University of Arkansas softball Coach Courtney Deifel said her team’s still not clicking on all cylinders, but the Razorbacks will look to pick up where it left off when they last played.
Arkansas (9-4) won two of three games against Louisville, closing with a 14-0 five-inning win on Monday afternoon.
The No. 11 Razorbacks open the Razorback Rumble against Missouri State at 5 p.m. today in Bogle Park. They are scheduled to play six games in four days — facing Missouri State, Missouri-Kansas City and Kennesaw State twice each.
Deifel said the event should provide the Razorbacks with a challenge.
“We’ll face three opponents who are definitely battle tested, and we know we’re going to have to play better than we’ve been playing,” Deifel said.
The Razorbacks banged out 14 hits and also got a dominant performance from redshirt junior pitcher Chenise Delce in the win against Louisville after falling 8-4 to the Cardinals in the first game of the doubleheader.
Delce, a transfer from Tulsa, came back strong after struggling the weekend before. She tossed a two-hitter and struck out 10.
The trio of Hannah McEwen, Hannah Gammill and Danielle Gibson combined to go 7 for 9 at the plate and drove in nine runs in the nightcap. McEwen drove in five, while Gibson went 3 for 3 and is now hitting a team-high .600.
Arkansas committed five errors in the opener and trailed 7-0 after three innings en route to the loss.
Catcher Taylor Ellsworth, a graduate transfer from Texas, said the Razorbacks had the correct response after struggling in the first game.
“We didn’t come out our best and that showed, they took advantage like they should,” Ellsworth said. “Next game, we got it together. Sometimes you've got to get kicked in the butt to move forward. That was the kick in the butt we needed.”
Ellsworth is one of four Razorbacks who have driven in 10 or more runs and is second on the team with a .432 average. Gammill, a sophomore from Beebe, leads the way with six homers and 19 RBI.
Deifel is hopeful the Razorbacks’ pitching will be better overall and she’s looking to see others contribute offensively, but the defense also needs to better.
“I think we’ll pitch it better this week, and we’re just looking to continue spreading our hitting throughout our lineup,” Deifel said.
Ace Mary Haff leads the way with a 4-2 record, a save and a 3.26 ERA. Delce improved to 3-1 with the win on Monday and notched the team’s first complete game of the season.
Redshirt senior Linnie Malkin, who had missed the last eight games for undisclosed reasons, returned to the lineup with a bang on Monday. She went 3 for 5 with 2 home runs and 5 RBI in the doubleheader.
Freshman shortstop Spencer Prigge, who has been sidelined with a back injury, took ground balls for the first time in a while on Wednesday and could see action this weekend, Deifel said.