Thursday, March 28, 2013

AHV: Girls' Sports Gain My Respect


In honor of my girlfriend, Kelcee Thompson, having an article about her in The Morning News today, I thought it might be fun to bring out an article from the Andrew Hutchinson Vault. This article appeared in the May 2011 issue of The Bulldog Herald (Springdale High School's student newspaper)
(NOTE: I wrote this as a junior in high school, so I apologize if everything isn't AP style or things sound weird. I'd like to think that I have become a better writer since then. Hopefully that won't take away from the humor and point of this story. Enjoy!)


     Girls’ sports are never taken seriously. Usually, they’re joked about and made fun of. I’m guilty of this as anyone, but I learned my lesson earlier this month.
     I’ve been really good friends with junior Kaitlin Davis, the starting pitcher on the softball team, since we played t-ball together when we were six.
     Over the years, I’ve played many sports, like baseball, basketball, track, cross country, and now football, but I never excelled at any of them. Kaitlin has played many sports as well, but she has mainly focused on softball and has become an excellent pitcher. Last season she was even named Honorable Mention All-State.
     One day earlier this year, I made the utterly stupid decision to challenge her. I was joking that I could “go yard” on her, so we made a deal to face each other at some point this year.
     That “some point” finally came on May 11, 2011, a date which will live in infamy.
     I drove her to J.B. Hunt Park that evening, which didn’t really seem right for me. It seemed kind of like a death row inmate driving his executioner to his own execution.
     Freshman Misty Hickman met us there a few minutes after we arrived. Misty, the starting catcher, immediately sensed my nerves and asked if I was scared. I looked at her like she had three heads. I wasn’t scared; I was terrified!
     I had full confidence in Kaitlin, but I just couldn’t shake the thought of one of her pitches being just a hair too far inside and taking out my knee. Contrary to the name, softballs are NOT soft.
     After watching a few warm up throws and saying a few prayers (which made Misty laugh, even though I didn’t find anything very funny), it was time to step into the box.
     The first three pitches I saw I whiffed at worse than a first grader trying to hit a Randy Johnson fast ball would have. I stepped out of the batter’s box for a moment to take a deep breath and so Kaitlin’s mom could regain her composure from laughing so hard.
     I took the next two pitches, a ball and a strike (according to everyone except me). Then, on the sixth pitch I saw, God performed another miracle on Earth. I made contact! Sure, it was a slow roller that would have been fielded by the first baseman for an out, but it was still contact!
     Over the next several pitches, I swung and missed a couple, took some, and even fouled one high over the dugout. Even though I had made contact twice (TWICE!), Kaitlin was still owning me.
     Finally, about thirteen or fourteen pitches in, I made semi-decent contact and the ball landed between where the shortstop and third baseman would have been. In some crazy, Laws-of-Physics-defying way, the ball I hit actually got all the way to the fence. I don’t care if it was on the roll; I took Kaitlin Davis to the fence!
     Unfortunately for me, Kaitlin wouldn’t let that be the last pitch I saw. We ended the outing the way we started, with me whiffing badly.
     As a trophy for my accomplishment, Misty gave me the ball that made it all the way to the fence and signed it, along me and Kaitlin. It immediately earned a place in my room for display. I was proud, to say the least.
     At the end of the day, no matter how proud I was, I respected not only Kaitlin and other softball players, but also all other girl athletes that get made fun of and joked about.

TAT: Razorbacks Get F When It Comes to Fielding Errors


This article originally appeared in the March 28, 2013 issue of The Arkansas Traveler.
(NOTE: This story went to press before the Mississippi Valley State game in Little Rock Wednesday, so it doesn't include Brian Anderson's 12th error of the season.)

