Resident News Network

Researchers turn to AI, remote sensing to find cause of pine declines

Outdoors

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3:35 pm

Researchers turn to AI, remote sensing to find cause of pine declines

By Mary Hightower
U of A System Division of Agriculture

Researchers plan to use artificial intelligence and remote sensing alongside some good old-fashioned detective work to find the cause of the pine decline seen in parts of Arkansas.

The decline has taken the form of browning and dropping of needles in stands of mature pines in southeastern Arkansas. The ailment has also resulted in the deaths of some trees.

Forestry experts from the Arkansas Department of Agriculture, the University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture, University of Arkansas at Monticello and the Arkansas Forestry Association are working with colleagues across the southeastern United States to determine what’s going on with these stands.

In April, Grant Beckwith, Arkansas County extension staff chair, said he’d received calls from people concerned about pine trees whose green needles were turning brown and dropping.

Ford toured the areas and found that “all the trees dying were loblolly pine. About half of the dead trees show a proliferation of cones and is a reaction to stress and often before mortality.

“The decline could have a variety of causes. They could be stressed by several years’ of very wet springs,” said Vic Ford, a forester who is associate vice president for agriculture and natural resources for the Cooperative Extension Service. “That stress can leave trees weakened and vulnerable to damage from insects, disease or even herbicides.”

Other stress factors include drought, saturated conditions, lightning, injury to stem or roots, soil disturbance around the roots, crowded conditions and pollutants. Ford noted that in Arkansas County, the living trees around the dead ones showed various signs of stress.

Similar symptoms appeared in Ashley and Chicot counties.

Tech tools

Researchers are using a variety of approaches to investigate the causes. Samples from affected trees have been sent to a diagnostic lab at Auburn University. Results weren’t expected to be returned until later this month.

“We can use artificial intelligence, drones and geographic information systems to tease out clues to this decline,” Ford said. “We will need all the tools at our disposal to solve this case and find why forest health in these areas is being affected.”

Ford said that “conducting a survey and placing the locations on a map will help us to determine commonality of affected plots.

“Plot locations on these images can be used to determine soils, topographic features, stand characteristics, and changes of tree and environmental changes over time,” he said. “This information is compiled with a geographic information system. This large and complex data set needs to be analyzed so that important factors can be identified.

“Artificial intelligence programming can take complex information using several information sources and produce results. These programs allow the machines to discover information that is pertinent to cause and eliminate potential factors,” Ford said. “These routines learn from other dataset, computer routines, and mathematical models and can apply relationships within the plot data to cause and effect based on machine learning.”

Don’t panic

Michael Blazier, dean of the College of Forestry and Natural Resources at the University of Arkansas at Monticello, urged forestland owners to be patient until the exact cause of the decline can be pinpointed.

“What we don’t want is people to panic,” he said. “I’ve heard from landowners who are cutting and burning trees that appear to be in decline in an effort to keep anything from spreading. At this point, that kind of action might be premature. Determining how to change forest management in afflicted stands has to be evaluated on a case-by-case basis.”

“All of us are working hard to solve this issue that affects so many not only in Arkansas, but also the southeastern United States,” Blazier said. “Forestry, whether it’s through timber or the recreational opportunities it affords, is very important to the economies of the state and the South as a whole. It’s important we use all of our resources together to figure this out.”

Members of the public can report pine tree discoloration and/or mortality by filling out this survey: arcg.is/1HyHCu 0.

To learn about extension programs in Arkansas, contact your local Cooperative Extension Service agent or visit www.uaex.uada.edu. Follow us on Twitter and Instagram at @AR_Extension. To learn more about Division of Agriculture research, visit the Arkansas Agricultural Experiment Station website: https://aaes.uada.edu/. Follow us on Twitter at @ArkAgResearch. To learn more about the Division of Agriculture, visit https://uada.edu/. Follow us on Twitter at @AgInArk.

About the Division of Agriculture
The University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture’s mission is to strengthen agriculture, communities, and families by connecting trusted research to the adoption of best practices. The Division of Agriculture conducts research and extension work within the nation’s historic land grant education system through the Agricultural Experiment Station and the Cooperative Extension Service.

