Arkansas Expats - All Posts

Arkansas Beats LSU In SEC Baseball Tournament 4-1

2013-05-24T01:24:30Z

Since Arkansas and LSU both won Wednesday, the anticipation of a pitcher's duel between Ryne Stanek and Austin Nola had been buzzing. The two aces didn't disappoint.

LSU's only run was unearned. Stanek's final line was 8 IP, 6 H, 1 R, 0 ER, 3 BB, 4 K (121 pitches/71 strikes). Nola was also very good, as Arkansas was only able to manufacture one run, scoring the final three after he was taken out after the seventh inning.

The Razorbacks took the 2-1 lead in the 8th on a safety squeeze by Tyler Spoon. With runners on the corners and one out, Spoon laid down a bunt toward first base and Matt Vinson reached the plate before the Tigers' catcher had a chance to reach around to tag him.

The Hogs picked up another couple of runs in the ninth in very fun ways. LSU didn't challenge Jacob Morris stealing third base. Then Joe Serrano hit a line drive off the LSU pitcher Will LeMarche's foot, allowing Morris to score easily. Serrano then stole 2nd and 3rd unchallenged, and with two outs, Vinson laid down a bunt and beat the throw to push the score to 4-1.

You could sense the game was over, and LSU promptly went three up, three down in the bottom of the ninth.

With the win, the Hogs get Friday off and await Saturday's semifinal at noon against the winner of the first game on Friday.

Arkansas Basketball Recruiting: Trey Thompson Commits To The Razorbacks!

2013-05-24T00:29:21Z

Mike Anderson's building that fence around Arkansas. About a month after securing the commitment of North Little Rock point guard Anton Beard, the other top prospect in the class of 2014 committed to play in Bud Walton Arena. This is a great sign for Anderson to as there are several great prospects currently in Arkansas' high school ranks. We'll go ahead and call this strategy "Operation: Must get Malik Monk".

But Monk is still a few years away from graduating. Thompson is a great pickup who can sign this fall. He's a 6'9" 230 lb forward who held other offers from Florida, Memphis, and Mississippi State. All the recruiting services appear to rate him as a 3* prospect, and is listed among the top 20-or-so centers in the country. 24/7 considers him a power forward.

Arkansas will be losing Coty Clarke to graduation this season, so Thompson should have a role alongside Bobby Portis and Moses Kingsley by the time he gets to Fayetteville.

Here is a highlight video. I'd like to publicly endorse him keeping the number 120 on his jersey in college.

Arkansas' College World Series Bracket Projections - May 23rd

2013-05-23T20:14:31Z

Baseball America: Arkansas was moved to the outside of the bubble after the disappointing series loss to Auburn. Can the Hogs get back in it with a good performance at Hoover? Here's what they say:

One change from last week: Mississippi State replaces Arkansas as a host.

The Hogs’ hosting case was predicated on the notion that they’d finish strong and boost their RPI into the 30s, at least, by the end of the regular season. But Arkansas lost two of three at Auburn to end the season and finds itself ranked 49th in the RPI heading into the SEC tournament. That RPI is closer to the at-large bubble than the hosting bubble; only Arkansas’ third-place finish in the SEC and its 5-1 record against hosting candidates South Carolina and Mississippi State keep the Razorbacks in this discussion at all. But Arkansas must hope it can boost its RPI about 20 spots with a deep run in Hoover in order to have a shot, and even that might not be enough.

Perfect Game USA: They bumped Arkansas to a #2 seed in the Manhattan (Kansas St) regional along with Sam Houston State and Illinois State. Here's what they say about the Hogs:

Keep an eye on Arkansas as the week progresses. The Razorbacks still have an RPI in the 40s entering the SEC tournament, but the overall resume is very respectable. Arkansas is 7-7 vs. RPI Top 25, 15-15 vs. RPI Top 50 and 15-16 vs. RPI Top 100. The Hogs clearly have a lot of work to do, but the SEC tourney could be a major resume booster.

Southeastern Baseball: They also have Arkansas as a #2 seed in Manhattan but with Seton Hall and Illinois State.

Chasing Omaha: #2 seed in Manhattan with New Mexico and South Dakota State.

College Baseball Daily: They dropped Arkansas all the way to a #3 seed in the Chapel Hill (UNC) regional. They have UNC-Wilmington as the #2 and Army as the #4. From what I've seen this season, this site tends to be more of an outlier. This site didn't didn't even have Arkansas in the field back on April 4th, due solely to Arkansas' RPI. If they happen to be right, I'll eat crow, and wha tan absolutely brutal draw that would be.

