Arkansas Earns 15th Run-Rule Win of Season by Downing Missouri State, 12-0

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – Behind a plethora of solid performances at the plate, highlighted by a six RBI day from sophomore INF Ella McDowell, along with dominant pitching and defense, the No. 7/9 Arkansas Razorbacks run-ruled Missouri State, 12-0 in five innings at Killian Stadium on Monday evening.

With the victory, the Razorbacks improved to 22-2 overall while recording their 15th run-rule victory of the season. The Hogs are now outscoring opponents, 231-47, this season.

McDowell continued her tear at the plate with a 3-3 day that featured a third-inning grand slam along with a double and six RBI. Reagan Johnson also recorded multiple hits in the win with a 2-3 showing that featured a stolen base and two runs scored. Tianna Bell smashed her team-leading ninth home run of the season with a towering two-run shot to left field in the top of the second inning. Brinli Bain also drove in a pair of runs with a double in the second inning, extending her reached-base streak to 24 games. Kailey Wyckoff added an RBI as well, courtesy of a first-inning double.

Payton Burnham improved to 5-1 on the season after spinning three shutout innings while striking out one and surrendering just two hits. Lillie-Faye McWhorter followed Burnham with two dominant innings of relief while racking up a pair of strikeouts and allowing two hits.

Brylee Brewster took the loss for Missouri State (11-12) after allowing six runs on five hits and two walks in addition to a strikeout.

How it Happened

Sophomore Payton Burnham made her sixth start of the season for Arkansas, while Missouri State went with freshman lefty Brylee Brewster.

Reagan Johnson led off the game by singling off of Brewster with a hard line-drive up the middle. Johnson stole second after reaching on her single. Two batters later, Ella McDowell doubled to right field to score Johnson and put Arkansas ahead 1-0. Following Johnson’s double, Dakota Kennedy added a two-out walk before Kailey Wyckoff made it 3-0 Arkansas with a double down the first-base line.

Burnham spun a scoreless bottom of the first inning. The Bears’ Brynn Romine led off the inning with a single through the left side. Halle Studer immediately followed by wearing a pitch before Burnham issued a foulout and a 5-4-3 double play to complete the scoreless inning.

Arkansas added five runs in the top of the second inning. Atalyia Rijo led off the frame with a walk and advanced to second on a one-out single by Johnson. Both would come around to score on a two-run double into the left-center field gap by Bain, which increased the Arkansas advantage to 5-0. McDowell followed with an RBI single before Tianna Bell hit a mammoth two-run shot to left field, pushing the Hogs’ lead to eight. Brewster was replaced in the circle by Paityn Engemann with one out in the frame.

In the bottom half, Burnham recorded a 1-2-3 inning courtesy of three groundouts.

In the top of the third inning, Karlie Davison led off the stanza with a single before being replaced at first base by Rijo, who reached on a fielder’s choice. Arkansas then loaded the bases courtesy of a one-out single from Ramsey Walker and a walk from Bain. Following Bain’s walk, McDowell stepped to the plate and crushed a grand slam over the wall in left field to increase the Hogs’ lead to 12. It marked the second consecutive game that McDowell had hit a grand slam after doing so in yesterday’s series-clinching win over Georgia. Mackenzi Swick would relieve Engemann for the final out of the inning and pitch 2.1 scoreless innings the rest of the way.

The Bears’ Emily Gerardy led off the bottom of the third inning with a double down the left-field line, but that was all Missouri State would get as Burnham retired her final three batters of the day by way of a popout, groundout, and strikeout.

Dakota Kennedy singled up the middle for the Hogs’ lone hit of the fourth inning. Lillie-Faye McWhorter came in to pitch the final two innings of the contest in the fourth. The Warren, Ark., product retired three of her four batters faced in the frame while registering a pair of strikeouts. The Bears’ Aubrey Johansen was the lone baserunner courtesy of a single to right field.

Swick retired the Hogs in order during the top of the fifth. In the home half, Missouri State third baseman Kayla Ulrich singled to left field before being replaced at first by Gerardy, who hit into a fielder’s choice for the first out of the inning. McWhorter then wrapped up the run-rule win by issuing a 4-6-3 double play for the final two outs of the contest.

NOTABLES

• Ella McDowell became the first Arkansas sophomore to drive in 6+ runs in a single game since Danielle Gibson’s 10 during her home run cycle in a win over SIU-Edwardsville on Feb. 23, 2019. Her six RBI also marked a career high. She is just the third sophomore to drive in 6+ runs in a single game in program history, alongside Gibson and Cortney Mitchell, who accomplished the feat on March 11, 2002, during a win over Coastal Carolina.
• Reagan Johnson needs just 10 more hits to break Hannah McEwen’s all-time Arkansas career hits record of 261.
• Arkansas is now 680-105-1 when outhitting opponents since 1998.
• Arkansas is 145-41 since 2001, when its pitching staff issues no walks in a game.
• Freshman Brinli Bain extended her reached-base streak to 24 games. She has now reached safely in all 24 of her collegiate games. She is the first freshman to reach in the first 24 games of her career in program history. Her 24-game reached base streak is the second-longest in program history to open a season, trailing only Devon Wallace (31, 2013). Additionally, her reached-base streak is also the sixth-longest in program history.

Up Next

The Razorbacks will return to action this weekend for a three-game SEC series at Alabama. All three games will be broadcast on SEC Network+.

For schedule updates and other news, go to ArkansasRazorbacks.com, or follow @RazorbackSB on X, Instagram and Facebook.