The Division of Agriculture is one of 20 entities within the University of Arkansas System. It has offices in all 75 counties in Arkansas and faculty on five system campuses.

The University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture offers all its Extension and Research programs to all eligible persons without regard to race, color, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, national origin, religion, age, disability, marital or veteran status, genetic information, or any other legally protected status, and is an Affirmative Action/Equal Opportunity Employer.

Timepiece: The Legend of Old Sam

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Tammy Teague

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3:30 pm

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By Dr. Curtis Varnell

During my lifetime, I have heard many stories of large snakes and the fear that they engender in many people. Stores of mean copperheads, fishermen surrounded by cotton-mouths, and even falling into pits or rattlesnakes but never have I heard any story that compared to the legend of Old Sam.

No one knows how Sam came to be but the most logical explanation is that a traveling circus show passed through the Roseville, AR community and, while traversing the less than ideal roads, overturned spilling out their large snake. Not able to capture the reptile and not willing to face the possible consequences of loosening it on the public, the circus left the county. What is known for sure is that, on a nice spring day the following year, Sam Webb was preparing his cotton field near Tanyard mountain. His mule suddenly balked and began backing up in the traces, braying at the top of its lungs. Alarmed, Sam stepped sideways and saw the largest snake ever laying diagonally across several cotton rows. Choosing discretion over valor, Sam decided to vacate the field, striding over three rows at a time in his rush to outrun his mule back to the safety of the farm. Webb told the story around the community, marking off the length in the dirt and describing it as rounder than a big stovepipe. His story circulated through the community of unbelievers who felt Sam liked to exaggerate or had too much to drink. In derision, they dubbed the snake, Old Sam.

Webb’s story became more credible in July. During a pie supper at the Zion Baptist Church, several of the kids wondered off to the nearby Deep Bayou. Hearing the squealing of a pig, theyventured near the water and saw a huge snake crushing a half-grown pig to death. The children and adults quickly forgot all about the pie supper and vacated the premises. Sam was somewhat vindicated by this second sighting but there were still many who doubted the existence of the monster snake.

That all changed as school started back at the Big Sandy school in McLean bottoms. The school building was a conventional small school, consisting of a rectangular wooden frame structure with double doors on one end and the teacher desk, stove, and blackboard on the opposite. It was a typical hot, humid end-of-summer day and about time for recess. Valentine Byrd was busy teaching at the front of the room when the double-doors slowly opened. To his astonished eyes, a huge reptile with a head as large as a dinner bucket slithered into the aisle, forked tongue flickering from its large maw. “Walls of Jericho,” he screamed, “Run children, run.” Needing no encouragement, kids exited through doors and windows, breaking door hinges and glass as they left, accompanied by their young teacher in hot pursuit.

The entire countryside was aroused, doors were barred, and some families even prepared to move. A mass meeting was hurriedly called at the general store on Roseville’s main street. Sheriff Clark Wood instructed every man to go home and get their weapons, a snake posse was needed. Scouring the entire region with blood hounds, the men finally spotted what they thought was Old Sam sinuously swimming in Deep Bayou. Shotguns and rifles exploded, loosing enough ammunition to start a small war. Old Sam sank from sight.

A hundred plus years have passed, the story of Old Sam is still told, and the people of Big Sandy still pray, “Lord, please make sure that Old Sam was not able to pass on any progeny.”

Dry weather patterns leave pastures thirsty; ranchers worried

Outdoors

Tammy Teague

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10:58 pm

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Dry weather patterns leave pastures thirsty; ranchers worried

By Mary Hightower
U of A System Division of Agriculture

Arkansas livestock producers may be getting a little worried as their forage and hay pastures turn thirsty and rainfall is more random and scattered.

While Arkansas saw a very wet April, the May 30 Drought Center map showed nearly 42 percent of the state as being abnormally dry.

Justin Condry, meteorologist for the National Weather Service at Little Rock, said Monday that an emerging El Niño will mean the return of a more typical summer weather pattern for Arkansas.

“We’re going to see a lot of pop-up showers in the afternoon,” he said. “It’s that kind of thing where your neighbor down the road could pick something that you may not.”

A pattern of dry weather has set in, causing ranchers concern about their hay meadows and pastures. File photos.

