Arkansas takes two from Wichita State

Arkansas starter Autumn Storms delivers to the plate Wednesday, April 10, 2019, against Wichita State during the first inning at Bogle Park in Fayetteville.

FAYETTEVILLE -- Arkansas junior hurler Autumn Storms finished off both ends of Wednesday's doubleheader sweep of Wichita State, earning the complete-game 9-1 win in Game 1, then getting the final two outs for the save in the 4-3 nightcap victory.

"My defense made some great plays behind me," said Storms, who is now 15-5 on the season with two saves and a career-low 1.67 ERA. "That's what allows me to go out there with so much confidence, and just seeing us all start to put this together is great to see and be a part of."

Sophomore Mary Haff (13-9) pitched a solid effort in Game 2, going 6 2/3 innings, allowing just two runs on three hits.

"I thought both of our pitchers did a very good job in both games, and I thought our defense played pretty incredible behind them, especially in the first game," Arkansas coach Courtney Deifel said. "And you see there in Game 2 that they work so well together. They are such a compliment."

Trailing 2-0 early in Game 2, the No. 18 Razorbacks (28-14, 6-9) exploded for all four of their runs in the third inning.

Hannah McEwen was hit by a pitch to lead off the inning and moved to second on Danielle Gibsons' single. Senior Ashley Diaz doubled in McEwen for Arkansas' first run, then senior Katie Warrick hit the first pitch she saw for a 260-foot bomb over the left-field fence to plate three more and give the Razorbacks a 4-2 lead.

Madison Perrigan's solo homer gave Wichita State 1-0 lead in the top of the first. A throwing error in the third then allowed Kaylee Hueker to score an unearned run and put the Shockers (23-19) up by a pair.

"Every game is always so huge for us, and Wichita State is a solid team that we had some huge battles with last year," Deifel said. "I'm just really proud of our girls for coming out and taking care of business like they did, from start to finish."

Game 1: Arkansas 9, Wichita State 1 (6)

After breaking a scoreless tie with a run in the bottom of the fourth, Arkansas scored eight more runs over the final two innings to finish off the Shockers in six innings.

The Razorbacks' first two runs came by the benefit of a pair of wild pitches. Diaz then drove in Sydney Benz with a sacrifice fly to make it 3-1 after five.

Sophomore Linnie Malkin got things started in the sixth with a two-run double. After a sacrifice fly by Benz made it 6-1, Warrick singled in Keely Edwards. Kayla Green doubled down the left-field line to score Diaz, and Sydney Parr singled in Warrick for the final run.

Storms pitched her 10th complete game of the season, allowing just two hits and striking out seven.

SHORT HOPS: Arkansas catcher Kayla Green has only allowed four stolen bases this season and leads the SEC with a .333 Stolen Base Allowed average ... Katie Warrick's homer in Game 2 sailed over the first row of cars in the parking lot beyond the left-field fence ... Diaz is now one sacrifice fly away from tying the career record (10) at Arkansas ... the Razorbacks eliminated the Shockers from the NCAA Tournament last season by knocking them out of the Fayetteville Regional.

ON DECK: Arkansas will host Furman for a three-game series, beginning with a 1 p.m. doubleheader Saturday.

Wichita State will travel to Memphis for a three-game series, beginning Friday at 5 p.m.

ON THE WEB: arkansasrazorbacks.com

Sports on 04/11/2019