NCAA SOFTBALL

UA shakes nerves, shuts out DePaul

Arkansas third baseman Autumn Buczek celebrates Friday, May 18, 2018, after the final out of the Razorbacks' 2-0 win over DePaul at Bogle Park during the NCAA Fayetteville Softball Regional on the university campus in Fayetteville.

FAYETTEVILLE -- Mary Haff didn't have her curveball working Friday against DePaul.

As it turned out, she didn't need it.

ADVERTISEMENT

More headlines

Haff, a freshman right-hander, pitched a shutout as the Arkansas Razorbacks beat DePaul 2-0 before an announced crowd of 1,985 at Bogle Park in their NCAA regional opener.

The Razorbacks (40-15) play Wichita State (31-21) at 1:30 p.m. today with the winner advancing to Sunday's regional championship game.

University of Arkansas, Fayetteville Coach Courtney Deifel said Haff threw about six curveballs among her 102 pitches.

"Surprisingly, she didn't even really have a lot of her best stuff today," Deifel said. "But you'd never be able to know by watching Mary.

"It's a huge testament to the kind of pitcher that she is. She just grinded through. She had some good rise balls, but she was really only dealing with two of her three pitches that she usually uses all the time."

DePaul Coach Eugene Lenti said Haff's rise ball and changeup made her plenty tough enough.

"She's got the two best pitches that disrupt hitting -- rise ball and changeup," Lenti said. "Hitting's all about timing and she's got a freeze-you changeup, and then she's got a rise ball that she can throw at different levels.

"It's like, good luck to any hitter really."

Haff (27-6) set an Arkansas record for most victories in a season, breaking the mark she had shared with Heather Sclichtman, who won 26 games in 2001.

"I think it just shows what this team has done as a whole, not just myself," Haff said. "Our hitting and our defense have improved so much over the season, and I definitely couldn't have gotten some of those wins without our offense behind us.

"It's not just my success, but the whole team's success behind that number."

Haff held the Big East champion Blue Demons (35-16) to 2 hits and had 8 strikeouts without a walk in her 7 innings.

"She's able to control the movement of her rise ball very well," DePaul senior first baseman Haydn Christensen said. "She has that high-rise, but then she also got you with that mid-rise.

"The umpire was definitely giving that little higher strike, and when she hit that it was really tough to lay off."

Arkansas got all the offense it needed in the third inning when Kayla Green -- the eighth-place hitter -- drew a leadoff walk on a 3-2 pitch against Missy Zoch.

Carley Haizlip, pinch-running for Green, went to second on a wild pitch and scored on a single by Haydi Bugarin, who went to second on the throw home. Bugarin went to third on a groundout by Hannah McKeon and came home on a single by Autumn Buczek to make it 2-0.

"We just got bit by that leadoff walk," Lenti said. "That leadoff walk to the bottom of the order usually gets you in some kind of trouble against a really good team. That really was the turning of the tide for today."

Bugarin said she was determined to get a hit. She finally did on her ninth pitch of the at-bat.

"Kayla really grinded to get on base for us," Bugarin said. "I just said to myself I was going to get on base no matter what happened."

Deifel said getting a lead helped the Razorbacks relax.

"Our first two innings, I just felt like we were kind of nervy," she said. "I think we were stretching the zone. We were doing things we don't typically do as an offense.

"For Kayla to take a walk, it was really big. Then Haydi ended up fighting off every pitch that she had to and ended up poking one through for a hit.

"Those two things allowed our team to exhale a little bit, and we needed that. There was just some anxiousness in our dugout."

It was the 11th shutout this season for Haff, including 10 on her own and one combined with Autumn Storms.

"She doesn't pitch like a freshman, and she's never acted like a freshman," Deifel said. "She doesn't carry herself like a freshman. She doesn't handle adversity like a freshman. She's just a great catalyst in the circle for us."

Haff retired the first 12 batters she faced before Megan Leyva beat out an infield single leading off the fifth inning to break up the perfect game.

"It didn't really shake me up at all," Haff said. "I don't go out to pitch a perfect game. I just go out to win. Perfect games and no-hitters are just add-ons."

The hardest ball DePaul hit all day was a line drive by Angela Scalzitti. Unfortunately for the Blue Demons, it was right at Haff, who caught it for the game's final out.

"You can't really simulate that in practice," Haff said. "It's just a reaction thing. I just got lucky, honestly."

At a glance

NCAA Regional Schedule

Friday's games

Wichita State 8, Oklahoma State 2

GAME 2 Arkansas vs. DePaul, (n)

Today's games

All times Central

GAME 3 Wichita State vs. winner Game 2, 1:30 p.m.

GAME 4 Oklahoma State vs. loser Game 2, 4 p.m.

GAME 5 Winner Game 4 vs. loser Game 3, 6:30 p.m.

Sunday's games

GAME 6 Winner Game 3 vs winner Game 5, 1:30 p.m.

GAME 7 Winner Game 6 vs loser Game 6 (if nec.), 4 p.m.

Sports on 05/19/2018