Condry said the summer outlook from the Climate Prediction Center covering June, July and August projects “slightly above-average temperatures and slightly above-average rainfall.”

However, Condry cautioned that the three-month outlook is generalized and that not everyone will see above-average rainfall through the summer.

Smaller hay cuttings

Cody Burkham, executive vice president of the Arkansas Cattlemen’s Association, said he hasn’t heard of anyone resorting to hay for forage yet, he reports some cuttings in north central Arkansas are a “quarter to a third below average.”

The National Agricultural Statistics Service report on Monday showed 13 percent of non-alfafa hay in poor condition, with 11 percent of pastures in poor or very poor condition.

“We are becoming very concerned about the dry conditions in Van Buren County,” Danny Griffin, county extension staff chair for the University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture, said Monday. “Most producers who fertilized early have made an average hay crop, but many are concerned about making a second harvest or having to feed the first due to lack of rain on pastures.

“Our soils dry out quickly,” Griffin said. “The old timers used to say that ‘we are always two weeks from a drought at any time’.”

Prussic acid

The drought brings an additional grazing concern, he said.

“I have been on the phone this morning with a producer concerned about grazing sorghum-sudangrass that he planted and fertilized,” Griffin said. “It can accumulate nitrates and prussic acid in drought conditions and become toxic to grazing animals.”

In Jackson County, which includes parts of the eastern Ozarks, “Hills are drying up fast from what I saw last week,” said Matthew Davis, Jackson County extension staff chair. “Many water holes are dry and any non-diverse forage areas are struggling. The higher up on the Ozarks you go the worse it is because of the shallow soil.”

Davis also said that “grazing rotations are being impacted by lack of water in places, and non-irrigated hay ground won’t be cut anytime soon because grass isn’t growing off.”

Back to forage management basics

Maggie Justice, assistant professor and extension beef cattle specialist, said now is not the time to forget basic forage management.

Water — “Make sure your animals have access to good clean water. Make sure to monitor natural water sources more closely during drier times,” she said.
Monitor your pastures — “Be more aware of toxic plants in your pastures,” Justice said. “Cattle grazing short pastures are more likely to consume toxic plants.”

Justice also said producers shouldn’t let cattle graze too long on short pastures, since it will make it more difficult for grass to recover.

“Let the grass grow back before grazing,” she said. “Concentrate cattle in a ‘sacrifice’ area if needed. Close the gates and give your remaining forage a chance.”

“Start thinking about long-term management decisions such as animals that might need to be culled,” Justice said. “Consider culling open cows, old and low producers in the herd. This will provide more feed for the younger and more productive cows.”

“If you have to start feeding hay due to lack of forage — don’t waste the hay!” she said. “Use recommended methods for properly feeding hay such as feeders that minimize waste, unrolling hay, and limiting the time cows have access to hay each day if needed.”

Find information on prussic acid and cattle and managing cattle in drought online and at your county Cooperative Extension Service office.

To learn about extension programs in Arkansas, contact your local Cooperative Extension Service agent or visit www.uaex.uada.edu. Follow us on Twitter and Instagram at @AR_Extension. To learn more about Division of Agriculture research, visit the Arkansas Agricultural Experiment Station website: https://aaes.uada.edu/. Follow us on Twitter at @ArkAgResearch. To learn more about the Division of Agriculture, visit https://uada.edu/. Follow us on Twitter at @AgInArk.

Booneville’s Whit Overton Hired as Next Mansfield Head Football Coach

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Resident News Network

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9:13 pm

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Booneville’s Whit Overton Hired as Next Mansfield Head Football Coach

MANSFIELD– It has been a spring of change for member schools of the 3A-1 football conference. Several head football coaches in the conference have either retired, moved on to other jobs, or, in the case of Mansfield, have made changes in their program’s leadership. Cedarville, Greenland, Hackett, and Mansfield will all have new head coaches when the 2023 season begins in August. It can be a challenging time to replace a head football coach when spring practice has concluded, and teams are now engaged in summer workouts and football camps to prepare for the opening week of the high school season that will be here in just a little more than two months.

