Hogs Blank Central Arkansas 7-0
CONWAY, Ark.– Behind a combined shutout from Payton Burnham and Lexi King, in addition to a dozen hits, the No. 10/11 Arkansas Razorbacks blanked in-state foe Central Arkansas, 7-0 at Natalie Shock Stadium on Tuesday evening.
With the win, the Razorbacks improved to 32-9 and completed a season sweep of the Bears.
Payton Burnham improved to 10-2 after pitching six shutout innings and recording a career-high nine strikeouts while allowing just three hits and a walk. Burnham retired 12 consecutive batters from the second-fifth innings. Lexi King relieved Burnham in the seventh and threw a scoreless frame while allowing a hit and a walk.
Four Razorbacks recorded multiple hits in the victory. Bri Ellis went 2-3 with a double, a solo homer, two runs scored and a walk in the top of the fifth inning. Her solo shot was her 21st round-tripper of the season and 69th of her career which leads all active players. Karile Davison (3-3, 2B, RBI) and Kailey Wyckoff (3-4, RBI, R) tied career highs with three hits each. Ella McDowell continued her tear at the plate with a 2-4 day with a pair of runs scored. Courtney Day (1-3, 2B, 3 RBI) led the Hogs with three RBI courtesy of a sacrifice fly and a two-run double.
Lucy Crowder (4-1) took the loss for Central Arkansas (20-24) after allowing four runs scored on seven hits.
HOW IT HAPPENED
Payton Burnham made her 13th start of the season for Arkansas while Central Arkansas went with Lucy Crowder, marking her fourth start of the season.
Crowder retired the Hogs in order courtesy of a pair of groundouts followed by a flyout.
Kylie Griffin led off the bottom half with a single up the middle for the Bears. Burnham then followed by issuing a flyout, strikeout for the first two outs of the frame. A single through the right side by Kaitlyn Graham and a walk loaded the bases for UCA, but Burnham escaped the jam with a strikeout.
With one out in the second inning, Kailey Wyckoff registered the Hogs’ first hit with an infield single to second base before the Bears turned a 6-3 double play.
Burnham retired the hosts in order in the bottom of the second courtesy of a lineout bookend by strikeouts.
Arkansas led off the third inning with back-to-back singles from Ataylia Rijo and Karlie Davison. Both then moved second and third on a sacrifice bunt from Kennedy Miller. Reagan Johnson then gave Arkansas a 1-0 lead with a groundout to second base that brought home Rijo.
The 1-2-3 bottom half of the inning was highlighted by a pair of impressive plays by McDowell at third base.
Arkansas extended the lead to 4-0 in the fourth inning. Bri Ellis led off the inning with a double down the left field line. Ella McDowell then moved Ellis to third with a double to center field. Wyckoff registered her second hit of the day with a single up the middle that brought home Ellis and made it 2-0 before Courtney Day’s sacrifice fly and Davison’s double made it 4-0.
Burnham struck out the side in the bottom of the fourth inning.
Ellis made it 5-0 with a solo homer to left-center field in the top of the fifth inning.
Burnham made it 12 straight retired with a 1-2-3 bottom of the fifth, setting a new career high in strikeouts with nine.
Arkansas loaded the bases in the sixth but did not capitalize on the opportunity. Wyckoff and Davison both recorded their third hits of the night during the inning.
Griffin broke up Burnham’s steak of 12 consecutive batters retired with a single through the right side to lead off the bottom of the sixth. That was all UCA would get however as Burnham would complete her third scoreless inning.
Ellis walked with one out in the seventh inning and advanced to second on a single through the left side from McDowell. Day then extended the lead to 7-0 with a bases-clearing two-run double down the left-field line.
Lexi King relieved Burnham in the seventh inning. Lilly Hood led off the inning with a walk. Ramsey Walker then made an incredible running grab at the fence in right field for the first out of the inning. Mya January then singled through the right side to put two on, but King would retire the next two courtesy of a fielder’s choice and fly out to right field to end the game and secure the shutout.
QUOTABLES
Arkansas First Baseman Bri Ellis
On being pitched to…
“It was great. I do not want to say it has been a while, but you definitely never know what the opponents are going to do. It was nice to have a team that was going to pitch to me today. I just got back to real hitting and not trying to make something out of one swing. I was just trying to be there for my team and do the best I can.”
On being a National Player of the Year front runner…
“For me, my mindset is that it is still really early, and it does not matter what people are saying. I would trade the award if I did win it for a national championship or trip to the College World Series. I do not care about the individual awards and I am very grateful people have nice things to say about me. At the end of the day, I am more focused on where my team is in the rankings, who we are playing, and how we are playing as a team.”
NOTABLES
- Bri Ellis hit her league-leading 21st home run of the season. The fifth-inning solo shot was the 69th of her career which leads all active NCAA players. She raised her average to .490 with a 2-3 night.
- Courtney Day recorded her 39th career multi-RBI game with three RBI in the win.
- Karlie Davison and Kailey Wyckoff both tied career-highs with three hits apiece.
- Arkansas is now 31-2 when outhitting opponents this season and 280-27 when outhitting opponents under Courtney Deifel (since 2016).
- Payton Burnham became the fifth freshman this millennium to register 10 or more wins in a season. She is now 10-2.
- The Razorbacks have not committed an error in 28 of their 41 games this season. Arkansas is 168-46 when not committing an error under Courtney Deifel.
UP NEXT
The Razorbacks will be back in action on Friday (April 18) when they host Colorado State for a doubleheader beginning at 2:30 p.m.
For schedule updates and other news, go to ArkansasRazorbacks.com, or follow @RazorbackSB on X, Instagram and Facebook.
