State sports briefs

BASEBALL

U.S. team wins Dutch tournament

The USA Baseball collegiate national team, led by Arkansas Coach Dave Van Horn, downed Japan 6-3 on Sunday to win the 27th Haarlem-Honkbal Week in The Hague, Netherlands.

Team USA, which lost to Japan in its opening game of the tournament, rallied to win seven games in a row to capture the tournament for the fourth time.

“These guys are really proud to wear the USA baseball uniform, and I am really excited that we were able to win here at Honkbal Week,” Van Horn said. “It was important for us to play well, and I thought we played extremely hard today. For us to come back to win this tournament after losing the first game like we did, 1-0, it was really something special.”

LSU infielder Alex Bregman won the Honkbal Week most valuable player honors. Teammates Chris Okey of Clemson and Christin Stewart of Tennessee were selected as the most popular player and the best hitter, respectively.

Team USA posted four shutout victories in The Netherlands and allowed just five runs after its opening-game defeat. The Americans are 18-3-2 during their summer tour with one leg remaining.

Team USA will play at Cuba in a five-game friendly series on July 23-27, with two games at Victoria de Giron Stadium in Matanzas and three games at Capitan San Luis Stadium in Pinar Del Rio.

TRACK AND FIELD

UA outdoor track getting new entrance

FAYETTEVILLE — Construction will begin soon at Arkansas’ outdoor track, John McDonnell Field, on an entrance and plaza at the north side of the facility that will have a series of exhibits honoring accomplishments by the men’s and women’s teams, the UA announced Monday.

John McDonnell, the retired coach who led Arkansas’ men’s track and field and cross country teams to 40 national championships, will have an eight-foot bronze statue as part of the enhancements project.

Tthe project, expected to cost about $750,000 paid by athletic department funds and private donations, will take about five months to complete.

The entrance and plaza were designed by Modus Studio with Flintco, Inc., serving as the general contractor, according to a UA news release.

With construction scheduled to begin this month, the five-month timeline is aimed at a mid-November finish. The features of the project will be built outside of the facility gates to allow fans access year round.

Upcoming Events