FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – DOWN GO THE HOGS! Jordan Johnson and the Central Arkansas softball team pulled off the biggest upset in program history Monday evening, downing No. 6 Arkansas in Fayetteville 2-1.
 
The Bears (14-5), who have relied on its pitching all season long, leaned on the senior Johnson for seven edge-of-your-seat, white-knuckle innings. And deliver she did, striking out seven and going toe-to-toe with All-American Chenise Delce, who was handed her second loss of the season.
 
But the game started in favor of the Razorbacks, the Bears went three up and three down to start the first, as Delce came out dealing. In the home half of the frame, Arkansas pieced together a single and two flyouts, moving the runner and scoring on a sacrifice fly.
 
Central Arkansas continued to struggle to put the barrel on the ball, going without a baserunner until the fifth inning. But Johnson and the defense held strong, keeping the game simple and in front of them. All season long, the Bears have been able to stay in a lot of close games on the back of their pitching and defense, and Monday was no different, as Central Arkansas committed zero errors while holding a team that hits nearly .300 to just .250.
 
Finally in the fifth inning, the Razorbacks cracked, walking Morgan Nelson for the first baserunner of the day. Delce followed that up by giving up her first base hit of the day, as Jaylee Engelkes knocked a high, looping single over the first baseman's head, allowing a pinch-running Bella Barnes to get to third. Subbing in another speedy runner, Erin Michael got over to second on a passed ball, putting a pair in scoring position with one out. But a pop up in foul territory and a strikeout put an end to the threat.
 
The Razorbacks countered in the bottom of the fifth, establishing a baserunner with one out. A walk and a hit batter later, the bases were loaded, still with one out, putting Johnson under the microscope in a titanic moment. But the senior, ever poised, dove headfirst into the challenge, inducing two outs to the infield and keeping the Hogs from extending the lead.
 
Still trailing in the sixth, Central Arkansas was running out of rope, down to the final six outs, but undeterred from its mission. McKayla Betts gutted out a full-count walk, opening the frame with a baserunner and a threat to steal. Back at the top of the order, Jenna Wildeman followed it up on a fielder's choice, replacing Betts on first base and one out. Wildeman moved to second on a single by Tremere Harris, and the Bears were in business. The duo moved to second and third on what was effectively a sacrifice slap, moving all the closer to scoring a run. Then, a mistake by the Hogs; a pitch slipped by the catcher, rolling back to the backstop. Wildeman, seizing the opportunity, sprinted home, tying the game on the miscue.
 
Now ahead in the count after the passed ball, Mary Kate Brown waited for her pitch, and sent a double to right field, putting Harris home for the go-ahead run deep in the ballgame. It marked Brown's fifth RBI of the year, her 104^th career run driven in. The Hogs couldn't take control back in the home half of the sixth, going down in order to send the game to the seventh.
 
Central Arkansas would put runners on in the final inning, but couldn't move them home, pushing all the chips on Johnson and the defense, trusting they could hold on for one more inning.
 
Arkansas opened its half of the seventh with a pinch-hit single. A couple of batters later, now with one out, a fly ball to right field moved the runner to second. Walking the next batter, Arkansas' hopes rested on its first baseman Cylie Halvorsen, in the four-spot, already 0-for-2 with a strikeout. Battling to a 2-2 count, Johnson put a pitch right in the zone, and Halvorson swung right over the top of it, ending the game and sending the Bears into absolute pandemonium.
 
Monday's win marked the highest-ranked win in program history after setting the mark last season against then No. 14 LSU. It was also the first win against the Razorbacks in team history, having lost the first four by a combined five runs.
 
The Bears go back on the road this weekend, playing in a tournament hosted by the Kansas Jayhawks. There, Central Arkansas will face another top-10 team in Stanford, playing the Cardinal and Jayhawks two times each.