Razorback season ends at NCAA Norman Regional

NORMAN, Okla. – The Razorback softball team saw its 2009 season come to an end Saturday evening in an elimination game of the Norman (Okla.) Regional. Arkansas lost to No. 7 Oklahoma, 21-2. Whitney Cloer provided the offense for Arkansas with two home runs, the second time this season the senior catcher has gone deep twice in the same game. The Razorbacks close the season with a 27-29 record and their second consecutive trip to the NCAA Regional round.“It was a tight game heading into fifth when we had our lead,” head coach Jamie Pinkerton said. “For whatever reason, one thing happened, then another, and then OU got rolling downhill. Sometimes when the wheels get churning, it’s hard to stop and that was the case today.”After three scoreless innings from both teams, Cloer put Arkansas head with a solo shot to left field. It was her first home run since April 1. The Razorbacks looked to stretch their advantage after a walk to Miranda Dixon and an intentional pass to Sandra Smith gave them runners on first and second with two outs. Pinch hitter Brittany Robison flied out to center, however, to end the rally.Oklahoma responded with four runs in each of the next two innings to take an 8-1 lead. The Sooners had three singles to lead off the fifth and get the scoring started. Chana’e Jones had a three-run home run in the bottom of the sixth to cap Oklahoma’s eight-run spurt.Cloer added her second home run of the day in the bottom of the sixth, a monster shot off the top of the scoreboard in left field, to make the score 8-2. The blast lifted Cloer’s season tally to 10, the first double-digit home run total of her career. The two hits move Cloer into 10th place on Arkansas’ all-time hits list and with the RBIs, she eclipsed the 100-RBI mark for her career.She is part of the seven-member senior group, the first recruiting class at Arkansas for Pinkerton. The rest of the class includes Brandy Baze, Brandy Foust, Hillary Freeman, Amie Hubbard, Arkansas’ all-time runs scored leader Kayla Johnson and Jocelyne Moncrief.“This senior class has set a new standard for Arkansas softball,” Pinkerton said. “They have gotten us back to where we belong and where we need to be as a program. This was the first group that bought into what we were doing as a staff. Kudos to this senior class for advancing to two SEC Tournaments and back-to-back NCAA Regionals. They are a special group of kids.”The Sooners pushed the game to its final tally with a 13-run seventh inning.In other Norman Regional action, fourth-seeded North Dakota State advanced to Sunday’s regional final and will take on the winner of the Oklahoma-Tulsa matchup. For continued coverage of the 2009 NCAA Division I Softball Championship, visit www.ncaa.com, and for more news about Razorback softball, log on to ArkansasRazorbacks.com.

Download: Oklahoma 21, Arkansas 2_ncaa.pdf