Razorbacks get off to quick start, win again

FAYETTEVILLE — After 4 consecutive tense video games to open the Razorback Invitational, the College of Arkansas softball group claimed its first snug victory at house this season.

Rylin Hedgecock hit a three-run homer in her first at-bat, and seventh-ranked Arkansas (12-3) coasted to a 7-2 win over Drake on Saturday afternoon in entrance of two,646 at Bogle Park.

Coach Courtney Deifel and the Razorbacks improved to 4-1 within the match, which additionally featured Thirteenth-ranked Arizona. All three of Arkansas’ earlier Razorback Invitational wins got here by one run. Setting the tone early and never having to sweat within the seventh inning in opposition to Drake happy the Razorbacks’ eight-year coach.

“That’s big,” Deifel mentioned of the recent begin. “ there’s going to be a number of punches thrown, so when you may make the primary one, I believe that’s big. Finally you simply need to make the final one, however I simply felt like we by no means actually gave up the momentum. We actually managed the sport properly.”

Hedgecock’s house run got here within the sport’s third at-bat, after Reagan Johnson and Hannah Gammill reached with base hits. Arkansas widened the hole by two extra runs within the second inning when Gammill shot a single up the center to attain Atalyia Rijo and Raigan Kramer. The Razorbacks took a 5-0 benefit into the third inning.

The onslaught of early runs was all beginning pitcher Callie Turner wanted to earn her third win of the season. Turner held Drake scoreless till the sixth inning and completed with 4 hits allowed and 7 strikeouts.

“I used to be throwing a number of off-speeds and I felt actually good,” Turner mentioned. “I used to be actually excited to get the beginning after which simply have the ability to pitch a very good quantity of the sport.”

The Razorbacks tacked on two extra runs within the fifth inning with an RBI double from Rylee Cloud adopted by an RBI single by Hannah Camenzind. Arkansas’ 7-0 lead held agency till the Bulldogs’ two-run triple within the sixth inning.

Robyn Herron took the circle for the Razorbacks within the seventh inning and shut the door on Drake with a scoreless outing.

“I simply thought it was a very nice sport from begin to end,” Deifel mentioned. “I believed Callie set a very nice tone within the circle. It was good to leap on them immediately, particularly coming off yesterday. I simply really feel like we grabbed the sport in inning one and by no means relinquished it.”

The primary-inning house run from Hedgecock was her second in as many days, following a powerful Clearwater Invitational final weekend when she hit three house runs.

“I actually appreciated, particularly yesterday, that she simply sort of let the sport come again to her,” Deifel mentioned of the junior. “That is an attention-grabbing sport since you’re going to fail a lot greater than you succeed. And so you’ll be able to simply sort of let your self slide. I believe she simply sort of stayed fairly even and let the sport come again to her. Then clearly she’s tremendously highly effective. She seems nice.”

Within the Razorbacks’ early-season slate of video games, it has included matchups in opposition to six ranked groups and 4 one-run video games.

The power to reply and discover methods to win is one thing Turner mentioned ought to bode nicely for Arkansas down the stretch.

“So long as we’re aggressive and we simply belief ourselves and our skills, I believe we will go actually far come postseason,” she mentioned.

Arkansas and Drake will conclude the Razorback Invitational as we speak at 11 a.m.