SOFTBALL
Gibson earns SEC honor
University of Arkansas first baseman Danielle Gibson hit five home runs in four games this week and drove in 12 runs to earn SEC Player of the Week honors, which was announced by the league office Tuesday.
The redshirt senior from Murrieta, Calif., went 8 for 12, scored 6 runs and also walked 3 times to help the No. 10 Razorbacks win three of four games including two of three at Tennessee. She hit two homers and drove in seven in one win win over the Lady Vols, then hit two more home runs in the Razorbacks’ 8-1 win at Western Kentucky.
That’s back-to-back SEC Player of the Week honors for the Razorbacks. Sophomore Hannah Gammill earned the honor a week ago.
Gibson now leads Division I with a .548 batting average to go with 11 home runs and 34 RBI. She ranks second in slugging percentage (1.123), and among the top 10 in the country in seven other statistical categories including home runs and RBI.
Arkansas hosts No. 22 LSU for a three-game series at Bogle Park in Fayetteville beginning at 7:30 p.m. Saturday.
Bears split doubleheader
The University of Central Arkansas split two games against Florida Atlantic on Tuesday in Boca Raton, Fla., losing the first 4-1 and winning the second 5-0.
In the first, Florida Atlantic (16-16) scored its first run in the top of the first on a Zoey Jones RBI single, and followed it with runs in the fourth, fifth and sixth innings. Jordan Johnson, who recorded the loss for UCA (16-11), struck out eight in six innings.
In the second, UCA’s Kayla Beaver allowed one hit in the shutout, striking out six in seven innings. Jaylee Engelkes had a two-RBI day for the Bears, and Kristen Whitehouse and Emily Sampson were UCA’s other players with multi-hit performances.
BASKETBALL
Oberg says she will transfer
University of Arkansas women’s player Destinee Oberg announced Tuesday afternoon on Twitter that she intends to enter her name into the transfer portal.
“I’m blessed I was able to play for you and grow as a person and player,” Oberg posted on her Twitter account. “My journey will continue on a new path as I enter the transfer portal. I’m grateful for everything this program and my teammates gave to me! The relationships and memories mean the world.”
The 6-3 center from Burnsville, Minn. played in a career-high 19 games this season, averaging 1.4 points and 1.6 rebounds in just under seven minutes per game. Oberg finished with career-highs of 10 points and 10 rebounds in 17 minutes of action in the Razorbacks’ 73-39 win over the University of Arkansas-Little Rock on Dec. 12. It was also her lone double-double as a Razorback.
The Razorbacks ended their season with a 92-69 loss to Utah in the first round of the NCAA Tournament on Friday afternoon.
— Paul Boyd
BASEBALL
UCA falls to No. 3 Texas
The University of Central Arkansas was held to five hits Tuesday, scoring single runs in the seventh and eighth innings of a 7-2 loss to No. 3 Texas in front of 5,678 fans at UFCU Disch-Falk Field in Austin, Texas.
The Bears scored in the seventh inning on an RBI single from Reid Bowman and on an RBI single from Hunter Hicks in the eighth. Hicks was the only UCA player with multiple hits, going 2 for 3, with the other hits coming from Bowman, Kolby Johnson and Drew Sturgeon. Left-hander Dillan Janak took the loss for the Bears after allowing 6 earned runs on 7 hits over 31/3 innings with 2 walks and 1 strikeout.
GOLF
ASU men finish 8th
Arkansas State University was unable to play the third round at the All-American Intercollegiate in Houston on Tuesday following significant overnight rain.
ASU was tied for 8th through 36 holes, shooting 21-over par (597) as a team. Devyn Pappas turned in a 1-under par 71 in his second round, leading the Red Wolves with an 18th-place tie among all individuals.
— Mitchell Gladstone
UALR women 6th, UCA 7th
The University of Arkansas at Little Rock came up a shot shy of fifth-place Jacksonville but managed a fifth consecutive top-10 team finish at Gulf Shores Golf Club in southern Alabama.
UALR carded rounds of 18-over par (306) and 15-over par (303) in the second and third rounds, respectively, as both were played Monday to avoid the threat of Tuesday rain. Viktoria Krnacova, competing as an individual, tied for 12th with a score of 11-over par (227).
Senior Syndey Scraba and freshman Anna Dawson led the Trojans with a pair of 15-over-par (231) performances.
The Bears climbed up the leaderboard after posting the fifth-highest score during Sunday’s opening round. UCA shot 20-over-308 in the second round and 9-over (297) in the final round to end the weekend 7th.
— Mitchell Gladstone
HIGH SCHOOL BASKETBALL
Nominations sought
Today is the final day for nominations to be accepted for the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette All-Arkansas Preps basketball teams.
There will be a first team and a second team chosen, as well as an underclassmen team (freshmen and sophomores) for both boys and girls. All teams will have five players. Also, all players chosen for the final teams will be selected from the pool of student athletes who were actually nominated.
Season statistics, averages and grade classification should be included with the nominations, along with heights and any other pertinent information that may contribute to a potential selection.
All recommendations can be emailed to ericktaylor@adgnewsroom.com or sent via direct message on Twitter using the handle @ETTaylor79.
— Erick Taylor
