Caldwell hits grand slam; Hogs fall in heartbreaker

STARKVILLE, Miss. – The Arkansas Razorbacks fell in a heartbreaking 6-5 loss against Mississippi State on Sunday afternoon to go 0-3 on the three-game series against the Bulldogs. Senior Amanda Caldwell hit a grand slam in the fourth inning, but it was not enough to hold off MSU

The Razorbacks move to 9-20 on the season and 0-8 in Southeastern Conference play. Senior Becca Carden started things off with a hard-hit double to left center as the leadoff hitter. Freshman Jennifer Rambo singled to the right side to bring in the first run of the day and the series for Arkansas.

"We talked about the key to the game today being to get off to a hot start," head coach Mike Larabee said. "We scored first today and for the first time in a long time, we had that big hit."

Senior Kim Jones kept the Bulldogs quiet in the first two innings with two strikeouts in a row in the second. Arkansas picked up another single in the fourth with a base hit from Carden. The Razorbacks half of the fourth was anything but quiet for the Hogs as Jayme Gee started off the fourth with a base hit. Freshman Chloe reached on an error by the pitcher and the Bulldogs intentionally walked Carden after she had two hits in her first two at bats.

Senior Amanda Caldwell came in as pinch hitter for the Hogs and hit a grand slam over the left center wall to give the Hogs a 5-2 lead after three and a half innings. The bomb marks Caldwell’s second career home run and first grand slam as a Razorback.

"Amanda Caldwell comes off the bench for that grand slam home run and unfortunately our pitching wasn’t as sharp as we needed it to be," Larabee said. They have been carrying us and today, we were lucky with some offense."

The Bulldogs answered back late in the game with a three-run home run by lead-off hitter Ali Bainbridge in the sixth. Jones pitched a single to center field and a walk to place the batters before Chelsea Cohen came into the circle to give up the run.

Cohen allowed two more hits in the seventh, including a walk-off base hit by the shortstop to end the game with MSU taking the 6-5 win. The Bulldogs move to 15-16 on the season with a 5-2 SEC record after the sweep of the Hogs.

Arkansas continues on the road with a mid-week doubleheader against Ole Miss on Wednesday in Oxford, Miss.

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