LITTLE ROCK — SOFTBALL Razorbacks split pair
Arkansas split a doubleheader with Tulsa on Saturday in Tallahassee, Fla., winning the opener 14-3 in five innings before losing 3-1 the second game, which was part of the Unconquered Invitational.
Arkansas (8-3) will play in the tournament’s consolation game against Hofstra today at 11:30 a.m.
Jennifer Rambo was 2 for 3 with a triple and 4 RBI in the first game. In the second game, she went 1 for 3 with a home run.
Also in the second game, senior pitcher Hope McLemore allowed 3 runs on 6 hits in 7 innings.
UCA loses to Jackson State
Central Arkansas (5-4) lost to Jackson State (2-6) 2-1 in the Mardi Gras Invitational at Mobile, Ala., on Saturday.
The Tigers took a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the first inning on Sabeana Romero’s RBI double that scored Canessa Swanson, who reached on a UCA error.
Chelsea Smith hit a home run in the second inning to extend Jackson State’s lead to 2-0.
UCA’s Melanie Bryant hit a RBI single in the seventh, but was tagged out on a rundown play to end the game.
Kelsie Armstrong (2-3) allowed 1 earned run on 4 hits and struck out 9 in 7 innings for UCA.
UAM splits at Bentonville
Arkansas-Monticello (9-5) went 1-1 on the third day of the 7-State Classic at Bentonville, losing 2-1 to Missouri Western and responding with a 5-3 victory over Oklahoma Christian.
In the loss to Missouri Western (6-2), the Cotton Blossoms’ run came in the bottom of the sixth inning on an RBI single by senior Randa Perry. But with the bases loaded and no outs in the same inning, Missouri Western pitcher Jackie Bishop set down three UAM batters in a row to end the threat.
Perry (4-3) also took a complete-game loss, allowing 2 runs off 4 hits with 4 strikeouts and 3 walks. Bishop (3-1) earned the victory while working the distance, allowing 1 run off 5 hits with 6 strikeouts and 3 walks.
In the victory over Oklahoma Christian (4-3), the Lady Eagles took a 1-0 lead in the top of the first on back-to-back doubles by Kendra Pierce and Martha Thomas before UAM answered with five runs over the next three innings.
The Cotton Blossoms close out the 7-State Classic today against Concordia-St. Paul and Emporia State.
SWIMMING AND DIVING Hendrix teams win titles
The Hendrix College men and women claimed individual conference championships during the first day the Southern Athletic Association Championships at the Birmingham (Ala.) Crossplex Aquatic Center on Friday. Also, one NCAA “B” cut time was recorded and six school records fell for the Warriors. The event concluded Saturday.
Junior John Byford won the 400-yard individual medley by besting his own school record in 4 minutes, 13.58 seconds. He also took third in the 200 freestyle with a school record of 1:44.45, breaking Paul Henry’s record of 1:44.74 set in 1985.
Sewanee led the men’s standings with 571 points. It was followed by Centre (559), Berry (460), Birmingham-Southern (421), Rhodes (178) and Hendrix (139).
For the women, Hendrix junior Jo Claire Robertson won the 100 backstroke, finishing in 58.54, just shy of an NCAA “B” cut mark. Robertson also took eighth in the 100 butterfly final in 1:00.69. During the prelims, she broke the 50-yard record with a split of 28.09, beating Carrie Henderson’s mark of 28.41 set in 1993, and the 100-yard record in 1:00.59, besting the record of 1:00.67 set in 1985 by Denise Goodson.
Freshman Bayley Krell registered the NCAA “B” cut mark of 1:05.69 in the 100 breaststroke, placing second. That time, along with her 50 yard split of 30.94 broke her own school records she set in the fall.
The 200 freestyle relay team of Robertson, Krell, Haldeman and Forbes took fifth in 1:52.12. Forbes, Robertson, Burt and Haldeman finished fifth in the 800 freestyle relay in 8:07.42.
Centre leads the women’s field with 578 points, followed by Sewanee (502), Rhodes (486), BSC (363), Hendrix (264) and Berry (201).
BASEBALL Texas A&M International defeats UAFS
Texas A&M International (9-0, 7-0 Heartland Conference) had 18 hits on its way to a 13-3 victory over Arkansas-Fort Smith (3-4, 3-4) in eight innings Saturday to remain undefeated. The two teams will play a doubleheader today beginning at 1 p.m.
Texas A&M International had six extra-base hits, including a home run by catcher Sean Smedley in the second inning.
Brandon Taylor (0-2) took the loss for Arkansas-Fort Smith, giving up 5 runs on 11 hits with 1 walk in 4 2/3 innings.
SAU sweeps SW Oklahoma
Southern Arkansas concluded the opening weekend of Great American Conference play by completing a three-game sweep over Southwestern Oklahoma State on Saturday afternoon in Magnolia as the Muleriders took both ends of a doubleheader, 5-3 and 6-3.
In the first game, the Muleriders (8-3, 3-0 GAC) starting pitcher Jon Mark Abbey allowed 3 runs on 7 hits while striking out 5.
In the second game, the Muleriders’ starting pitcher Timothy Buchanan earned his first victory of the season after working 6 innings of the seveninning contest.
Reddies sweep SE Oklahoma
A nine-run fourth-inning and a stellar pitching performance by Austin Coble helped Henderson State win a doubleheader over Southeastern Oklahoma State, 2-0 and 9-4, on Saturday in Durant, Okla.
In the first game, Coble pitched 8 innings and gave up 2 hits while striking out 4 to pick up his second victory of the season. Jordan Wright pitched the final inning in relief and picked up his second save of the year after striking out two batters.
In the second game, Henderson State trailed 4-0 in the fourth-inning before erupting for nine runs in the inning on just four hits.
Dustin Hudson pitched five innings, scattering five hits to pick up the victory, while Wright closed out the game pitching the final two innings, striking out three.
The Reddies will return home Tuesday to face Arkansas Tech in a nonconference game with the first pitch set for 2 p.m. at Clyde Berry Field.
Harding tops Missouri S&T
Harding junior Victor Guerra hit a three-run home run with two outs in the bottom of the eighth inning to lift the Bisons to a 7-5 victory over Missouri S&T on Saturday at Jerry Moore Field in Searcy.
Harding (3-0) trailed 5-4 entering the eighth. Senior Billy Ninemire was hit by a pitch to lead off the inning and moved to second on Erin McCarver’s sacrifice bunt. Matt Calhoun walked and Jeremy Bohnett was credited with a single after his ground ball hit Ninemire between second and third for the second out. Bohnett and pinch-runner John Chapman moved to second and third on a wild pitch to set the stage for Guerra.
Guerra sent a 3-2 pitch from Missouri S&T reliever Chris Bowe over the left field wall for Harding’s second home run of the game.
Redshirt freshman Zac Stewart earned the victory in relief for the Bisons. He struck out 6 of the 9 batters he faced and allowed only 1 hit in 2 2/3 innings.
Bowe took the loss in relief of Missouri S&T starter John Auble, who went 4 innings and allowed 4 hits and 4 earned runs.
Sports, Pages 37 on 02/17/2013