So Arkansas is clearly just outside of the hosting discussion after dropping the series to Auburn last week. The Hogs definitely have a chance to boost their RPI this week, and the victory over Ole Miss yesterday certainly helped, but beating LSU today would be huge. Of course, going to Manhattan wouldn't be too bad. That's an easy drive from Northwest Arkansas, and I would think the Razorbacks would have a really good shot of winning it.

Arkansas Beats Ole Miss 2-1 On Wild Pitch Walk-Off In SEC Baseball Tournament

2013-05-22T18:32:15Z

Have you ever seen the South Park episode where the kids are playing baseball and both teams are trying really hard to lose so they won't have to play anymore? That's what this game reminded me of.

Arkansas had the bases loaded in the bottom of the eighth, and Eric Fisher hit the ball in what appeared to be the go ahead hit, but the ball hit Jacob Mahan as he was running from first to second base, causing the force out and preventing any runs from scoring.

In the top of the 9th, Ole Miss picked up a runner on a fielding error, but the Razorbacks were able to get out of it.

Brian Anderson got on base in the 10th with a ground-rule double, then went to third on a single from Dominic Ficociello. Tyler Spoon was walked to load the bases, and then Anderson scored the winning run on a wild pitch.

Barrett Astin was dominant, with a final line of 8 IP, 5 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 4 K, 91 pitches/58 strikes. Jalen Beeks took the mound for the final two innings and claimed the win.

Both teams scored a single run in the first inning, then it was shutout baseball for the rest of the game until the bottom of the tenth.

Arkansas will play the winner of this afternoon's game between LSU and Alabama tomorrow afternoon at 4:30 central. Arkansas is expected to start Ryne Stanek, who holds a win over LSU from the series in Fayetteville in April.

Sausage Links - May 22, 2013

2013-05-22T16:59:48Z

Malachi Dupre is one of the top high school receivers in the country. The Hogs are heavily recruiting the 6-3, 192 receiver. Dupre holds offers to just about every school anyone would ever want to go to. Working in the Hogs' favor is that Dupre is second cousins with Arkansas receivers coach Michael Smith. Richard Davenport at Whole Hog Sports has more on Dupre and his recruitment.

The beloved John L. Smith was, well, to put it nicely terrible. Tyler Wilson and company could never catch the fire that we had seen in years before. The offense was average the defense was way below average. Mr SEC take a look at the stats that mattered in the 2012 SEC season.

I'm afraid ESPN has hit rock bottom with their latest hire. The sports network has hired Paul Finebaum. If you have ever heard Finebaum on the radio or television before than you know he is an idiot (unless your an Alabama fan). Basically all he says is Alabama Rules! You Suck! SB Nation has more on the hire.

Bleacher Report has ranked the SEC's top 50 players. How they do not rank last year's Heisman Trophy winner as number one is a little surprising. I mean, come on, he won the award for top player. So shouldn't Manziel be ranked at the top? Oh well not my website. I don't really like the kid anyway. There are three Hogs on the list. I was hoping to see more and think they may have missed on a few, but I guess you have to save room for Alabama, LSU and Georgia.

Mitch Mustain Documentary Review: A Fascinating Glimpse At A Polarizing Saga

2013-05-21T13:56:30Z

This is an excerpt of a a full report I wrote for Sporting Life Arkansas. Read the column in full here.

The Identity Theft of Mitch Mustain opens with a home video of Mustain as a small child playing football in his yard, just as millions of other children did at the same age. Nolan Richardson’s voice narrates over the raw footage, describing sports in the most innocent terms. "Sports are good!" he exclaims, citing the important role sports can have in teaching teamwork and organization and so on and so forth.

Then, the movie spends the next 90 minutes apparently trying to disprove that theory.

The story involves most of all the worst parts of college sports. The filthiness of recruiting. Coaches pushing their own agendas at the expense of their players. Inappropriately meddlesome boosters. Media and fans twisting teenagers into demigods. Power, corruption, deceit, influence, ambition. It’s all very Game of Thrones, with the Broyles Center taking place of the Iron Throne and everybody forgetting that the point of high-level college football is the crystal football. And no dragons.

It’s red meat for those that despise the extravagance of big-time college athletics.

The movie is well-done. Interviews with Mustain, several members of the Arkansas media and a few others are inter-spliced with old game and news footage. Those who have followed the story closely through the years may not find much new information (although Mustain’s description of former USC teammate Mark Sanchez was an unexpected highlight), but it does provide an interesting perspective on who Mustain was and is and how he’s dealt with the events that, at least to many people in his home state, will always define him.

