Arkansas
No. 5 Arkansas Run-Rules Fordham, 8-0 in Regional Opener
FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – The No. 5 national seed Arkansas Razorbacks run-ruled Fordham, 8-0 in six innings on the strength of a shutout from sophomore Payton Burnham and three home runs during the opening game of the 2026 NCAA Fayetteville Regional at Bogle Park on Friday evening.
Arkansas got out to a 3-0 lead in the second inning courtesy of a two-run home run from Karlie Davison and an RBI single from Reagan Johnson. The Hogs then added a run in the third and fourth innings, respectively, courtesy of a solo home run from Tianna Bell and a sacrifice fly from Kailey Wyckoff, to push the advantage to five. In the sixth inning, Brinli Bain recorded an RBI single before Dakota Kennedy completed the run-rule with a two-run home run just inside the left field foul pole.
With the win, Arkansas improved to 43-11 overall and earned its 22nd run-rule victory of the season. The Hogs will await the conclusion of the Washington/USF game, which they will play the winner of tomorrow at 1 p.m. for a chance to move to Sunday’s portion of the bracket.
Burnham (13-3) was dominant in her 13th victory of the season, striking out six and allowing just three hits and no walks on 77 pitches. She retired a string of 14 consecutive batters from the second through sixth innings.
Davison (2-3, HR, 2 RBI, 2 R), Bell (2-4, 2 R, HR, RBI), Johnson (2-4, R, SB, RBI), Brinli Bain (2-3, RBI, BB), and Atalyia Rijo (2-3) each recorded multiple hits in the victory. It marked the Razorbacks’ 20th game this season with 10+ hits, while their 11 hits were the most since April 22 during a 7-2 win at Tulsa.
Olivia Simcoe took the loss for Fordham (27-27) after allowing four runs on seven hits and four walks while picking up a strikeout.
HOW IT HAPPENED
Sophomore Payton Burnham got the start for Arkansas, while Fordham went with right-handed junior Olivia Simcoe.
During the top of the first inning, Payton Burnham retired the Rams in order, highlighted by a strikeout to open the game. Simcoe followed with a 1-2-3 bottom of the second courtesy of two groundouts and a foulout.
Fordham second baseman Sadira Forcucci singled up the middle to lead off the top of the second inning and then advanced to second base on a single from Eva Koratsis. Ella McDowell snagged a line drive at third base for the first out of the inning before Burnham collected her second strikeout of the night and McDowell caught another hard-hit line drive at third for the final out of the frame.
Tianna Bell singled up the middle to lead off the bottom of the second inning before advancing to second on a wild pitch and taking third on a long flyout from Dakota Kennedy. Karlie Davison stepped to the plate and crushed a two-run home run over the wall in left field to give Arkansas an early 2-0 lead. Following Davison’s round-tripper, Atalyia Rijo singled, Kailey Wyckoff walked, and then was replaced at first base by Kennedy Miller, who hit into a fielder’s choice to move Rijo to third. Reagan Johnson then reached on an RBI infield single that scored Rijo and increased the Hogs’ lead to 3-0. Brinli Bain drew a walk to load the bases with two outs before the game was halted at 5:15 p.m. Following a 35-minute delay, play resumed at 5:50 p.m. Fordham and Simcoe escaped without further damage as they issued a flyout to left field to limit the deficit to three.
Burnham tossed a 1-2-3 frame capped with a punchout in the top of the third inning.
Tianna Bell crushed her team-leading 16th home run of the season with a solo shot to center field to lead off the bottom of the third inning, increasing the Arkansas lead to four. Arkansas then loaded the bases with one out by way of a Dakota Kennedy walk, a single by Atalyia Rijo, and a walk by Wyckoff, but Fordham would escape by way of a lineout and groundout.
In the top of the fourth inning, Burnham retired the side by way of a groundout, a strikeout, and a lineout. Bain was the lone Hog to reach base in the bottom of the fourth inning by way of a leadoff single into right field.
Burnham made it 12 consecutive batters retired with a 1-2-3 top of the fifth inning that featured a pair of strikeouts.
Davison singled up the middle to lead off the bottom of the fifth inning before later coming around to score on a sacrifice fly from Kailey Wyckoff along the foul line in shallow left field, giving the Hogs a 5-0 lead.
Fordham’s Mikayla Swan reached on a two-out single in the top of the sixth inning to snap Burnham’s streak of 14 consecutive batters retired.
Reagan Johnson led off the bottom of the sixth with an infield single before moving to scoring position with a stolen base. Johnson then scored on an RBI single from Brinli Bain before advancing to second courtesy of a fielding error on the play. Ramsey Walker entered in place of Bain following the RBI single and moved to third base by way of a groundout. Dakota Kennedy then ended the game by crushing a two-run home run just inside the left-field foul pole to make it the final, 8-0.
