Grand slam lifts Hogs to victory over Drake

STILLWATER, Okla. – Whitney Cloer hit a grand slam Friday evening as the Razorback softball team defeated Drake, 6-3, on day one of the Oklahoma State Mizuno Classic. The home run untied a 1-1 game in the bottom of the fifth inning with a shot to left field. In the circle, Kim Jones pitched a complete game for Arkansas (10-7) and struck out seven to earn her third victory of the season.Drake (11-6) took the early lead when Molly McClelland crossed the plate for the Bulldogs in the second. McClelland walked with one out and came around to score on an RBI single by Erin Mollohan.Brittany Griffiths led off the third with a triple to right center and Jocelyne Moncrief drove in Arkansas’ first run of the game with a double to left field. The Razorbacks stranded runners on second and third in the inning and the game remained tied until the bottom of the fifth.Griffiths singled to start the fifth and after Moncrief reached on an error and Tori Mort bunted her way on, the bases were loaded for Cloer. The senior catcher knocked a pitch from Drake starter Jenna DeLong over the left field fence for her second home run of the season to give Arkansas the 5-1 lead. It was the Razorbacks’ second grand slam of the season; Brittany Robison had the first in the team’s home opener last weekend.The Razorbacks tacked on an insurance run in the bottom of the sixth on a single to left field by Moncrief, her second RBI of the game. The single plated Amie Hubbard who led off the inning with a single. Batting eighth and ninth, respectively, Griffiths and Moncrief combined to go 4-for-5 with two RBI and three runs scored.Jones allowed just one hit through the first six innings, but faced a Drake rally in the bottom of the seventh. Erin Bly led off the inning with a single and Torey Craddock homered to left to cut the Arkansas lead to 6-3 with no outs. After a walk to DeLong and a throwing error by Hubbard, the Bulldogs had runners on second and third with one out. Jones responded by striking out pinch-hitter Mandy Osborne and Carrie Hatfield to end the game.With the win, Arkansas avenged a loss earlier in the season to Drake at the Metrodome Classic in Minneapolis. The Razorback return to Cowgirl Stadium for a pair of Saturday games, facing Cleveland State at 10 a.m. and Northern Colorado at 2:30 p.m. Live stats and game broadcasts will be available at ArkansasRazorbacks.com.

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