The Mansfield district most recently made the change to relieve former head coach Tim Cothren of his coaching responsibilities in a move that surprised many. And within a very short time, the district made the additional move to hire former Booneville junior high football coach, Whit Overton, as their next head football coach for the Tigers. Overton will bring his experience from one of the most successful football programs in Arkansas to the Mansfield program.

Coach Overton was gracious to take my request for an interview just after his hire by the Mansfield school district. We visited on the phone, and I recorded his comments for our readers.

Overton is a 2004 graduate of Mansfield High School and calls his recent appointment as the school’s head football coach as a “dream come true.” Overton added, “It’s an honor to be back and to be in charge, be the head football coach of a place that I love, have put a lot of blood sweat and tears into when I was in high school, and just is just a honor to be the guy.”

Overton comes to Mansfield from Booneville where he served as a junior high football coach. When I asked him about his thoughts of leaving the very successful Bearcats program, Overton said, “It definitely wasn’t easy. It wasn’t an easy decision. I have a lot of lifelong friends in Booneville, all of the coaches there are like brothers to me. We had a great time together there and won a lot of football games. This past year, we went on the road (in the 2022 state playoffs) to Osceola, Melbourne, and basically the whole state, and just the ride over there has been tremendous. I loved it. It was just a great time and a great opportunity. When I went over there in 2017, of course they had it rolling for a long time, just to be a part of the history and tradition of Booneville was something special.”

The winning tradition of Booneville football is something that all schools and their fanbases would like to have. And that tradition, especially on offense, has been rooted in a fierce running attack that is virtually unstoppable, particularly late in games when the opposing defenses are tired. I asked Coach Overton if that was the style he would emulate in Mansfield, and the new Tigers coach said, “My philosophy, as far as offense goes, is that we are going to be sound, we are going to run the football, and we are also going to be able to pass it. With the talent that I have been able to watch on film, I believe we have to be able to spread people out (passing attack) and get the ball into your best players’ hands. So, yes, we will bring some of the “old school” mentality and package it in a “new school” sort of way where we are able to do both (run and pass). We are going to be very simplistic in our assignments, and rules. At Booneville, we changed a lot of the ways that we practiced; we ran a lot more option stuff to get the ball out on the edges because we had some speed. I want to bring that and those type of plays over here to Mansfield. I think that kind of stuff can travel. You don’t have to have the biggest offensive linemen, but if you can have some guys that can be in skill positions and with buy-in with the offensive linemen, you can do some special things.”

As of the date and time of this story, Coach Overton had not yet had the opportunity to meet his new Mansfield players. After the Mansfield school board made his hire official the night before, the new coach made the three hour round trip to Fayetteville where his former Booneville players were participating in a football camp at the University of Arkansas. He made the trip for the expressed reason of telling them goodbye. He immediately returned to Mansfield to begin his work as the Tigers new coach. Coach Overton will have approximately ten weeks to install his system and terminology in Mansfield, and two of those weeks will include the Arkansas Activities Association’s (AAA) mandatory dead weeks period. So, in short, Coach Overton has his work cut out for him to not only install the nuts and bolts of the new program, but to begin to, more importantly, install the program’s cultural changes that will be important to their future success. The Tigers players are spread out in different directions today, including baseball, FCA camps, and for other reasons, but the new coach is hoping to meet them on Thursday of this week.

Coach Overton was gracious to grant me time from his first day for this interview. As anyone can imagine, his mind must be swirling today, thinking of everything he wants and needs to do to get the program restarted under his leadership. When I asked him about his first steps as the Tigers’ coach, Overton replied by saying, “We are going to put the best players on the field; the ones that give us the best chance to win. I just want to win. If kids are excited to be a part of a small town and play both ways, we just want kids who can play. We want all of our kids to buy into our core principles of working hard and being physical. For the rest of June, we will not do any team camps. My biggest focus in the month of June will be installing offense and defense and getting the weight room going the way I want it. So, just focusing on us. We have to get the kids in here and bought into what we are going to have to be and we just have to focus inwardly.”

Installing new systems and introducing new terminology associated with those systems is going to be a challenge in the short time the Tigers will have before their first game of the 2023 season. “It will be tough, but the beauty of what we are going to do is that it is very simple. We’re not going to have 30 different plays to memorize. There is going to be five run plays, and that’s it. We are going to have five or six passing play sets, two or three play action type plays, and then two or three quick game plays, passing wise. Again, you have to create buy-in with the kids so that it is important to them to learn them, and then we can start drilling them in practice.”

