8-0 loss in game one
FAYETTEVILLE – The Arkansas Razorbacks softball team fell in the first game of the weekend series with Louisiana State on Friday evening at Bogle Park. The 0-8 loss for the Razorbacks sets the team’s record at 1-13 in the Southeastern Conference and 10-26 overall.
Sophomore pitcher Hope McLemore held the Tigers to just one hit until LSU’s half of the third with a double to the center field wall put runners in position to score off a single to right center, setting the score at 2-0. Freshman Chloe Oprzedek came up in the home half of the second with a standing double up the right side. The Razorbacks answered back with the second base hit of the day by senior Becca Carden with a single to short in the home half of the third. Carden first hit came with the first at-bat of the game when she shot a single to right field. Carden tallied her 38th hit of the season going 2-4 on the day with a stolen base in the third.
"We had a couple opportunities to get the big hit," Arkansas coach Mike Larabee said. "LSU got the big hits, and the team that usually gets the big hits wins."
LSU plated three more runs off a three-run homer in the top of the fourth, but the Razorbacks closed the inning with a caught fly ball out to right field by freshman Macy Burr. McLemore collected five strikeouts in her five complete innings in the circle.
"I thought Hope threw pretty well," Larabee said. "In the fourth inning, I thought we had the batter struck out, and they got the three-run home run. That happens sometimes, but we have to tighten up the defense a little bit and swing the bats."
Linnea Ketcher earned her first base hit of the day in the Razorbacks half of the fourth with a single to short with two outs to put runners on first and second after Amanda Geile was hit by a pitch. Carden came back to the plate for the third time on the evening, but was out on a caught foul by the catcher.
Sophomore Chelsea Cohen came into the circle in the top of the sixth to collect a strikeout one just one walk in her two innings at work. Cohen pitched a perfect sixth inning with a fly out to Ketcher in left and a ground out to Jennifer Rambo at second.
Two singles by LSU in the seventh brought up the second three-run home run of the day for the Tigers, giving LSU the game-winning 8-0 score over Arkansas.
"We’ve got to come out tomorrow and have a short memory and hit like we are capable of hitting," Larabee said.
The Razorbacks continue with the second of the three-game series on Saturday, April 2, at 1:07 p.m. The game is set to be televised on CST and is available on Razorvision at ArkansasRazorbacks.com. All tickets into the game are just $1 and the first 300 fans in the gate receive a free Arkansas Razorbacks softball t-shirt.
Download: AR0401.pdf
