Several nuggets from the weekend...
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The stage is set for what will likely be the biggest weekend in Bogle Park history.
Texas won a tight 3-2 game over No. 13 Washington late Sunday night to pull off an upset and punch its ticket to the Fayetteville Super Regional, where it will face No. 4 Arkansas.
This will be the second year in a row the Razorbacks have hosted a super regional after previously never doing so, but this matchup comes with a bit more cachet than last year’s showdown with Arizona.
Arkansas didn’t start playing softball until 1997, which is after the school joined the SEC, but many older fans still remember the Longhorns as a heated rival across all sports from their time together in the Southwest Conference.
It will be the first time the Razorbacks have played Texas since 2016, when two of Courtney Deifel’s first four games were 4-1 and 6-5 losses to the Longhorns, with the latter requiring eight innings. They are 0-6 against Texas in program history.
With its first ever trip to the Women’s College World Series on the line, Arkansas will hope to pick up its first two wins over the Longhorns this week.
Game 1 is scheduled for 6 p.m. CT Thursday on ESPN2 and Game 2 is set for 3 p.m. CT Friday on ESPN. The third game, which is only necessary if the teams split the first two games, is still TBD.
RPI Update
Coming off of a big series win on the road at Auburn two weeks ago, the Arkansas baseball team was in solid position to win the SEC West, host a regional and potentially earn a top-8 seed.
Now on the eve of the SEC Tournament, the Razorbacks might not do any of those three things. Their RPI has fallen from No. 19 after taking two of three against the Tigers to No. 33 after back-to-back series losses to Vanderbilt and Alabama.
Considering the lowest ranked RPI team to earn a top-8 national seed was Tulane at No. 19 in 2001, it’s unlikely that even a run to the SEC Tournament championship would get Arkansas back in the mix for that.
However, the Razorbacks could potentially still play their way back into regional host conversation with a couple of wins. Their first matchup will be the winner of Tuesday’s Georgia-Alabama game. From an RPI perspective, they are likely rooting for the Bulldogs because they’re No. 12 in the RPI, compared to the Crimson Tide at No. 47.
A matchup with Texas A&M (No. 22 RPI), Florida (No. 24) or South Carolina (No. 67) looms after that, so Arkansas would probably prefer for the Gators to knock off the Gators to ensure the best RPI matchups moving forward.
Other Women’s Sports
Most of the attention was on the softball team cruising through the Fayetteville Regional this weekend, but the women’s golf team was also in action at the NCAA Championship in Scottsdale, Ariz.
Unfortunately, they didn’t make it out of the stroke play portion of the event, finishing tied for 22nd out of 24 teams with a team score of 49-over through three rounds.
It’s also worth noting that Tatum Rice, a super senior from Hot Springs, earned an at-large bid to the 2022 NCAA Singles Championships. The event is scheduled for May 23-28 in Champaign, Ill.
Moody’s Meaningful Minutes
His final stat line — 2 points and 1 assist — doesn’t jump off the page, but Moses Moody was a major key in the Warriors completing a large comeback in Game 2 of the Western Conference Finals on Friday.
With Golden State trailing by two, Steve Kerr inserted the rookie from Arkansas to start the fourth quarter. By the time Moody left the court, about 10 minutes later, the Warriors had taken an eight-point lead on their way to a 126-117 win.
The performance earned him additional playing time in Game 3. Unfortunately, it didn’t go as well. Moody missed all three shots he took — all from beyond the arc — and was minus-12 in his 16 minutes. It didn’t matter, though, as Golden State took firm control of the series with a 109-100 win.
Assuming the Warriors don’t blow a 3-0 series lead, the Razorbacks will have a former player in the NBA Finals for a second straight year. Last season, Bobby Portis helped the Bucks win the NBA title.
Other Pro Hogs
In a bit of a more obscure sport, a pair of former Arkansas standouts performed on a big stage Saturday.
Competing in the second Diamond League event of the season, which was held in the U.K., Sandi Morris cleared 4.73 meters in the pole vault — the best mark in the world this year.
Another former Arkansas pole vaulter, Tina Sutej, competed in the event, as well, and finished tied for second with a height of 4.65 meters.
