Razorbacks take 16-game win streak to No. 20 South Carolina

Arkansas batter Hannah McEwen (23) against North Dakota State during an NCAA softball game on Thursday Feb. 25, 2021, in Fayetteville. (AP Photo/Michael Woods)

FAYETTEVILLE — The No. 19 University of Arkansas softball team comes into this weekend’s SEC opener riding a 16-game winning streak.

The Razorbacks take on No. 20 South Carolina (13-3) in a three-game set beginning tonight at 5 in Columbia, S.C., but they won’t be at full strength.

Left fielder Hannah McEwen, a preseason All-SEC selection, has missed the past six games and won’t be available this weekend for undisclosed reasons, Arkansas Coach Courtney Deifel said. She’s hitting over .400 with a team-best on-base percentage of .585.

Freshman third baseman Hannah Gammill, who has slid into the leadoff spot in McEwen’s absence and is hitting .370, will also be sidelined with a hand injury suffered in the seventh inning of the Razorbacks’ 4-1 victory over Central Arkansas on Tuesday night in Conway. Pitcher Autumn Storms, also a preseason All-SEC pick, is questionable because of lingering back problem.

“Autumn’s day to day,” Deifel said. “ We’ll see how she’s feeling. At the end of the day, this team is ready to go to battle with whoever’s on the field and in whatever conditions at the time.”

Storms is 2-0 with a 1.94 ERA but has pitched just 21 2/3 innings thus far. The Razorbacks have leaned on junior Mary Haff, who has thrown 63 1/3 innings already. She’s 10-1 with a save and a 0.88 ERA. Her 10 wins are tops in the country.

Arkansas (17-2) has relied on the long ball often this season. The Razorbacks, who have hit 47 home runs, rank second in the country in home runs behind top-ranked Oklahoma.

Shortstop Braxton Burnside, another preseason All-SEC selection, leads the way with 11 home runs, which are tied for second in the country. She’s also second on the team with a .422 batting average just behind Danielle Gibson’s .423. Gibson has nine home runs and a team-best 31 RBI.

The Razorbacks have found different ways to win other than hitting the ball out of the park, Deifel said. Arkansas managed just three hits in Tuesday’s win over UCA, but took advantage of walks and hit batsmen in addition to the long ball.

“This past weekend, I don’t think we were playing all that well and finding ways to win, fighting from behind,” Deifel said. “[Tuesday] I don’t think we had our best offensive game and were just really productive with three hits.

“Great teams find ways to win when they’re not at their best, but then I think we’ve had games where we’re rolling.”

Despite having SEC play on the horizon, Burnside said Tuesday’s game against UCA in Conway was special.

“I was so glad to be a part of that game and make history for the state of Arkansas,” said Burnside, a native Arkansas. “There was just a lot of people there, clearly the biggest crowd we’ve played in front of this year. I just also think from a different perspective if we don’t have a covid year, I think you see that place absolutely packed.

“I think that’s just so cool for the years to come, just how big that game will be. It was just awesome for us to come together and the atmosphere was so much fun, just soaking it all in and making the most of that experience.”

Burnside said the Razorbacks head into league play with confidence.

“I feel like we’re in a really good spot,” she said. “I think we have all the confidence in the world. We’re riding the big win streak, but I don’t think we’re looking much into that. Just taking it day by day.

“We’ve learned how to take adversity head on and just get through it the way we can. We’ve kinda taken the approach of next-man up. If somebody goes out, somebody else has gotta step in.”

Arkansas is one of 10 SEC teams ranked in the latest ESPN.com/USA Softball national poll. Mississippi State fell out of the poll this week.