SEC road test up next for Razorbacks

STARKVILLE, Miss. – After sweeping South Carolina in its conference opener, the Razorback softball team heads into its first full week of SEC play with a mid-week series at Mississippi State. The series will kick off with a Tuesday doubleheader set for a 3 p.m. start, while first pitch for Wednesday’s finale is scheduled for 4 p.m. All games will be broadcast on KXUA Fayetteville (88.3 FM).Arkansas (13-9, 2-0) trails in the all-time series with Mississippi State, 26-17, but the past seven meetings between the division rivals have gone back and forth with neither team picking up consecutive wins. The Razorbacks beat the Bulldogs in last season’s series, played in Fayetteville, 2-1. Arkansas has won six of the 20 total meetings in Starkville.Whitney Cloer continues to lead the Razorbacks at the plate with a .368 batting average. She also has a team-high 25 hits, four home runs and 16 RBI. In her last six games, Cloer has three home runs and eight RBI. Entering play last weekend, she was tied for the SEC lead with eight doubles, a career high for the senior catcher.After a five-hit effort in last week’s doubleheader against South Carolina, Jessica Bachkora pushed her average back above .300 and is second on the team hitting .338. As the leadoff hitter for Arkansas, she leads the team in runs scored with 17 and has stolen 11 bases on 11 attempts this season.The left side of the Razorback infield, shortstop Brittany Griffiths and third baseman Amie Hubbard, are hitting .306 and .304, respectively. Griffiths has also proven valuable in the field where she has played error-free ball in the past 11 games. Hubbard has recorded at least one hit in eight of Arkansas’ last 11 games.In the circle, Arkansas is led by Miranda Dixon and Kim Jones, each turning in strong performances against the Gamecocks in the conference opener. Dixon leads the team with a 7-2 record and 2.37 ERA. In 68 innings this season, the junior pitcher has 58 strikeouts and 17 walks. Dixon also has three saves to her credit.Jones is 4-4 after a complete game shutout in her last outing. She lowered her ERA to 3.14 and has 43 strikeouts in 58 innings pitched this season. Jones ha already surpassed her total number of innings pitched (53.1) last season as a freshman. She has made a team-high eight starts this year.Mississippi State (14-9, 0-3) was swept by No. 2 Alabama in its SEC-opening series. The Bulldogs have been ranked as high as No. 25 this season.The MSU lineup features Chelsea Bramlett, one of the top hitters in the SEC. She is hitting .513 by way of 39 hits. She also has 29 stolen bases which leads the league. Ali Bainbridge supplies the power for the Bulldogs with three home runs and 21 RBI. Mississippi State is hitting .293 as a team.In the circle, Lindsey Dunlap is 6-5 with a 2.39 ERA and 64 strikeouts in 76 innings pitched. Kelsey Nurnberg has made a team-high 11 starts and is 8-2. She carries a 3.12 ERA in 51.2 innings of work with 42 strikeouts.For the second time in program history (1999), the Razorbacks are 2-0 to start conference play. Live stats of the Arkansas-Mississippi State series can be found at ArkansasRazorbacks.com.

Download: 2009 notes.pdf