Razorbacks Pick Up Two Wins in Home Debut
FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – Playing on its home field for the first time this year, the University of Arkansas softball team made the most of its home opener with two wins Friday on day one of the Wooo Pig Classic. The Razorbacks opened things with a 2-0 win over Nebraska, and capped the day with an 11-3 triumph over Lamar. A winner in six straight, Arkansas improves to 14-1 overall.
Nicole Schroeder added to her NCAA-leading homerun total with two more round trippers, one in each game including her third grand slam of the season, a walk-off shot against Lamar. She pushes her career-high marks to 11 homers and 34 runs batted in. Grace Moll and Autumn Storms picked up wins in the circle with complete-game performances against Nebraska and Lamar, respectively.
Game 1: Arkansas 2, Nebraska 0 | Box Score
The Razorbacks had three hits against Nebraska, two off the bat of Schroeder. The game was scoreless through three and a half when Shelby Hiers drew a one-out walk in the fourth inning. Schroeder wasted little time in her at-bat, taking the first pitch over the fence in center field for her 11th homerun of the season and a 2-0 lead for Arkansas. In a quiet outing for the offense, she and Katie Warrick had the other two hits with doubles.
Moll made the runs stand up with a complete-game shutout in the circle. The senior pitcher allowed just two hits, and those came in the first two Nebraska at-bats of the game. Moll retired 19 of the final 22 hitters she faced on her way to improving to 6-0 this season. In that stretch, just one hitter reached second base. The outing was the 29th complete game of her career and third of the season.
Game 2: Arkansas 11, Lamar 3 (5 inn.) | Box Score
The visitors struck first with a tally in the first but Arkansas responded with two runs of its own in the bottom of the first with RBIs from Ashley Diaz and A.J. Belans. After a sacrifice fly by Hiers and a wild pitch allowing Autumn Russell to score from third in the second inning, the Razorbacks led 4-1. The duo of Diaz and Belans were at it again in the fourth with a pair of run-producing hits to cap the team’s three-run fourth frame.
Arkansas led 7-3 entering its half of the fifth inning. Russell and Stephanie Canfield started a rally with a pair of one-out hits. Hiers reached for the third time in the game with a walk to load the bases for Schroeder. The Yorba Linda, California, native ended the game with a line shot that just cleared the fence in left center. It was Schroeder’s second grand slam of the week to go along with Wednesday’s go-ahead shot at Oklahoma State.
Up Next
The Razorbacks return to Bogle Park for two more games Saturday, taking on IUPUI at 3 p.m. and a second encounter with Lamar at 5:30 p.m. General admission is free for all fans at Bogle Park this season.
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