Mansfield will lose some players from the line of scrimmage who played a year ago, but they will have a lot of returning players in skilled positions. “I think they had some really good seniors on the line who graduated. I think we will be young on both the offensive and defensive line. But a lot of skill guys are coming back. That ninth-grade group from a year ago was really a good group. That is another reason why I am excited about this job; there is a lot of talent around here.”

Booneville will likely move up to play in Class 4A starting with the 2024 season due to some large classes that are projected to move up at Booneville High School. If Booneville is taken out of the Tigers’ 3A-1 conference, that potentially opens up the championship and higher playoff seeds to the remainder of the field, depending on who replaces Boonville in the 3A-1. So, the outlook for Mansfield includes not only what Tigers fans are hoping their team will do this season, but for at least the next two years thereafter.

But in 2023, the 3A-1 is perhaps wider open than it has been in recent years. Booneville will again be the prohibitive favorite as they return the vast majority of their state championship runner-up team from a year ago. Injuries had an effect on the Bearcats’ season a year ago, and the Booneville faithful will be hoping the injury bug stays away from the Bearcats in 2023. But head coaching turnover in the conference remains to be seen what effect it will have on the rest of the conference as they enter conference play in September. “I think the conference is more open than ever”, according to the new Tigers coach. With Booneville out of the conference starting 2024, it could be possible that the battle for the new conference’s champion could play out to be a battle between Charleston and Mansfield. Other conference programs, such as Hackett and Greenland, may have a lot to say about that, but it is conceivable that talent-wise, Charleston and Mansfield may be in the same place over the next three years.

As a result of Overton’s hire, the assistant coaching staff, according to the new coach will remain the same. The exception will be that he will be looking to hire another assistant coach. “I get to hire one guy; I am hoping it is going to be a defensive coordinator. But Stovall (Keith Stovall) and Robinson (Layton Robinson) are both staying on. Stovall will stay as the defensive line coach, and that is what he wants to do…he takes a lot of pride in it. I haven’t had the chance to talk with Layton yet.”

RNN Sports would like to thank the Tigers’ new coach for talking with us today after just having been hired the night before. He was very patient and open with us with our questions, and we thank him for taking time with us while knowing he has so much on his plate to accomplish in such a short time.

All of us wish Coach Overton the best of success next season and beyond, and stay with RNN Sports as we follow Coach Overton and the Tigers into the upcoming high school football season!

Toad to Omaha: Frogs Advance to the Super Regionals

Sports

Resident News Network

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2:43 pm

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Toad to Omaha: Frogs Advance to the Super Regionals

FAYETTEVILLE – The 2023 Arkansas baseball season has come to end. Key injuries to the pitching staff and others on the roster finally became too much for the Razorbacks in the finals of the NCAA Regional.

Arkansas (43-18) concluded the campaign with a 12-4 loss against TCU (40-22) in the NCAA Fayetteville Regional championship round on Monday afternoon at Baum-Walker Stadium. With the loss, the Razorbacks, the No. 3 overall seed in this year’s NCAA Tournament, failed to advance out of the regional round for the first time since 2017.

Playing its third game in 24 hours, Arkansas came out energized and took an early lead. The first three Razorback batters reached and loaded the bases for Ben McLaughlin, who drove home the first run on his sacrifice fly to left.

TCU took the lead with two runs in the bottom half of the second, but Arkansas came roaring back in the fifth inning. Back-to-back home runs by Jace Bohrofen, who clobbered his team-leading 16th homer of the year off the batter’s eye, and Jared Wegner, who swatted his 15th of the season, propelled the Hogs back to a 4-2 advantage.

Bohrofen finished the game 1-for-3 with two RBI, concluding the year with a team-leading .318/.436/.612 slash line. He racked up a team-best 31 extra-base hits, including 15 doubles, and 52 RBI, second most among all Razorback hitters.

Hagen Smith, who entered in relief of starter Cody Adcock in the second inning, kept the Horned Frogs at bay over his 3 2/3 innings of work on the mound. The left-hander struck out six while allowing just one run, finishing his All-America campaign with a team-leading 109 strikeouts over 71 2/3 innings on the year.