NOTABLES
- The Razorbacks registered their 22nd run-rule victory of the season, which ranks second in program history and one shy of the single-season program record set of 23 in 2025.
- Tianna Bell blasted her team-leading 16th home run of the season, setting a new single-season career high. She previously hit 15 last season while at Cal. Bell also improved her reached-base streak to a team-best nine games.
- Arkansas is now 25-28 all-time in NCAA Tournament play, including an 18-16 mark under head coach Courtney Deifel. The Razorbacks have now won six consecutive opening-round games in regional play dating back to 2021.
- Payton Burnham tossed her second consecutive complete-game shutout after throwing a three-hit, seven-inning shutout her last time out against Mississippi State (May 6).
- Arkansas recorded its 25th home win this season, which is tied for third-most in Bogle Park history (2009-present).
Up Next
The Razorbacks will await the decision of tonight’s matchup between Washington and South Florida to determine their opponent tomorrow.
For schedule updates and other news, go to ArkansasRazorbacks.com, or follow @RazorbackSB on X, Instagram and Facebook.
FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — When thinking in terms of stretches, some of the Razorbacks’ hardest games come at random times throughout the season.
However, there is a crucial stretch of games that takes up the whole month of October that will ultimately define how the season will be perceived.
Of course, it’s not completely fair to grade a first-year coach based on his win total in Year One no matter how good he was at his previous stop. But when it’s all said and done, Arkansas’ success under coach Ryan Silverfield will be graded upon how hard his team fights, and how disciplined they’ve become before the wins begin flowing in.
Embracing the 12th Man
When Arkansas heads to College Station for its first SEC road game of the season, it’ll be the first time since 2012 that the Razorbacks will play in front of a full capacity Kyle Field crowd.
The Aggies will be coming off a relatively tough four game stretch to being the season against Missouri State, Arizona State, Kentucky and at LSU in Tiger Stadium. Coach Mike Elko’s teams are 15-1 in September and October since his arrival in 2024 with his lone loss coming in his debut against Notre Dame.
The Razorbacks will be facing an offense loaded with weapons between Marcel Reed, Rueben Owens, Mario Craver, Ashton Bethel-Roman and many others. This will be a major test for Arkansas’ rebuilt defense if they can figure out a way to slow the Aggies down.
Will Lightning Strike Twice in Fayetteville?
Arkansas fans remember Oct. 5, 2024 fondly. That was the last time the Razorbacks won a home game against a power conference opponent, which happened to be Tennessee 19-14 and it resulted in a field rush of a capacity crowd.
It was mentioned Monday that there are some similarities between this game and the last meeting between the two in 2024. One is the fact that a highly regarded former 4-star and redshirt freshman quarterback, George Macintyre, will make his first SEC road start.
But he’ll at least be tested heavily against the likes of Georgia Tech, likely preseason No. 1 Texas, and Auburn before heading to Fayetteville.
There are some questions for Josh Heupel this season after gutting his defensive coaching staff by hitting the reset button with his hiring of respected coordinator Jim Knowles. There’s enough talent on that side of the ball to possibly bail the offense out if things stall multiple possessions per game.
For an Arkansas offense under new direction from offensive coordinator Tim Cramsey, this stretch will tell fans a whole lot about the Razorbacks program trajectory and complete buy-in.
One unique nugget is Silverfield is 5-1 against the current group of SEC head coaches, which includes a thrilling 50-49 victory over UCF in 2020. The Golden Knights were coached by Heupel, who was in his final year with the program before being hired by Tennessee.
Encore in Music City?
Heisman finalist Diego Pavia finally ran out of eligibility after last season, which means the Commodores have to start over but this time with 5-star quarterback signee Jared Curtis.
Arkansas has been quite successful in games played at FirstBank Stadium through the years with a 4-0 all-time record in Nashville.
Coach Clark Lea will field a solid defensive unit that features a potentially dominant group of linebackers in Nick Rinaldi and Brian Longwell.
However, it was Vanderbilt’s secondary that struggled to stop the passing game, finishing No. 118 nationally at 249 yards per game.
Cramsey’s offense is predicated on getting playmakers room to work in space and there’s certainly an opportunity to find wiggle room against a rather suspect coverage group.
This is a game the Razorbacks have to win before going into a much needed bye-week and final stretch of the regular season.
Hogs’ Tricking or Treating Against Mizzou?
On paper, this Missouri team will have its most talented roster under Eli Drinkwitz 43 former 4-star recruits and only 25 3-stars. Led by new starting quarterback Austin Simmons, he’ll be tasked with giving the Tigers’ offense more explosive with a downfield passing attack.
