Central Arkansas Bears Hosting Razorbacks Not as Likely After Last Night's Upset of Tennessee

Arkansas goes from fighting off UCA for regional into contention for super regional with one swing of the bat

Author:
Kent Smith
Publish date:
May 2, 2023 1:15 PM EDT

In this story:

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – By the time Saturday night rolled around, the Arkansas softball team was desperate for a mathematical equation that would keep the ASUN's Central Arkansas Bears from leaping them in the race to host a regional.

The 36-9 record, ASUN championship, 2-0 record against Arkansas, national ranking and Top 20 RPI had the Bears within striking distance. However, two days later, the defending SEC champions not only came close to locking up a regional at Bogle Park, they put themselves back in contention for a national seed that would bring another super regional to Fayetteville.

On Sunday the Razorbacks rode the strong pitching of freshman Hannah Camenzind and a hitting line-up that suddenly caught fire with three home runs to even things at one game each against a No. 3 Tennessee team that hasn't lost an SEC series all season.

When it was time for the rubber game on Monday, Arkansas coach Courtney Deifel went with what had worked the night before and leaned on her freshman pitcher once again to do the seemingly impossible. The Volunteers, led by power hitters Kiki Miloy and McKenna Gibson, put up 62 runs the previous six SEC games against No. 15 Florida and No. 22 Kentucky. All Deifel asked was to hold that offense to a single run. Camenzind responded by combining with Chenise Delce for a five hit shutout to take the series.

The 2-0 clinching victory was in doubt for much of the game. Camenzind struggled as Tennessee got just enough hits and walks combined with an inconsistent strike zone to make nearly every inning feel like a pressure packed situation. Tennessee had runners in scoring position during four at-bats, including a runner at third in three of them, and ended up leaving nine runners stranded on the bases.

Perhaps the most dire of those situations came in the third when Camenzind struggled with her control the most. She gave up a single to Miloy to open the inning, then lost Mackenzie Donihoo on a 1-2 pitch that ran inside, hitting her. Camenzind managed to get Gibson to swing at a 3-1 pitch for a groundout to short, but that left her with runners at second and third with only one out.

It was at this point that Deifel decided to roll the dice and leave her freshman pitcher in to face the pressure after calling to intentionally walk Zaida Puni, the Volunteers' third best hitter, to load the bases. Delce, who has a history of remaining steadfast and stoic in these sort of situations stayed on the bench while Camenzind worked her way through growth by fire.

The first pitch by Camenzind was a ball. She had only thrown one strike in her last 10 pitches, so Tennessee's Lair Beautae had every reason to watch pitches go by for what would have been a demoralizing walk that would have allowed Tennessee to strike first. Instead, she swung at the next pitch, doing the only thing she couldn't do in the bang-bang world of softball. She hit a hard grounder right at Camenzind who quickly fired home for the force out, allowing her sister Lauren to fire over to first to complete the double play to not only get Arkansas out of a jam, but bring a swing of momentum.

Camenzind rolled through the Tennessee line-up in the fourth despite a questionable hit-by-pitch call, setting up the only runs of the game in the bottom half of the inning. Tennessee's Karlyn Pickens, who pitched all but one out for the Volunteers, had been dominating to that point with a blazing low fastball that had lured the umpire into lowering the strike zone with the Razorbacks at the plate.

These low pitches heavily limited the power Arkansas had shown the night before and was a big part of why when Lauren Johnson connected to lead off the inning, the ball drove hard, straight into the ground, before drifting halfway to third base. Puni, who was playing several steps up at third, charged at full speed, caught the ball on the hop bare-handed and fired a missile to first, but couldn't catch Johnson with what appeared to be track level speed. Never has a ball been played more perfectly and not result in an out.

Raigan Kramer followed with a bouncing grounder to third that resulted in a force at second, but still allowed there to be a very important runner on the bases for the designated hitter, Rylin Hedgecock.

Hedgecock fouled the second pitch off her leg, then took a ball that got a little up on PIckens to the back of the berm in center. The SEC leading 20th home run that put the Razorbacks up 2-0, entered Hedgecock in the Arkansas single-season record books by tying her for first in program history with Hannah McEwen with 57 RBI, a record that has stood since 2018.

Camenzind held on until late in the sixth when a pair of hits followed by a fielder's choice put runners at second and third with two outs. At that point, Delce came in and shut down what was left of the Tennessee line-up, striking out three of the four hitters she faced.

The Razorbacks will now hit the road to face Missouri, a 31-win team that has struggle mightily in SEC play. The Tigers haven't won a single SEC series and have been swept twice. If Arkansas can pull off the sweep, there's a chance the Razorbacks can pull the last national seed, especially if they have a good showing in the SEC Tournament next week at Bogle Park.

As for Central Arkansas, while the idea of hosting the Razorbacks in Conway for a regional appears to be out of the cards for now, the Bears are still on pace for a 40+ win season. That gives them a solid chance at hosting a different SEC team such as Kentucky or Texas A&M, especially if UCA manages to win the ASUN Tournament.