After Smith departed, however, TCU broke through for nine more runs against the Arkansas bullpen. The Horned Frogs used a three-run sixth and a five-run eighth to put the game away for good, sealing their 12-4 regional-clinching win.

Led by 2023 SEC Coach of the Year Dave Van Horn, Arkansas finished the season with 43 overall wins, the program’s sixth consecutive 40-win season (excluding the shortened 2020 campaign). The Hogs, who won an SEC championship for the fourth time in school history, tallied 32 wins at Baum-Walker Stadium, their third-most home victories in a season.

For complete coverage of Arkansas baseball, follow the Hogs on Twitter (@RazorbackBSB), Instagram (@RazorbackBSB) and Facebook (Arkansas Razorback Baseball).

– ArkansasRazorbacks.com || On Twitter @ArkRazorbacks || Facebook.com/ArkansasRazorbacks

Note to Our Readers: Parts of the previous story were sourced directly from the University of Arkansas Office of Communications, Oliver Grigg.

Eagles Show Improvement Today at Charleston Summer Football Camp

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11:28 pm

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Eagles Show Improvement Today at Charleston Summer Football Camp

CHARLESTON- The late-spring temperatures today were more like summer conditions for the many high school teams who traveled to Charleston to play at the summer football camp hosted by Charleston High School. Several area teams, including teams from Heavner, Poteau, and Panama, Oklahoma participated in the camp.

For both the Paris Eagles and the host Charleston Tigers, today’s camp was another important first step in preparing young football teams for the August start of the 2023 high school season. Charleston, fresh off of a state championship season in 2022, will feature a very young team that had good success in junior high school football a year ago, but many of whom will be playing their first year of varsity football.

Tigers head football coach Ricky May is excited about his team but knows that it will be a growing process all year. But the young Tigers will have to grow up quickly when Charleston faces its traditional tough non-conference schedule in the first three weeks of the season.

After the day’s camp, Coach May, commenting on his team’s progress, said, “We got a lot of reps for everyone and got to see a variety of offenses and defenses that makes us have to adjust on the fly. It gives us a good opportunity to fix stuff and see all of our kids in game-like situations. I thought the short padding game (players worked out in helmets, shoulder pads, and shorts) looked pretty good for this time of year, and our defensive line looked pretty good.”

For Paris, the team goes into this season with just three seniors, two of which have playing experience. But the young team looked good on both offense and defense. The Eagles are young, but very talented. If this team stays healthy and continues to improve, Eagles fans should see the team have more success this year. After the loss of big numbers and talent at the end of the 2021 season, it appears that the program’s talent level is catching back up to the high school team, and progress should be seen this year as well as steadily improving over the next four years. Head coach Jeff Weaver has both a young and talented varsity team this year, as well as very good talent in junior high school. The 2023 season could be a year where the program begins a trend upward that continues for the next several years.

Photos from today’s camp may be accessed on Facebook at Paris Eagles Sports. The Eagles will return to Charleston next Monday, June 12, for another summer camp session, and RNN Sports will be there again to bring you an update from the camp, as well as action photos of the day’s activities.

Stay with RNN Sports this summer as we bring you updates on football, volleyball, and basketball summer camps and workouts updates!

Obituary – Joe Nathan Evatt (1967-2023)

Obituaries

Tammy Teague

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9:30 pm

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Joe Nathan Evatt, 56, of Greenwood, Arkansas passed from this life on Wednesday, May 31, 2023 in Fort Smith, Arkansas. Joe was born February 7, 1967 to John Fred Jr. and Bobbye Evatt in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.

Joe had a love for outdoors and enjoyed fishing, hunting and gardening. He could always be found building some sort of contraption or craft. His creations were always unique and functional.

Joe is survived by his son, Justin Evatt and wife Andrea of Silverdale, Washington; daughter, Desiree Mundell Kuhn and husband Warren Kuhn III of Benton, Arkansas; one brother, Johnny Evatt of Amarillo, Texas; His stepmother, Naomi Evatt of Greenwood, Arkansas; and one granddaughter, Layla Hisotria Maven Evatt.

