Border War heads to Tulsa during midweek

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – The Razorbacks will take a break from the Southeastern Conference for mid-week play at the annual Border War against Oklahoma State and Tulsa. This year’s series will be played at the Donna J. Hardesty Sports Complex on the campus of the University of Tulsa. Arkansas (19-13, 8-4) is scheduled for a 3 p.m. matchup with Oklahoma State to be followed by a 5 p.m. meeting with Tulsa.The game between the Razorbacks and Oklahoma State will be a rematch of a meeting earlier this season (March 8) won by the Cowgirls, 7-6, at the Oklahoma State Mizuno Classic.Whitney Cloer leads a trio of Razorbacks hitting over .300 on the season. Cloer leads the team with a .363 batting average. As a show of her consistent play, her average hasn’t dipped below .345 this season. The senior catcher also has a team-high seven home runs and 25 RBI. Cloer leads the SEC with 12 doubles.Brittany Griffiths and a surging Kayla Johnson round out the top three hitters for Arkansas. Griffiths is second on the team with a .344 batting average. The freshman shortstop is hitting .382 against conference opposition. Johnson has raised her batting average to .313 with the help of a .450 average against SEC teams. Johnson has hit safely in eight of the Razorbacks’ 12 conference games this season.The team’s top run scorer, Jessica Bachkora, is hitting .291 with five home runs and 21 RBI. Both figures are career highs for the junior outfielder. Bachkora leads the club with 22 runs scored.On the season, Arkansas is hitting .264 as a team. In SEC games, the Razorbacks hold a .294 batting average, which is third in the conference for league-only games.In the circle, Miranda Dixon is 12-4 with a 2.56 ERA. With Sunday’s victory at Ole Miss, Dixon matched her win total of last year. In 112 innings pitched, she has struck out 97 batters and walked just 27. Dixon tied a season high with 10 strikeouts against the Rebels in her last outing.Kim Jones, the usual game-one starter during SEC play, is 5-6 in 15 appearances this season. She has a 3.11 ERA and 54 strikeouts in 78.2 innings pitched. As a staff, the Razorbacks team ERA stands at 3.36.

The Cowgirls enter the mid-week set with a 26-8 overall record and a 3-1 mark in Big 12 play.

Mariah Gearhart leads a group of five Oklahoma State players hitting over .300. Gearhart carries a .351 batting average with a team-high 34 hits. She had the game-winning RBI against Arkansas in the meeting between the two teams earlier this season. Alysia Hamilton (.337) leads the team with 37 RBI, while Julie Ward, hitting .284 on the season, has a club-high seven home runs.

The Cowgirls are led in the circle by the tandem of Anna Whiddon and Sarah Odom. Whiddon is 12-5 with a 1.53 ERA and Odom is 12-2 with a 1.86 ERA. Whiddon picked up the win in the game earlier this season against Arkansas. On the season, the Cowgirl staff has a 1.67 team ERA and holding opponents to a .203 batting average.

The Golden Hurricane is 21-9 on the season with a 6-2 record against Conference USA opposition.

Five players are hitting over .320 for Tulsa, including team leader Lauren Lindsay. She is hitting .394 on the season with a club-best seven home runs and 22 RBI. Skyla Swason carries a .324 batting average and is tied with Lindsay for the RBI lead with 22. As a team, the Golden Hurricane are hitting .289.

Tulsa has a trio of pitchers with each earning at least nine starts this season. Jackie Lawrence is 9-2, and leads the club with a 1.92 ERA. Katie Lee and Jordan Kinard are 6-3 and 6-4, respectively. Kinard has totaled a team-high 78 strikeouts. The Golden Hurricane are holding opponents to a .214 batting average.

Arkansas leads the all-time series with Oklahoma State and Tulsa. The Razorbacks have won five of nine against the Cowgirls, while holding a 9-6 advantage in meetings with the Golden Hurricane. Live stats will be available and both games will be broadcast on ArkansasRazorbacks.com.

Download: 2009 notes.pdf