Hogs Dismantle Bears to Improve to 19-1

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – The No. 11/12 Arkansas Razorbacks earned their fifth-straight run-rule victory by defeating Missouri State 13-2 in five innings on Sunday afternoon at Bogle Park to improve to 19-1 on the season.

The 19-1 start ties a program record through the first 20 games of the season with the 2017 squad. Additionally, Arkansas has won 15 games by run-rule this season, which is the most in program history through 20 games and tied for the second-most in a single season.

With the bases loaded and one out in the bottom of the fifth and Arkansas ahead 9-2, Atalyia Rijo stepped to the plate and completed the run-rule win by smashing a grand slam over the left-center field wall to score the final four runs of the contest. It marked the fourth game this weekend that ended in a walk-off run-rule home run as Kailey Wyckoff (Feb. 28, vs. Iowa), Courtney Day (Feb. 28, vs. Illinois) and Jayden Ramos (March 1, vs. Illinois) all previously accomplished the feat.

Rijo led Arkansas with four RBI, all coming on the grand slam. Courtney Day had a 2-3 day that featured a two-run triple and a walk. Ella McDowell hit a two-run home run in the second inning, while Kailey Wyckoff drove in two runs and registered a career-high three walks. Reagan Johnson collected two hits, stole two bases and scored twice, while Bri Ellis went 2-4 with an RBI and two runs scored. Raigan Kramer also crossed the plate twice after reaching on a pair of walks.

Lexi King earned the win for Arkansas (19-1) and improved to 3-0 on the season after allowing a run on four hits and striking out one in two innings of work. Reis Beuerlein started the game for the Hogs and struck out five while allowing one run on two hits in two innings pitched. Day made her first pitching appearance since June 9, 2022 and pitched a scoreless inning in which she allowed a hit and registered a strikeout.

Makenzi Swick took the loss for Missouri State to fall to 0-4 on the season. Swick allowed six runs (two earned) and allowed three hits and two walks in 1.2 innings pitched.

HOW IT HAPPENED

Kayla Ulrich of Missouri State led off the game with a double into the right-center field gap before advancing to third on a sacrifice bunt. McKenzie Vaughan put the Bears in front with an RBI double to left-center field with one out in the top of the first.

Reagan Johnson led off the bottom of the first with a ground ball single up the middle before advancing to second on a wild pitch. Kailey Wyckoff followed with a walk, but the Bears were able to escape unscathed courtesy of a flyout and an inning-ending 6-4 double play.

Beuerlein bounced back by striking out the side in the top of the second inning.

Arkansas exploded for six runs in the home half of the second to regain the lead. Rijo was hit by a pitch to lead off the inning before Ella McDowell stepped to the plate and crushed a two-run home run over the wall in left-center field to put the Hogs ahead 2-1. The round-tripper was McDowell’s second in as many days. Raigan Kramer reached on an error following McDowell’s homer and Reagan Johnson was hit by a pitch one batter later. Arkansas added another run courtesy of an errant throw on a double steal by Kramer and Johnson. One batter later, Johnson scored on a wild pitch on the seventh and final pitch of Kailey Wyckoff’s at-bat, which ended in a walk. Wyckoff then showcased an impressive display of base running by going first to third on a Bri Ellis single to shallow right field. Courtney Day followed by clearing the bases with a two-run triple down the right-field line, bringing the score to 6-1 in favor of the Hogs.

Lexi King relieved Beuerlein in the top of the third. Missouri State would plate a run on four hits to cut the Razorbacks’ lead to 6-2. Arkansas answered with a two-RBI single up the middle from Wyckoff to make it 8-2 in the bottom of the fourth.

King retired the Bears in order in the top of the fourth. A single from Day and a walk from Kramer highlighted a scoreless bottom of the fourth for Arkansas.

Day made her long-awaited return to the circle in the top of the fifth inning for Arkansas. She would allow just one hit while capping her scoreless inning with a strikeout in her first pitching appearance since June 9, 2022.

In the bottom of the fifth, Johnson singled up the middle and stole second before Wyckoff drew her third walk of the contest to put two on with no outs. Bri Ellis doubled into right-center field to score Johnson from second and push the Arkansas lead to seven. Day reached base for the third time in the contest by drawing a walk to load the bases. Atalylia Rijo then stepped to the plate and capitalized with a walk-off grand slam to left-center field to make it the final, 13-2, as Arkansas improved to 19-1 on the season and capped a perfect 5-0 weekend that featured all five wins coming by way of run-rules.

QUOTABLES

Arkansas Head Coach Courtney Deifel

On the game…
“I thought it was great. It is nice when the team takes care of business in a way that just lets us do what we need to do. We stayed the course really well. There was a little bit of a lull in some of those innings, but that happens sometimes. We snapped out of it really well. There were some things we could do a little better today but it is nice to learn that from a win. We are still learning and taking steps toward being our best, but we are taking steps each day. I am just really proud of the team overall this weekend.”

NOTABLES

• The Razorbacks 19-1 start is tied for the best in program history through 20 games with the 2017 squad.
• Kailey Wyckoff registered a career-high three walks.
• Courtney Day finished the Wooo Pig Inviational with a .615 batting average, eight hits, three doubles, one triple, two home runs, 15 RBI and 19 total bases while posting a 1.462 slugging percentage and .667 on-base percentage.
• With the victories, Arkansas has now won 15 games by run-rule this season, the most in program history through 20 games and tied for the second-most in a single season with the 2022 team. The program record for run-rule victories in a single season is 16, which was set in 2014.
• Courtney Day made her first pitching appearance since June 9, 2022.
• Arkansas won four games this weekend that ended in a walk-off homer run as Kailey Wyckoff (Feb. 28, Iowa), Courtney Day (Feb. 28, Ill.), Jayden Ramos (March 1, Illinois) and Atalyia Rijo (March 2, Missouri State) all accomplished the feat.
• Arkansas is now 19-0 this season and 268-26 when outhitting opponents under head coach Courtney Deifel (2016-present).
• Bri Ellis is on a career-best 17-game reached base streak, which is the longest active streak among all Razorbacks.
• Arkansas is 185-71 (.723) at Bogle Park since Courtney Deifel took over the program in 2016.

UP NEXT

The Razorbacks will open SEC play by traveling to Oxford, Miss., to face Ole Miss in a three-game series next weekend (March 7-9).

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