Joe was preceded in death by his wife, Deborah Lea Evatt and parents, John Fred Evatt Jr. and Bobbye Evatt.

A private memorial service will be held at a later date. Arrangements and cremation are being entrusted to the Heritage Memorial Funeral Home & Crematory in Waldron, Arkansas.

Hogs Avoid Elimination, Advance to Regional Final for TCU Rematch

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12:44 pm

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Hogs Avoid Elimination, Advance to Regional Final for TCU Rematch

FAYETTEVILLE – Arkansas (43-17) held off Santa Clara (36-20), 6-4, in an elimination game on Sunday night at Baum-Walker Stadium to extend its season for at least one more day.

Arkansas must now defeat TCU (39-22) twice on Monday, June 5, to win the NCAA Fayetteville Regional and advance to play Indiana State (45-15) in the super regional round. First pitch in Monday’s first game is scheduled for 2 p.m. on ESPNU. If the Razorbacks win, they must then play a winner-take-all game against the Horned Frogs at 8 p.m.

Arkansas began Sunday with its most lopsided loss ever in a postseason game, suffering a 20-5 setback at the hands of TCU. The Hogs hammered four home runs, including a pair of blasts by Tavian Josenberger, but could not keep up with the Horned Frogs’ explosive offense, which was paced by Tre Richardson’s three-homer, 11-RBI performance.

Josenberger finished the game 2-for-4 with a team-leading three RBI. The Razorback centerfielder swatted a leadoff home run in the bottom half of the first before connecting on a two-run shot – his second dinger of the day – in the fifth.

Jace Bohrofen and Harold Coll also chipped in with a pair of solo home runs against TCU. The game also included a pair of lightning delays midway between the third and eighth innings that combined to total nearly two hours.

The Razorbacks’ second game of the day, however, turned out much better. Right-hander Brady Tygart started on the mound against Santa Clara with Arkansas’ season on the line and delivered one of the best performances of his career.

Tygart went a career-long 5 2/3 innings and allowed just two earned runs while striking out six, one shy of his career high. He departed Sunday night’s ballgame with Arkansas ahead, 4-3, thanks to the Razorback offense’s early run production, which included Bohrofen’s first-inning RBI double as well as Jared Wegner’s 14th home run of the season.

After the Hogs came out and scored a pair of runs in the top of the first inning, Wegner hammered a solo home run in the top half of the third to give Arkansas a 3-0 advantage. Parker Rowland would then push the Razorbacks’ lead to four with a two-out RBI single back up the middle in the fourth.

Santa Clara threatened with a three-run sixth, but Will McEntire, who earned the win in Friday’s game against the Broncos, emerged from the bullpen in relief of Tygart and escaped without further damage. The veteran right-hander spun 2 2/3 innings of one-run ball and struck out five, setting the table for Kendall Diggs’ clutch eighth-inning homer.

The Razorback designated hitter socked a two-run blast off the scoreboard in right center to put Arkansas up, 6-3. Diggs’ home run was his 12th of the season, and his two runs batted in raised his season total to a team-leading 63.

McEntire started the bottom of the ninth, but he was relieved by Hunter Hollan with one out and a run in. The left-hander faced just one batter and induced a ground ball to turn a game-ending double play, sealing Arkansas’ 6-4 win to stave off elimination.

For complete coverage of Arkansas baseball, follow the Hogs on Twitter (@RazorbackBSB), Instagram (@RazorbackBSB) and Facebook (Arkansas Razorback Baseball).

– ArkansasRazorbacks.com || On Twitter @ArkRazorbacks || Facebook.com/ArkansasRazorbacks

Note to Our Readers: The previous story was sourced directly and in its entirety from the University of Arkansas Office of Communications, Oliver Grigg.

Local Teen Tegan Stimac Shines as DCI Corps Member

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Tammy Teague

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2:32 am

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Local Teen Tegan Stimac Shines as DCI Corps Member

Greenwood High School’s talented and determined student, Tegan Stimac, is set to embark on an exciting journey this summer as she joins the esteemed DCI corps, Zephyrus, based in Tulsa, Oklahoma. The 15-year-old rising Junior successfully auditioned for the renowned ensemble in February and was offered a contract on the spot, solidifying her place among the talented ranks of Zephyrus.