This, in effect, is where the title of the film comes from. That Mustain, regardless of what actually happened in those tumultuous years in Fayetteville or will happen in the future, has been strongly defined one way or the other by nearly everyone in Arkansas and around the country who’s ever heard some piece of his story. The film even features quick clips from locals around what is presumably the Fayetteville area giving their varied opinions on the quarterback. To the public, Mitch Mustain is much like a one-hit wonder band. Regardless whatever happens, the Hanson boys will always be the kids responsible for "MMMBop".

But the title is also somewhat of a misnomer, as Mitch Mustain doesn’t come across at somebody stuck in a cage of the world’s expectations. He comes across as a 25-year old still searching for his own identity. Some kids, as Mustain describes USC quarterback Matt Barkley, have their future figured out when they’re small kids. Some people figure out who they are in college, and some people are well into their 20s before they figure it out. The end of the movie focuses on the many different things Mustain has tried his hand at doing since leaving USC, which include professional baseball, selling cars, and his current role as an Arena League quarterback. He doesn’t come across as angry, bitter, or regretful. He comes across as a young guy trying different things out.

Note: Wolfe attempted to secure interviews from Houston Nutt, Gus Malzahn, Damian Williams, and likely others involved, but they refused to participate.

Again, you can read the full column here.

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Doc Harper is the managing editor of Arkansas Expats and is a columnist forSporting Life Arkansas and College Football News. You can email him at heydocharper@gmail.com and follow him on twitter @doc_harper.

Brandon Mitchell Transferring To NC State

2013-05-21T01:29:51Z

Brandon Mitchell left Arkansas for the chance to start at quarterback his senior year after it was apparent Brandon Allen would get the nod at Arkansas, and he apparently feels the best fit for him is at NC State.

"I like the culture, coaches, expectations within the program all the way at the top, and most importantly chemistry," BMitchell said.
— Joe Schad (@schadjoe) May 20, 2013

Mitchell: "Bottom line is I want to win, and I want to win now. They have the best opportunity for success and just had one missing piece."
— Joe Schad (@schadjoe) May 20, 2013

Bret Bielema spoke about Mitchell's transfer this week at the "Talking Football" fundraising event for the Arkansas Sports Hall of Fame. Jim Harris quoted Bielema in Sporting Life Arkansas:

Q: Did you have an inkling before the end of spring practice that if Brandon Mitchell wasn’t in the mix to start that he would transfer?

Bielema: I suggested it to him. There wasn’t any surprise on my part. I think the spring unfolded and I knew he wasn’t going to be the starting guy. I knew as a head coach … I think the kids have an understanding of me that I would just rather sit down and talk very, very bluntly and very honestly.

So I brought him in, just said, "Brandon I think this is what you’re thinking about doing. You’ve got a chance to graduate this summer, and he kind of verified that information. I said, So let’s work together. Let me put out a release, get some schools that are interested in you, rather than doing it behind closed doors or not being out in the open. So he immediately got an inquiry like I knew he would from 5 to 10 schools. The best thing we could do for Brandon is help him through that process and let him see some places that might have a interest and let him finish his career and his opportunity and wish him the best of luck.

Again, Mitchell is scheduled to graduate before the fall, so he is eligible to play immediately. Former Florida quarterback Jacoby Brissett also transferred to the Wolfpack this offseason, but he must sit out a year, so everything should be set up well for Mitchell to start.

We wish him the best.

For more: Here's the SB Nation report.

Arkansas Quarterback Brandon Allen Should Not Be Judged Yet

2013-05-20T15:57:16Z

Whenever the subject of Arkansas Razorbacks football has come up this spring/summer, the conversation — without fail — has turned into an evaluation of sophomore quarterback Brandon Allen.

What we’re supposed to judge him on, I’m not sure.

We know Brandon Allen is the starter entering the summer. We know even more pressure is on him now that Brandon Mitchell is gone and Allen has no real competition to push him this summer.

Can he handle it?

Hard to say. What I will say is that we can’t possibly judge Allen fairly at this time.

Allen’s career statistics aren’t much. He appeared in five games, tossing three interceptions and just one touchdown. He got the bulk of his work in a 52-0 blowout loss to Alabama in which he split time with Mitchell. Against the eventual national champions, Allen completed 10 of 18 passes for 60 yards and a pair of interceptions.

No, those numbers aren’t awe-inspiring. Nor are they defining of Allen as a quarterback.

Using his 42.9 percent completion rate in 2012 to determine what Allen will do in 2012? No thanks.

Read the rest of the column here