Between Beau Pribula and Matt Zollers, the two completed just 30 passes that surpassed 20+ yards in 2025, which ranked No. 106 nationally. The biggest of questions will be whether or not star running back Ahmad Hardy will be ready to go when the season begins or by the time Halloween comes around to carry Missouri to its first College Football Playoff bid.
Drinkwitz’s team will have a murder’s row of a schedule from Oct. 3 through the conclusion of the regular season with games against Florida, Texas A&M, at Ole Miss, at Arkansas, Texas, at Georgia, Kentucky and Oklahoma.
An interesting note is the Razorbacks are 11-5-1 all-time in games played on Halloween, but 4-1 on that same date at home.
2020: L @ A&M
2009: W vs Eastern Michigan
1998: W @ Auburn
1992: T @ Auburn
1987: W @ Rice
1981: W @ Rice
1970: W @ Texas A&M
1964: W @ Texas A&M
1953: W vs Texas A&M
1942: L @ Texas A&M
1936: W vs Texas A&M
1931: L vs TCU
1925 W vs LSU
1914: L @ Oklahoma State
1908: L @ Oklahoma
Silverfield’s team will probably be playing for their postseason lives at this point in the season, but his program can’t be graded on its win-loss record alone this fall.
There’s a possiblity that his team goes 0-4 in this stretch or sneak up and beat the likes of Tennessee, Vanderbilt or even sneak up and bring the Battle Line Rivalry trophy back to Fayetteville for the first time since 2020.
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The Arkansas Lottery offers several draw games for those aiming to win big.
Here’s a look at Monday, June 29, 2026 results for each game:
Winning Powerball numbers from June 29 drawing
10-14-41-53-59, Powerball: 03, Power Play: 2
Check Powerball payouts and previous drawings here.
Winning Cash 3 numbers from June 29 drawing
Midday: 1-9-5
Evening: 7-2-9
Check Cash 3 payouts and previous drawings here.
Winning Cash 4 numbers from June 29 drawing
Midday: 1-6-7-1
Evening: 4-9-8-3
Check Cash 4 payouts and previous drawings here.
Winning Natural State Jackpot numbers from June 29 drawing
11-12-23-27-32
Check Natural State Jackpot payouts and previous drawings here.
Winning Millionaire for Life numbers from June 29 drawing
04-25-26-31-36, Bonus: 04
Check Millionaire for Life payouts and previous drawings here.
Feeling lucky? Explore the latest lottery news & results
When are the Arkansas Lottery drawings held?
- Powerball: 9:59 p.m. CT on Monday, Wednesday, and Saturday.
- Mega Millions: 10 p.m. CT on Tuesday and Friday.
- Cash 3 Midday: 12:59 p.m. CT daily except Sunday.
- Cash 3 Evening: 6:59 p.m. CT daily.
- Cash 4 Midday: 12:59 p.m. CT daily except Sunday.
- Cash 4 Evening: 6:59 p.m. CT daily.
- Lucky For Life: 9:30 p.m. CT daily.
- Natural State Jackpot: 8 p.m. CT daily except Sunday.
- LOTTO: 9 p.m. CT on Wednesday and Saturday.
- Millionaire for Life: 10:15 p.m. CT daily.
This results page was generated automatically using information from TinBu and a template written and reviewed by an Arkansas editor. You can send feedback using this form.
LITTLE ROCK, AR (KATV) — Monday, June 29, Republican Harrell Wilson announced his candidacy for the Arkansas State Senate District 1.
Wilson currently serves as President of the Cleveland County School Board, on the AgHeritage Board of Directors, Camp Wyldewood Board, Arkansas Forestry Association Board, AFA Education Board and UAM Foundation Board and Board of Visitors.
He is endorsed by Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders, Attorney General Tim Griffin, and Lieutenant Governor Leslie Rutledge.
The Senate seat is being vacated by Senator Ben Gilmore.
From the Senate to the Attorney General’s Office, Gilmore’s exit opens District 1 seat
The district includes all of Ashley, Bradley, Chicot and Cleveland counties and part of Drew, Grant, Jefferson and Lincoln counties.
Wilson also operates a family-owned hardwood sawmill and farms pine and hardwood timber.
He has a Bachelor of Science Degree in Forestry from the University of Arkansas at Monticello.
BE THE FIRST TO COMMENT
“As your state senator, I will always fight to protect life, oppose any encroachment on the Second Amendment, and defend Arkansas family values. District 1 will continue to have a senator who will fight for limited government, less regulations on Arkansas businesses, lowering our tax burden, and solutions facing our forestry and agricultural industries. As a Christian conservative Republican, I understand and take seriously protecting our shared family values and our God-given individual liberties. Southeast Arkansas will have a senator who will continue making our community the best possible place to live, work, do business, and raise a family,” Wilson said.
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