GOLF
Reddies win fourth consecutive GAC title
Henderson State University held on Tuesday to win its fourth consecutive Great American Conference men's championship at Hot Springs Country Club's Arlington Course.
The Reddies led by eight strokes entering the Tuesday's third and final round then had to fight off Arkansas Tech University, thanks to freshman Nick Shapiro and seniors Drew Greenwood and Price Murphree, to defeat the Wonder Boys by four strokes -- 858-862.
Shapiro followed up his tournament-record 7-under 65 on Monday with a 2-under 70 on Tuesday to finish as the individual medalist at 7-under 209. He eagled the par-5, 18th with a 12-foot putt to clinch the title for the Reddies. Murphree finished fourth at 2 under (214), while Greenwood, the 2015 tournament champion, tied for fifth at even par (216).
Cameron McRae tied for 22nd at 10 over, while Tait Darby tied for 24th at 11 over for the Reddies, who finished the tournament at 6 under.
Arkansas Tech had the day's best round, shooting a 3-under 285. The Wonder Boys were led by Austin Smith's second-place finish (5 under). He was immediately followed by teammate Luke Cornett at 3 under. Tech's Putter Srinoon (tied for seventh, 2 over) and Jonathan Echberg (tied for ninth, 5 over) also had top-1o finishes.
Southwestern Oklahoma State was third (31 over), followed by Harding University (33 over) and Southern Arkansas University (36 over).
-- Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
Golden Suns win third consecutive GAC title
Arkansas Tech won its third consecutive Great American Conference women's championship by four strokes over Henderson State in Hot Springs.
The Golden Suns bettered the Reddies in the final round by two strokes with a 310 and finished at 917 on the par-72 Park Course at Hot Springs Country Club.
Senior Caroline Gredensborg's closing 72 saved the victory when no other Arkansas Tech player was closer than five strokes. She finished at 5-over 221 with sophomore teammate Pia Nunbhakdi placing fourth at 228.
None of Hendrson's five players broke 78 Tuesday. Sarah Wright finished second at 227 and Taylor Loeb tied for fifth at 230. The Reddies finished five strokes ahead of Southwestern Oklahoma State University, which was led by medalist Elin Wahlin's 74-70--218.
The University of Arkansas at Monticello placed fourth at 980, while Southern Arkansas University and Northwestern Oklahoma State University tied for fifth at 995.
-- Bob Wisener, The Sentinel-Record
ASU men fall to Georgia Southern
The Arkansas State men's team advanced to the match play semifinals at the Sun Belt Conference tournament for the second consecutive season Tuesday, but was eliminated after dropping a 3-2 match to Georgia Southern at the Raven Golf Club in Miramar Beach, Fla.
Arkansas State took an early 2-0 lead after victories by Matt Cole and Joel Wendin, but Georgia Southern reeled off the last three victories of the match. Archer Price defeated Andrew Huseman by a five-hole margin, while Jack Storey beat Zan Luka Stirn with a four-hole advantage. The deciding match pitted 2016 All-Sun Belt Conference selections Tanner Napier and Steven Fisk, with Fisk taking the victory on the 17th hole.
Georgia Southern advanced to the championship match to face Georgia State, which defeated Troy in the other semifinal.
UCA men tied for sixth
The University of Central Arkansas men's team moved into a tie for sixth place Tuesday at the Southland Conference tournament in McKinney, Texas.
The Bears shot a 312 total as a team and are tied with Houston Baptist with a 628 total. McNeese State moved into first place with a 608 total, followed by first-round leader Southeastern Louisiana (611), Nicholls State (611), Stephen F. Austin (620) and Sam Houston State (621).
UCA's Louis Tomlinson is tied for ninth place individually after rounds of 74-80--154, while Lewis George is tied for 21st after shooting 81-77--158.
BASEBALL
Hendrix right fielder honored
Hendrix College junior right fielder Matthew Lillard was named to the D3baseball.com national team of the week Tuesday.
Lillard hit .667 (8 for 12) with 6 runs scored, 6 RBI, 2 doubles and 2 home runs as the Warriors went 3-0 last week. He went 3 for 4 with 1 double, 1 RBI and 2 runs scored Saturday in a 14-3 victory over Oglethorpe University, then went 3 for 4 with 3 runs scored, 2 RBI and a home run in a 10-8 victory over the Petrels. For the week, Lillard had a .714 on-base percentage and 1.333 slugging percentage.
Hendrix opens the Southern Athletic Association Tournament in Memphis on Friday against Millsaps University at 2:30 p.m.
SOFTBALL
Big innings lead to Razorbacks victory
The University of Arkansas, Fayetteville (29-18) scored three or more runs in four of the five innings played against Jackson State (12-33) on Tuesday to come away with a 14-2 victory in Jackson, Miss.
Autumn Russell tied a season high with three hits, while Tori Cooper, Lauren Archuleta and A.J. Belans had two hits each. The Razorbacks finished with 15 hits, one shy of a season high, and held the Tigers to three. Arkansas scored in the first inning for the third consecutive game and 19th this season, getting three runs on an RBI base hit from Cooper, who scored on an RBI double from Belans. Loren Krzysko added a three-run home run in the second inning and Cooper had a home run in the inning. Shelby Hiers hit her third home run of the season in the third inning and got a two-run base hit from Belans. Archuleta and Madison Yannetti each had two-run singles in the fifth inning.
Caroline Hedgcock pitched her second complete game of the season for the Razorbacks, giving up 2 runs on 3 hits with 3 strikeouts. The Tigers scored on a two-run triple in the bottom of the fifth before Hedgcock got two ground outs to end the game. She also worked out of consecutive two-on, one-out jams in the third and fourth innings.
-- Democrat-Gazette press services
Sports on 04/26/2017