CONWAY, Ark. – It was a historic night in Conway as the Central Arkansas Bears and the Arkansas Razorbacks met for the first time in program history. The Bears and the No. 19 Razorbacks played in front of a record-setting crowd at Farris Field on Tuesday. UCA fell to 12-8 on the season, while Arkansas improved to 17-2, after the 4-1 Razorback victory.
The UCA pitching staff held the Arkansas offense to a season-low three hits.
Kaylyn Shepherd led the UCA offense with her third home run of the season. Despite the score, UCA was able to produce more hits than the No. 19 team in the country. The new record for attendance is 755, which bested the previous mark of 507 set on April 28, 2012, when the Bears hosted No. 5 Oklahoma.
The Razorbacks got on the board first in the top of the first as Danielle Gibson hit a two-run homer over the left field wall. Arkansas managed to get two more runners on base, but
Jordan Johnson was able to close the door before the Razorbacks could add on more runs.
With two outs in the home half of the first, Shepherd got a 3-1 pitch she liked and absolutely crushed one over the left centerfield wall, for a solo shot.
After a lead-off walk in the top of the second and a sacrifice bunt, Hannah Gammill picked up an RBI double to left center, which extended the Arkansas lead to 3-1.
In the top of the third,
Reagan Sperling made a spectacular sliding grab on a ball in foul territory to end the top half of the inning. The Bears were able to get two hits in the bottom of the inning but were unable to get a run on the board.
The Razorbacks added a solo home run in the top of the sixth off of the bat of Linnie Malkin. That was all Arkansas needed for the victory.
Johnson had a solid outing with six strikeouts against one of the best power-hitting teams in the country. She gave up four runs on three hits in 5.1 innings of work. She fell to 3-4 on the year.
Rio Sanchez went the remaining 1.2 innings and struck out one batter and surrendered zero hits in relief. The duo combined to hold Arkansas to a season-low three hits.
Offensively, the Bears were led by Shepherd with a solo home run. Sperling and
Tylar Vernon both produced 2-for-3 nights.
Mary Haff pitched a complete game with a season-high 11 strikeouts and improved to 10-1 on the year. Gibson and Malkin each had a home run for Arkansas.
UCA returns to the diamond for the Southland Conference opener at McNeese on Friday, March 12. The Friday doubleheader is scheduled for a 5 p.m. first pitch.
From the Coach – Head Coach David Kuhn
"I thought it was a well-played softball game by both teams. Mary Haff threw really well for Arkansas.
Jordan Johnson and
Rio Sanchez also pitched well as they held a really powerful offense to just three hits. The Razorbacks just came through with timely hits. We were able to get a lot of runners on base, but we just couldn't scratch enough runs."
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