FAYETTEVILLE — It wasn’t just a Good Friday for the No. 23 Arkansas softball team. Add to that a good Saturday and a good Sunday.
When the dust — or rain — had settled Sunday afternoon at Bogle Park, the Razorbacks had just completed their first three-game sweep of a ranked opponent in the program’s 22-year history.
Arkansas (28-6, 5-4 SEC) scored five times in an explosive fourth inning Sunday to defeat No. 20 Mississippi State 8-2, capping a perfect weekend and running their home record to 19-1, another all-time best.
“I am just really happy for our team and proud of our girls, how they competed from the first pitch of this series to the very last,” Arkansas Coach Courtney Deifel said. “It’s incredibly hard to get a sweep, particularly in this conference, so it’s very exciting.
“It’s a battle anytime that you toe-up against another team, but I think we are in a good spot right now and feeling good about how we are playing.”
Sophomore pitcher Autumn Storms replaced freshman starter Mary Haff with two outs in the third inning and cruised to her second consecutive victory in as many days. Storms went the distance in Saturday’s 6-0 win.
ARKANSAS 8, MISS. STATE 2
“I just came out really determined today,” said Storms, who improved to 11-4 with a 1.93 earned-run average. “The last time I pitched in back-to-back days, it didn’t go so well, so I was really motivated to get it done this weekend. And the defense behind me really helped me out.”
For the second time in the three days, Arkansas also had to overcome an early deficit.
“Resilience is so important in this conference, from at-bat to at-bat, to all of the adversity in a game,” Deifel said. “But I feel like we stayed the course and handled our emotions so well.”
The Razorbacks struck first in the second inning Sunday when Loren Krzysko reached on a walk, then advanced to third on a pair of wild pitches. Tori Cooper’s long fly ball to center field was hauled in at the wall by MSU’s Kat Moore, but it was enough for Krzysko to tag and score, putting the Razorbacks up 1-0.
Haff (16-2, 1.02 ERA), who threw 132 pitches in Friday night’s victory over the Bulldogs, got through the first two innings unscathed. But Mississippi State freshman slugger Mia Davidson tied the score in the top of the third with her 13th home run of the season. Two batters later, senior Morgan Bell hit her second homer of the series to give the Bulldogs a 2-1 advantage.
Deifel decided to go to the bullpen and bring in Storms, who threw only 76 pitches Saturday. She quickly got Reggie Harrison to ground out and end the Bulldogs’ threat, then didn’t allow a hit until Bell’s meaningless two-out single in the fifth inning.
“I think Autumn has just been outstanding the last two days — that’s the Autumn we are used to seeing pitch,” Deifel said. “She just has that look in her eye and just has such command of her pitches.
“Really, I think both of our pitchers just set a great tone for our team all weekend. We really feel like we have two No. 1 pitchers.”
The Razorbacks cranked the bats up in the fourth as freshman Kayla Green doubled down the left field line. After a fielder’s choice forced out pinch-runner Keely Edwards, senior A.J. Belans dropped a single into center field to plate Cooper and knot the score at 2.
Haydi Bugarin and Autumn Buczek followed with back-to-back infield singles to load the bases. A pair of full-count walks to Hannah McEwen and Ashley Diaz then forced in two more runs to give Arkansas its first lead, before Katie Warrick’s sharp single up the middle brought in Buczek and McEwen to increase the margin to 6-2.
“We’ve had different girls step up for us all year and this was just my chance to help the team,” said Belans, who produced key hits in all three wins.
The senior shortstop was 4 for 9 in the series with four runs batted in. She began Friday night’s seventh-inning rally with a single, then hit a three-run homer Saturday before topping it off with Sunday’s two-hit performance.
“That’s really been the story for us all year; it’s someone different stepping up for us every game,” Deifel said. “It’s production from the bottom of the order, production at the top. A.J. was huge for us all weekend and the whole team just had a ton of quality at-bats.”
Warrick capped the scoring in the bottom of the sixth. After battling through a 13-pitch at-bat, the junior cleanup hitter launched a two-run shot over the center field wall to bump the cushion to six.
“Katie’s at-bat in that last inning was one of the best at-bats we’ve had all year, one of the best I’ve seen,” Deifel said. “It’s those quality at-bats that are making the difference with all or our girls. Just great to see.”
Arkansas, who has now won five of its last six SEC games, will travel to face No. 9 South Carolina this weekend. The Razorbacks will return home to host No. 16 Alabama for three games starting April 13.