900 for Smith to pace the Gymbacks halfway through the rotation. The freshman duo of Avalon Campbell and Cucci scored 9.800 and 9.775 next, which brought up Morgan Price to anchor. She put down her typical solid routine on the event and went 9.9125. The Gymbacks’ total on bars was 49.200.

Beam

Arkansas went to one of its best events of the season for the last rotation, beam. Priscilla Park kicked it off with a 9.8125, followed by a 9.7875 by Klein up second. Weaver and Cucci then scored 9.750 and 9.775. Morgan Price and Joscelyn Roberson both posted good scores of 9.825 and 9.8875, but neither were enough to move Arkansas into a spot to contend for a national finals berth.

More Information

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