Since starting as the preseason No. 1 team in the country, Arkansas’ baseball team has hit several roadblocks, but seems to have gotten back on track after sweeping No. 6 South Carolina over the weekend.
Despite the three wins, I remain wary because of one glaring problem with the Razorbacks: errors.
It feels like they have at least one fielding or throwing error every game, and they almost have. In their first 25 games, they have had twice as many multi-error games (12) as error-free games (6).
The errors peaked in the rubber game of the opening Southeastern Conference series against Ole Miss March 17, when they committed five. Two of those errors came in the 13th inning and allowed the Rebels to score the game-winning runs.
Even in the series sweep in Columbia, S.C., Arkansas committed five errors. The fifth error of the series allowed the Gamecocks to score a pair of runs and force extra innings in the final game of the series.
Following that series, their overall team fielding percentage was .961. If you don’t know anything about baseball, just know this: that’s bad. How bad is it?
It is the worst in the SEC and 173rd out of 296 Division I baseball teams. The Razorbacks rank just ahead of Nicholls State and right behind Canisius.
Nicholls State. Canisius. Yeah, those are real schools.
However, I think it is too early to write off Arkansas’ chances of success this season. Many fans, myself included, are concerned with these numbers, but a little research shows that there is still hope.
In Arkansas’ previous three College World Series seasons, 2004, 2009 and 2012, they posted team fielding percentages of .959, .968 and .970, respectively.
Over the past five seasons, the Razorbacks’ two College World Series teams would rank 36th (2009) and tied for 27th (2012) out of 40 participants, so teams with worse fielding percentages have still proven to be successful.
The position that is having the most trouble with errors is shortstop. Sophomore Brett McAfee has started 20 games at shortstop and has committed six errors, which is second only to sophomore Brian Anderson, who has 11. Anderson has started four games at shortstop, as well as 17 games at third base and three games in the outfield.
The only other Razorback to start at shortstop is freshman Jordan Farris, and he committed his only error of the season in his one start there.
Shortstop is usually considered the “quarterback of the infield” and is vital to the defensive success of a team. A lot of balls are hit at the shortstop, so committing errors could easily cost Arkansas wins, as it did against Ole Miss.
I don’t know if this is a psychological issue or if it’s just a performance issue, but head coach Dave Van Horn needs to figure it out and get it fixed before it costs them more games, whether it’s McAfee, Anderson, Farris or even someone like junior Dominic Ficociello, a two-time All-SEC Defensive Team selection.
McAfee started Tuesday against Mississippi Valley State and didn’t commit any errors while converting on all five of his opportunities. Hopefully he will be able to carry that type of performance over into SEC play.
For now, I am going to try not to worry about it and trust Van Horn to work it all out.

Wednesday, March 27, 2013

TAT: Nine Hogs to Run in Stanford Invite


This article originally appeared in the March 27, 2013 issue of The Arkansas Traveler.

The No. 2 Arkansas men’s track and field team travels to Palo Alto, Calif., this weekend to compete in the Stanford Invitational.
They are just one of seven top-10 teams sending athletes to compete in the race and one of 14 top-25 teams.
The Razorbacks are led by seniors Drew Butler and David Flynn and junior Solomon Haile, who will compete in two events each.
Butler will run in the 800- and 1,500-meter races, Flynn will run in the 3,000-meter steeplechase and 5,000-meter race, and Haile will run in the 5,000- and 10,000-meter races.
Last year at the Stanford Invitational, Butler set personal outdoor bests of 1 minute, 49.43 seconds in the 800 and 3:52.68 in the 1,500. Haile’s personal bests also came at the Stanford Invitational. He ran a 14:09.81 in the 5,000 last year and a 28:43.35 in the 10,000 in 2010.
Six other Arkansas athletes will also make the trip.
Senior Anthony Lieghio, sophomore Patrick Rono and freshman Cale Wallace will run alongside Butler in the 1,500.
Rono is coming off of a seventh-place finish in the 800 at the Indoor Championships March 9, while Lieghio is coming off of a 12th-place finish in the 1,500 at the Texas State Elite last weekend.
Along with Flynn and Haile, juniors Kemoy Campbell, Cameron Efurd and Stanley Kebenei will also run in the 5,000.
Campbell splashed onto the scene at the Indoor Championships in Fayetteville when he finished second in the 3,000-meter race to clinch the championship for Arkansas. This will be his first race of the outdoor season.
This will also be Kebenei’s first race since he finished seventh in the 5,000 at the Indoor Championships.
Arkansas will be one of six Southeastern Conference teams competing in Palo Alto. The others are No. 3 Florida, No. 5 Auburn, Kentucky, Missouri and Tennessee.
The meet begins Friday and concludes Saturday.

