FAYETTEVILLE -- Arkansas senior Autumn Buczek wasted little time when she stepped to the plate in the bottom of the seventh inning Friday night.
With the score tied 2-2 and runners on second and third, the Razorbacks lead-off hitter, generally known as a slap hitter, launched a line shot off the center-field wall to score pinch-runner Sydney Parr, and propel No. 23 Arkansas to a 3-2 come-from-behind victory over No. 20 Mississippi State in Southeastern Conference softball at Bogle Park.
"That pitch look pretty fat," Buczek said with a laugh after the game. "Coach told me to just put the ball in play to give us a chance to score."
After trailing 2-0, Arkansas (26-6, 3-4 SEC) tied the score at 2-2 in the fourth. Nobody else crossed the plate for either team until the late Razorback rally in the seventh. Senior A.J. Belans reached with a one-out single to left, then advanced to third on Haydi Bugarin's double to the left-center field gap.
Parr then entered the game to run for Belans, as Mississippi State (28-7, 3-4) replaced starting pitcher Holly Ward with reliever Cassady Knudsen -- who made just one pitch.
Arkansas freshman pitcher Mary Haff (16-2) went the distance, throwing 132 pitches and striking out nine.
Haff got into an early groove, striking out the first two batters of the game. She appeared to quickly strike out the side, but an illegal pitch was called on the third strike to MSU's Saraai Niu, who walked on the following pitch. Bulldog cleanup hitter Morgan Bell then proceeded to line a 2-2 pitch over the center-field fence to put the visitors on top 2-0.
"I have to give Mary a lot of credit," Razorbacks coach Courtney Deifel said. "There was a really adverse moment in that first inning, but to see her respond, the way she grinded the rest of the game -- I give her a lot of credit for setting that tone."
Haff quickly settled back in and ended up striking out the side in both, the first and second innings.
"I knew I just had to compose myself and get the next out," Haff said. "I knew I had to keep grinding it out and allow our offense to get us back in it."
Ward was also cruising through the first three innings, allowing just one Arkansas base runner -- Bugarin, who reached on an error in the third.
"Our offense just stayed the course," Deifel said. "Those first three innings aren't how we would have drawn them up, but our girls just learned and adjusted, and their presence from the fourth inning on was just so different. They just answered that two-run deficit, then that rally in the last inning was pretty exciting."
Freshman Hannah McEwen got the rally going in the fourth inning with a leadoff single to left field, the first Razorback hit of the game. Ashley Diaz then lined the first pitch she saw down the left field line for a stand-up double.
Katie Warrick's sacrifice fly to right field score McEwen for the first Arkansas run. Senior Loren Krzysko followed with a single to right, scoring Diaz and knotting the score at 2-2. Freshman Kayla Green continued the barrage with a sharp single to left.
"Loren is just such an aggressive baserunner and was trying to make something happen for us, but it just didn't go our way," Deifel said. "The momentum could have really turned against us at that point, but our pitching and defense didn't allow that to happen, and we were able to overcome it."
Haff allowed just one single in the final four innings, getting some defensive assistance behind her.
Cooper provided the gem of the night, showing off her speed and agility in left field to start the sixth inning. She sprinted over and dived across the foul line to stab a line drive off the bat of MSU's leading hitter Mia Davidson, ending any threat of a big inning for the Bulldogs.
"Any win in this conference is a huge win" Deifel said. "This just shows the confidence our girls have to compete and battle to the end. I am very proud of them tonight."
The two teams are slated to play again today and Sunday with 1 p.m starts both days.
Sports on 03/31/2018