Weekend Roundup: Old rival coming to town, RPI update, Pro Hogs
HawgBeat brings you several tidbits involving the Razorbacks from the weekend.
The stage is set for what will likely be the biggest weekend in Bogle Park history.
Texas won a tight 3-2 game over No. 13 Washington late Sunday night to pull off an upset and punch its ticket to the Fayetteville Super Regional, where it will face No. 4 Arkansas.
This will be the second year in a row the Razorbacks have hosted a super regional after previously never doing so, but this matchup comes with a bit more cachet than last year’s showdown with Arizona.
Arkansas didn’t start playing softball until 1997, which is after the school joined the SEC, but many older fans still remember the Longhorns as a heated rival across all sports from their time together in the Southwest Conference.
It will be the first time the Razorbacks have played Texas since 2016, when two of Courtney Deifel’s first four games were 4-1 and 6-5 losses to the Longhorns, with the latter requiring eight innings. They are 0-6 against Texas in program history.
With its first ever trip to the Women’s College World Series on the line, Arkansas will hope to pick up its first two wins over the Longhorns this week.
Game 1 is scheduled for 6 p.m. CT Thursday on ESPN2 and Game 2 is set for 3 p.m. CT Friday on ESPN. The third game, which is only necessary if the teams split the first two games, is still TBD.
RPI Update
Coming off of a big series win on the road at Auburn two weeks ago, the Arkansas baseball team was in solid position to win the SEC West, host a regional and potentially earn a top-8 seed.
Now on the eve of the SEC Tournament, the Razorbacks might not do any of those three things. Their RPI has fallen from No. 19 after taking two of three against the Tigers to No. 33 after back-to-back series losses to Vanderbilt and Alabama.
Considering the lowest ranked RPI team to earn a top-8 national seed was Tulane at No. 19 in 2001, it’s unlikely that even a run to the SEC Tournament championship would get Arkansas back in the mix for that.
However, the Razorbacks could potentially still play their way back into regional host conversation with a couple of wins. Their first matchup will be the winner of Tuesday’s Georgia-Alabama game. From an RPI perspective, they are likely rooting for the Bulldogs because they’re No. 12 in the RPI, compared to the Crimson Tide at No. 47.
A matchup with Texas A&M (No. 22 RPI), Florida (No. 24) or South Carolina (No. 67) looms after that, so Arkansas would probably prefer for the Gators to knock off the Gators to ensure the best RPI matchups moving forward.
Other Women’s Sports
Most of the attention was on the softball team cruising through the Fayetteville Regional this weekend, but the women’s golf team was also in action at the NCAA Championship in Scottsdale, Ariz.
Unfortunately, they didn’t make it out of the stroke play portion of the event, finishing tied for 22nd out of 24 teams with a team score of 49-over through three rounds.
It’s also worth noting that Tatum Rice, a super senior from Hot Springs, earned an at-large bid to the 2022 NCAA Singles Championships. The event is scheduled for May 23-28 in Champaign, Ill.
Moody’s Meaningful Minutes
His final stat line — 2 points and 1 assist — doesn’t jump off the page, but Moses Moody was a major key in the Warriors completing a large comeback in Game 2 of the Western Conference Finals on Friday.
With Golden State trailing by two, Steve Kerr inserted the rookie from Arkansas to start the fourth quarter. By the time Moody left the court, about 10 minutes later, the Warriors had taken an eight-point lead on their way to a 126-117 win.
The performance earned him additional playing time in Game 3. Unfortunately, it didn’t go as well. Moody missed all three shots he took — all from beyond the arc — and was minus-12 in his 16 minutes. It didn’t matter, though, as Golden State took firm control of the series with a 109-100 win.
Assuming the Warriors don’t blow a 3-0 series lead, the Razorbacks will have a former player in the NBA Finals for a second straight year. Last season, Bobby Portis helped the Bucks win the NBA title.
Other Pro Hogs
In a bit of a more obscure sport, a pair of former Arkansas standouts performed on a big stage Saturday.
Competing in the second Diamond League event of the season, which was held in the U.K., Sandi Morris cleared 4.73 meters in the pole vault — the best mark in the world this year.
Another former Arkansas pole vaulter, Tina Sutej, competed in the event, as well, and finished tied for second with a height of 4.65 meters.