Monday, March 25, 2013

TAT: Hogs Sweep Series Against Gamecocks


This article originally appeared in the March 25, 2013 issue of The Arkansas Traveler.

After losing two out of three against Ole Miss in their opening Southeastern Conference series, the Arkansas baseball team bounced back with a three game sweep against South Carolina in Columbia, S.C.
In the first game of the series, Arkansas used 13 hits, two Gamecock fielding errors and seven walks to beat South Carolina 15-3.
The Razorbacks didn’t get on the board until the fourth inning, when freshman Willie Schwanke and junior Jake Wise drew bases loaded walks to score a pair of runs.
Junior Jacob Morris hit a two-RBI ground-rule double to bring Arkansas’ total to four runs.
After a wild pitch allowed Morris to score, freshman Tyler Spoon hit a two-RBI single, followed by a two-run home run by sophomore Brian Anderson. The Razorbacks finished the inning with nine runs.
The Gamecocks responded by scoring three runs in the sixth inning, knocking Arkansas’ starter, junior Barrett Astin, out of the game.
However, that was all South Carolina could get. Arkansas added another five runs in the seventh inning and one run in the ninth.
Astin picked up his second win of the season, giving up three earned runs on six hits, three walks and five strike outs in 5.1 innings.
Spoon finished 3-for-6 with five RBI, while Anderson and Mahan finished 2-for-5 with 2 RBI each.
Arkansas’ 15 runs are the most scored by the Razorbacks in an SEC game since they scored 17 against Kentucky April 4, 2010, a game they won 17-16.
The Razorbacks clinched the series in game two with a 4-2 victory.
South Carolina got on the board first, using an error by Anderson, a sacrifice bunt and a sacrifice fly to score a run in the fifth inning.
Arkansas answered in the sixth inning with an RBI-single by Spoon to tie the game.
After junior Dominic Ficociello reached on a throwing error by South Carolina sophomore Joey Pankake, Schwanke moved him to second on a sacrifice bunt and Wise moved him to third with a ground out.
Morris came up to the plate, and with two outs and two strikes, he laid down a squeeze bunt that South Carolina’s pitcher, senior Nolan Belcher, couldn’t handle, allowing Ficociello to score.
They were not finished, as Mahan singled and sophomore Joe Serrano reached on another Pankake error, allowing Morris to score. Senior Matt Vinson hit a solo home run in the eighth, putting the Razorbacks up 4-1.
An error by Anderson allowed the Gamecocks to score a run in their half of the eight inning, bringing the final score to 4-2.
On the mound, junior Ryne Stanek needed only 124 pitches to toss a complete game three-hitter, giving up no earned runs, one walk and striking out seven. Two of the three hits Stanek allowed were infield hits.
Arkansas completed the sweep of No. 6 South Carolina with an 11 inning 5-3 win Sunday.
Arkansas took a 3-1 lead in the fourth with RBI-singles by Schwanke and Morris.
That lead held until Anderson committed his fourth error of the series, extending the seventh inning. An RBI-single by junior Erik Payne cut Arkansas’ lead to one run and knocked their starter, senior Randall Fant, out of the game.
Junior Brandon Moore then walked two consecutive batters, allowing South Carolina to tie the game.
After a scoreless 10th inning, Arkansas loaded the bases with two outs in the 11th with Vinson coming up to bat. He hit a single to left center to score two runs, which proved to be the game winning runs for the Razorbacks.
Junior Colby Suggs picked up the win by pitching the 11th inning. He allowed a leadoff single, struck out two batters on full counts and gave up a walk before getting Pankake to ground out to end the game.
Fant went 6.2 innings and gave up one earned run, one walk and struck out seven in a no decision.