In what was a pitcher’s duel, the No. 10 Arkansas Razorbacks (28-7, 9-3 SEC) grabbed a late run in the 6th inning to defeat the No. 17 Auburn Tigers (29-8, 7-7 SEC), 4-3 on Saturday at Bogle Park. The win was the ninth straight for Arkansas softball over Auburn and gives the Razorbacks their fourth straight SEC series win to open the conference slate.
Tied 3-3 with one out in the inning, sophomore[autotag]Rylin Hedgecock[/autotag] was called to bat for [autotag]Valerie Ventura[/autotag], and did was she was called to. On the second pitch of the at-bat, Hedgecock hit a sacrifice fly to left field that was deep enough to score [autotag]Cally Kildow[/autotag], who pinch ran for [autotag]Linnie Malkin[/autotag] who reached base via the base on balls, from third base to put Arkansas in front, 4-3.
Following the sacrifice fly by Malkin, [autotag]Chenise Delce[/autotag] repeated her performance from Friday by slamming the door on the Tigers, striking out the final two batters to solidify the win.
SERIES CLINCHED! pic.twitter.com/lIj9Uglj2D
— Arkansas Razorback Softball (@RazorbackSB) April 9, 2022
Arkansas had to dig themselves out of trouble early. Following a wild pitch that allowed Auburn to score their first run of the game in the 1st inning, Danielle Gibson answered by hitting her 14th home run of the season, a two-run blast to center field to help the Razorbacks grab their first lead of the game, 2-1.
The Razorbacks extended their lead in the 3rd inning. After a walk to [autotag]Taylor Ellsworth[/autotag] and a base-hit by Gibson to open the inning, [autotag]Hannah Gammill[/autotag] would send Ellsworth home on a single to left field to give Arkansas the 3-1 lead.
In what would be Auburn’s last contribution to the score, Makayla Packer would hit a game-tying, two-run home run to even the score at 3-3.
Despite getting the win, Auburn outhit Arkansas 10-8, and stranded ten runners on base in the loss. The Tigers relied on Maddie Penta in the circle for the entire game, she allowed four earned runs and six hits while striking out seven batters in 6.0 innings of work.
Delce grabbed the win for Arkansas, striking out four batters in 2.1 innings of relief. Gibson was the only Razorback to have multiple hits in the game, going 2-for-3 with two RBI. [autotag]KB Sides[/autotag], Hannah Gammill, [autotag]Audrey LaValley[/autotag], and [autotag]Sam Torres[/autotag] each had one hit in the game.
The series finale between the Razorbacks and Tigers is set for 1 p.m. Sunday. The game can be seen on SEC Network+.