Arkansas right-hander Chenise Delce tossed a two-hit shutout and the 12th-ranked Razorbacks belted 12 hits en route to defeating Missouri 9-0 in 5 innings Friday night at Mizzou Stadium.
The victory moved Arkansas (38-14, 14-8 SEC) within one victory of clinching a bye until the quarterfinals of the SEC Tournament next week at Bogle Park. Byes are given to the team with the four best records in SEC play.
Delce (20-6) pitched all 5 innings and struck out 5 with 2 walks.
The redshirt junior claimed her fifth shutout. Delce has also made an appearance in two combined shutouts.
Missouri (31-23, 5-17) had no answers for Arkansas’ hitters. Seven Razorbacks recorded a base hit.
Arkansas jumped on starter Jordan Weber early. By the time six-hole hitter Kristina Foreman stepped to the batter’s box, Arkansas had loaded the bases.
Foreman delivered with a two-run single to left field to put Arkansas ahead. The graduate transfer from Duke finished with a team-best 3 RBI on 2-for-2 hitting and drew 1 walk.
The Razorbacks extended their lead to 3-0 in the second inning when sophomore Raigan Kramer hit a sacrifice fly to center field, scoring Lauren Camenzind.
The Tigers brought Megan Schumacher in from the bullpen to begin the third inning, but the Razorbacks continued their hot hitting. Arkansas scored a pair of runs on base hits by Foreman and Camenzind.
Camenzind, a freshman from Valley, Neb., posted her first three-hit game. The catcher went 3 for 3 with 2 RBI.
Schumaker retired all three batters she faced in the fourth inning, but the Razorbacks bounced back with a big fifth. Arkansas scored 4 runs on 5 hits in the frame and extended the lead to 9-0 to put the run-rule into effect.
Reagan Johnson, Cylie Halvorson, Foreman and Camenzind each had a multi-hit game.
Arkansas will have an opportunity to notch its 12th-consecutive road series victory Saturday with a 4 p.m. game that is scheduled to stream on SEC Network-Plus.