Arkansas Must Now Play Second Game at Bogle

Fifth inning sends Razorbacks to Fayetteville regional loser's bracket tonight for chance to get revenge on Oregon

Author:
Kent Smith
Publish date:
May 20, 2023 6:28 PM EDT

In this story:

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – Thirteen batters. Three pitchers, Forty minutes. Eight runs.

Those stats from the top of the fifth inning that could possibly haunt Arkansas all offseason after Oregon came through with a monster inning to build a 10-3 lead that was more than enough to put the Razorbacks away for the fourth time in their last five games, 10-4. The 10 runs scored Saturday were twice as many as Arkansas gave up to the Ducks in two regional match-ups at Bogle Park last season.

The Ducks were unable to extend the lead in the sixth to pull off the mercy rule win, but still managed to banish Arkansas to the losers' bracket where the Razorbacks await the winner of Notre Dame and Harvard later this evening. It also means Arkansas will have to win three straight to advance, including a pair of wins over Oregon tomorrow. The last time the Razorbacks connected three straight wins began with a win over Tennessee in late April and continued with another win over Tennessee at Bogle Park before taking the first game of a series against Missouri in Columbia. Arkansas is 1-4 since.

Kristina Foreman tried to spark a rally in the sixth when she led off with an opposite field home run to start the bottom of the sixth, but six of the next seven Razorbacks to step to the plate failed to reach base.

The Razorbacks came into the bottom of the fourth looking for a bit of momentum and found exactly that. Rylin Hedgecock led off the inning with a single to second, which set up a Cylie Halvorson 2-run shot to the same area in left field where Hannah Gammill planted a line drive homer the night before against Notre Dame. That put Arkansas up 3-2, but it wouldn't last long.

Delce, who had a complete game in a 6-2 victory in the winner's bracket against Oregon last year, has struggled against teams that have a book on her from the previous season and this was no exception. The Ducks hit her hard and often, including the first three hitters of the fifth. Paige Sinicki and Kai Luschar led off with singles and advanced on a hard liner to short. With Oregon seeing the ball so well, Courtney Deifel decided to turn things over to Hannah Camenzind who was dominant and accurate in her start Friday night against Harvard.

Unfortunately for Arkansas, Camezind took a little bit to get her bearings. Her first five pitches were balls, which meant her first walk of the regionals loaded the bases. She then settled in and went on a binge of strikes, throwing six consecutive strikes against a hot hitting Aerial Carlson who would be the first of several hitters to get into hitting battles with Camenzind by fouling off pitch after pitch. The freshman pitcher then whipped one at the perfect height right on the edge of the plate that didn't get called to the dismay of the crowd, and it turned out to be the most important pitch of the game. Instead of sitting down with out No. 2, Carlson turned on the next pitch and ripped a hard grounder through the infield gap just barely out of Gammill's reach to bring in a couple of runs to regain the lead, 4-3.

Camenzind struck KK Humphrey out looking in the next at-bat, which would have been the end of the inning had the call against Carlson gone her way, but instead, what looked like a swing of momentum in favor of the Razorbacks turned into a massive two-out rally.

Hannah Delgado hits a hard grounder to the same spot it felt like every Oregon player hit the ball, just barely through the gap between third and short. That scored Terra McGowan to extend the lead to 5-3 while loading the bases, bringing up the ever dangerous Tehya Byrd. Camenzind threw a great pitch low and off the outside part of the plate, but Byrd leaned out, flicked her wrist, and deposited a grand slam off the protective chain link fencing out in left field to extend the lead to 9-3.

That was it for Camenzind, who gave way to Callie Turner, emptying the dugout of all three starting pitchers. Turner looked like she would end the inning almost immediately, but with a runner on first, the Razorbacks were unable to convert a Luschar grounder to second into an out. Bunker made Arkansas pay by floating a ball into shallow center that spun down to bring in Sinicki to round out the Oregon offense.

The Razorbacks will now try to pick up a win in the loser's bracket at approximately 7 p.m. for a chance to exact a little revenge on Oregon tomorrow afternoon.