Singer scores big hit
Alex Carr belted one out Saturday at Baum Stadium.
Carr, a singer from Fayetteville, performed the national anthem Saturday before Arkansas’ game against Delaware State, and he didn’t miss a beat when microphone problems occurred for a second consecutive day during the anthem.
Carr simply put down the microphone after it went out and continued singing, and he could be heard clearly even without the microphone.
Many in the crowd joined Carr as he sang the anthem, and he received a rousing ovation - including a fist bump from Arkansas Coach Dave Van Horn - as he left the field.
Carr, 26, is used to pressure situations. He won the Arkansas Idol contest and was flown to California to audition for the national American Idol competition.
“That was incredible,” Van Horn said of Carr’s performance. “He was belting it out and didn’t miss a note.
You have to give him credit for ad-libbing right there and doing what he had to do,but hopefully we’ll get that microphone figured out.”
Bailey Baxendale, whose brother DJ is a starting pitcher for the Razorbacks, experienced microphone problems during her performance Friday, but the seventh-grader from Springdale also finished her performance without any other problems.
Bosco bounced
Arkansas Coach Dave Van Horn expressed disappointment Saturday after learning that outfielderJimmy Bosco will be unable to play this season.
Bosco transferred from California, which is dropping baseball, but the NCAA ruled Friday that Bosco left prior to Cal announcing it was dropping its program. Bosco will redshirt this season and will have three years of eligibility remaining.
“It’s disappointing,” Van Horn said. “We didn’t appreciate who they compared it to. They compared it to a football case. We knew it was going to be tough, but when you stepback it’s supposed to be in the best interest of the studentathlete, and [the ruling] didn’t look like it in this case.”
I know that name
Arkansas used 17 players Saturday in its 9-2 victory after 11 saw action in Friday’s season opener against Delaware State.
The Razorbacks began making wholesale changes in the seventh inning Saturday, which likely prompted many fans to start searching for their scorecards.
One player fans recognized was Fayetteville freshman Franco Broyles, who came on as a pinchhitter for Eric Fisher. Broyles walked and later scored when he avoided a tag at home plate after a tapper by Jacob Rice, who was credited with an RBI single.
Flying Hornets
Most of teams from the North travel by bus to Arkansas this time of year on their way to warmer weather, but Delaware State flew.
The Hornets departed Thursday from Baltimore and arrived at Northwest Arkansas Regional Airport later that day. The Hornets will return home Monday to Dover, Del., before taking a bus next weekend to Winston-Salem, N. C., to participate in a tournament hosted by Wake Forest.
Delaware State opens at home March 2 against Lehigh.
Sports, Pages 34 on 02/20/2011