Drum Corps International (DCI) is a prestigious organization that showcases the skills of marching musicians through intense competition and captivating performances. Tegan’s exceptional talent and dedication have earned her the opportunity to travel and perform across the country with Zephyrus during their upcoming summer tour.

Tegan’s passion for music extends beyond her involvement with Zephyrus. Recently, she had the privilege of starring in a Public Service Announcement (PSA) aimed at raising awareness about fentanyl, a highly potent drug contributing to the ongoing opioid crisis. The PSA was filmed at Prairie Surf Studios in Oklahoma City, an acclaimed location for various film and media productions. Tegan’s involvement in this important initiative demonstrates her commitment to using her platform to address critical issues affecting her community.

As Tegan begins her Junior year at Greenwood High School, she continues to excel academically and balance her commitments in music, education, and leadership. Playing regularly with the worship team at Harvest Time, volunteering with White Bluff-Rye Hill Fire Department, and advocating for those on the autism spectrum are just a few of the ways she devotes her time. Her dedication to her studies and extracurricular pursuits serve as an inspiration to her peers and underscores her unwavering drive for success.

Tegan Stimac’s story serves as a reminder of the exceptional young talent within our community. As she embarks on her journey with Zephyrus, her accomplishments are a testament to the power of hard work, dedication, and the encouragement of those around her.

Friends, family, and followers of Tegan are encouraged to show their support by visiting the fundraising page dedicated to her journey: [https://tinyurl.com/ycku748b]. This platform allows individuals to contribute and provide financial assistance, ensuring that Tegan can pursue her dreams in music and make the most of her upcoming opportunities.

Arrest Reports 5/28

Police Reports

Tammy Teague

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10:45 pm

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Arresting agency – Bonanza Police Department:
Lance Hunter Eaton of Fort Smith was booked into the Sebastian County Detention Center on May 28 at 8:24 p.m. and released on signature bond May 28 at 10:49 p.m. Eaton was charged with Petition to show cause.

Arresting agency – Logan County Sheriff’s Office:
Tony Curtis McCubbin, 62 of Booneville, was booked into the Logan County Detention Center on May 31 at 3:24 p.m. McCubbin was charged with failure to appear.

Arresting agency – Sebastian County Sheriff’s Office:
Michelle Leann Childers of Lavaca was booked into the Sebastian County Detention Center on May 29 at 9:51 p.m. and released on legally sufficient bond May 29 at 10:11 p.m. Childers was charged with Petition to Revoke – Felony.

Johnny Ray Parrish of Booneville was booked into the Sebastian County Detention Center on May 30 at 12:36 a.m. and released on cash bond May 30 at 11:12 a.m. Parrish was charged with Petition to Revoke – Felony.

David Tyler Smith of Hartford was booked into the Sebastian County Detention Center on May 31 at 11:06 p.m. and released on legally sufficient bond June 2 at 10:50 a.m. Smith was charged with two counts of Endangering the Welfare of a Minor in the Third Degree, and Domestic Battering in the Third Degree – Purposely.

Arresting agency – Mansfield Police Department:
Joshua Jacob King of Huntington was booked into the Sebastian County Detention Center on May 30 at 8:58 a.m. and remains at the SCADC. King was charged with Contempt-willful disobedience (Failure to Pay Fine), Theft of Property <$1k, and Contempt of Court–(child support), FTAS, FTRespond Subpoena, FTComply WCO.

Arresting agency – Greenwood Police Department:
Melissa Sue Spencer of Fort Smith was booked into the Sebastian County Detention Center on May 31 at 11:52 a.m. and remains at the SCADC. Spencer was charged with two counts of Failure to Appear – Class B Misdemeanor, Failure to Appear – Class A Misdemeanor, and Contempt of Court–(child support), FTAS, FTRespond Subpoena, FTComply WCO.

Arresting agency – Fort Smith Police Department:
Gerald Ross Summers of Greenwood was booked into the Sebastian County Detention Center on May 28 at 1:26 a.m. and released on signature bond May 28 at 8:31 a.m. Summers was charged with Public Intoxication – Danger to self or others.

**The charges against those arrested are allegations and the cases are still pending in the courts.**

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RESIDENT NEWS NETWORK