Arkansas K’s 14 in CWS win
Dominic Fletcher went 4-for-4 with a homer and four RBI and Arkansas pitchers struck out 14 in a 7-4 victory over Texas Tech in the College World Series yesterday in Omaha, Neb.
Fletcher doubled in two runs in the first inning, homered in the fourth, had a bunt single in the sixth and singled in a run in the eighth as the Razorbacks won their second game to take control of Bracket 1. They need one more win to move to the best-ofthree finals next week.
Arkansas (46-19) held one of the nation’s top offenses mostly in check. The Red Raiders (45-19) had come into the game scoring 8.2 runs per game and batting .311. Their six hits were their fewest in 19 games, and their 14 strikeouts were three fewer than the season-high 17 they had in a 5-1 loss at Arkansas in April.
Razorbacks starter Kacey Murphy limited Tech to two runs and two hits in 42⁄3 innings. The Detroit Tigers’ 11th-round draft pick struck out seven, including four in a row over the third and fourth innings.
Barrett Loseke (4-2) struck out five in three innings of shutout relief. Matt Cronin worked the last 11⁄3 innings, allowing two runs.
Jared Gates’ sixth homer of the season put the Razorbacks up 3-0 in the second against Davis Martin (76), and Fletcher hit his ninth in the fourth before Jax Biggers’ RBI single made it 5-0.
The start of the game was delayed 31⁄2 hours because of rain.
NFL: College scouting boss
Former Buffalo Bills general manager Doug Whaley is taking over as the NFL Players Association’s director of college scouting. Whaley will oversee the recruitment, evaluation and selection of draft-eligible prospects to compete at the annual NFLPA Collegiate Bowl.
Whaley was hired a little over a year after being fired by the Bills. He spent eight seasons in Buffalo, including four as GM. The Bills fired him as part of a major organizational shakeup which began with Sean McDermott replacing Rex Ryan as coach . . . .
The home of the Denver Broncos will be known as Broncos Stadium at Mile High while the team continues to look for a new naming-rights sponsor. The stadium’s naming-rights sponsor, Sports Authority, recently declared bankruptcy and stopped making payments.
Names: Golfer Green dead
Hall of Fame golfer Hubert Green, who won a U.S. Open while playing portions of the final round despite a threat against his life, has died after battling throat cancer. He was 71.
Green won the 1977 U.S. Open and the 1985 PGA Championship in a career that included 19 PGA Tour victories and four on the seniors circuit.
Green held a 1-stroke lead at Southern Hills in Tulsa, Okla., after 14 holes of the final round of the U.S. Open. He then was notified by tournament officials they had received a threat saying he would be shot when he reached the 15th green. He chose to continue playing, birdied the 16th hole and took a 1-stroke victory.
Green was a member of three U.S. Ryder Cup teams and never lost a singles match. He was the PGA Tour Rookie of the Year in 1971 . . . .
Billy Connors, a three-time New York Yankees pitching coach and confidant of late owner George Steinbrenner, died Monday. He was 76. Connors coached the Yankees from 1989-90, 1994-95 and 2000, and was instrumental in the development of Yankees pitchers Orlando Hernandez, Andy Pettitte, Chien-Ming Wang and Mariano Rivera.