Arkansas Softball Fact Sheet #18

This WeekThe University of Arkansas softball team travels to Starkville, Miss., Friday, May 4, and Saturday, May 5, to face Southeastern Conference foe Mississippi State in its last regular-season series. Friday’s doubleheader begins at 5 p.m. and Saturday’s first pitch is at 1 p.m.
RecapThe Lady Razorbacks dropped an SEC series to Georgia this past weekend by scores of 0-5, 2-7 and 3-5. Arkansas’ midweek game with Wichita State was cancelled due to rain.
She’s on FireFreshman Miranda Dixon led the team again this week with a .375 batting average. She tallied three hits, one home run and three RBIs. Dixon is on a four-game hitting streak.
Dixon Ties School RecordDixon gave the Lady’Backs a 3-0 lead Sunday against the Bulldogs, blasting a three-run home run in the third. The homer marked her seventh of the season and tied her for the single-season record at Arkansas. The record was held by Courtney Mitchell in the 2002 season.
Bachkora Breaks Triple RecordFreshman Jessica Bachkora broke the school record for most triples in a single season Saturday. Bachkora hit her fifth triple of the year to right center in the fifth inning of game two against Georgia. The previous record was four triples, held most recently by Danica White in 2002.
SEC StatsSophomore Whitney Cloer leads the team in league play batting .297 with 22 hits, five doubles and seven RBIs.
LeMaster’s 200th HitRachel LeMaster collected the 200th hit of her career in the final game of the Tennessee series, March 25. LeMaster is tied for second on the career list with 218 hits. The current record is 224 held by Danica White.
Run Rachel RunLeMaster holds the career stolen base record with the 75 stolen bases On April 15 in Oxford, Miss., LeMaster earned her 20th stolen base of the season and the 73rd of her career to break the previous record of 72 held by Dana Gulick from 1997-2000.
About Mississippi StateThe Bulldogs dropped an SEC series to No. 20 Florida this past weekend. Mississippi State won the first game 4-3, then lost the second 1-2. Saturday’s rubber game went to Florida, 3-2, in nine innings. The Bulldogs are led by Chelsea Bramlett with a .399 batting average, 51 runs, 77 hits and 45 stolen bases.
Versus the BulldogsArkansas took one game from No. 22 Mississippi State last year, but lost the SEC series at home. The Bulldogs lead the all-time series 23-14 and won the last five out of six meetings.
Leading the WayBachkora continues to lead the Lady’Backs with a .291 batting average, 30 runs, 55 hits, 10 doubles, five triples, and a .340 on-base percentage.
Fanning the OpponentJunior Katy Henry is fifth in the SEC in strikeouts with 218. Tennessee’s Monica Abbott leads the way with a commanding 549 K’s while Auburn’s Anna Thompson is second with 288, followed by Florida’s Stacy Nelson with 224 and South Carolina’s Melissa Hendon with 220.
Top ThievesLeMaster and Bachkora account for 70% of the Lady’Backs’ stolen bases.LeMaster leads the team with 22 and is followed closely by Bachkora with 15. Arkansas has 53 stolen bases as a team.
Single-game Home Run RecordThe Lady’Backs hit three home runs, a team single-game record, in three contests this season, March 4 against Louisiana-Monroe, March 18 against Nebraska and April 18 against Louisiana Tech. Versus the Lady Techsters Arkansas hit the three home runs consecutively in the sixth inning.
First Collegiate HomersOn April 18 freshmen Brittany Robison and Teighynne Hulsey launched their first collegiate home runs. Sophomore Hillary Freeman also hit her first homer against Kansas, April 3.
Hitting StreaksLeMaster had the longest hitting streak on the team this season with an eight-game streak that ended April 15 against Florida. During the streak she hit .367 with 11 hits, three runs, one double and two RBIs. Bachkora and sophomore Kayla Johnson had six-game hitting streaks.
Blasting RecordsThe 2007 Arkansas softball team broke the single-season home run record smashing its 20th home run of the season against Kansas, April 3. The previous record was 19 set in 2005. The Lady’Backs have 26 home runs this season.
Record-Breaking Game OneIn the first game of the series against Kentucky, Arkansas tied the single game records for most runs scored (14) and most hits (19), and broke the record for most runs batted in (14). The previous record of 19 hits was in a 19-inning game against Alabama in 1999, while the 2007 Lady’Backs tallied their 19 hits in just seven innings.
Another Single Game RecordCloer broke the single game record for most hits in a game with five. Cloer was 5-for-5 with four RBIs, two runs scored, two doubles and one home run March 31 against Kentucky.
Pinkerton’s 200th WinHead coach Jamie Pinkerton picked up the 200th win of his career as a Division I head coach Sunday, April 1, in the final game of the Kentucky series.
Bring Out the BroomArkansas swept Kentucky March 31-April 1. The last time the Lady’Backs swept an SEC opponent was against Kentucky in 2005.
It’s Out of HereDayna Huckabee tied the career home run record March 18 with a two-out, two-run blast in the first inning against Nebraska. She hit five home runs this year and 12 in her career.
Dixon Homers Three TimesMiranda Dixon hit three home runs and was 7-for-7, helping the Lady’Backs to two victories March 4 at Lady’Back Yard. Dixon put Arkansas up 6-5 against Northern Iowa with a two-run shot on two outs in the fifth inning. Against ULM she hit a lead-off home run in the fourth inning to bring the Lady’Backs within one run of the Warhawks, and homered again in the seventh to put the Lady’Backs up 8-4. Dixon had seven hits, seven RBIs and four runs on the day. She also marked a new Lady’Back Yard record, hitting two home runs in a game.
Bachkora Breaks Triple RecordBachkora broke the school record for most triples in a single game on Feb. 25 against Missouri. Bachkora hit two triples, breaking the previous record of one.
Preseason PredictionsArkansas was selected to finish fourth in the SEC Western Division. The Lady’Backs received 37 points trailing LSU with 14 points, Alabama with 15 points and Auburn with 30 points. Tennessee was unanimously voted as the overall champion with 10 votes while Florida received one vote.
2008 SigneesAmanda Caldwell of Victoria, Texas, Lauren Chisom a Bentonville, Ark. native, Leslie Dixon from Edmond, Okla., Lauren Iverson of Grove, Okla., Emily Jones a Joplin, Mo. native, Kim Jones from Lenexa, Kan., Jacey Juden of Arkansas City, Kan., and Wynne, Ark. native Layne McGuirt signed national letters of intent to play softball at Arkansas and officially become part of the Lady’Back program in the 2007-08 academic year.