Hogs Open 2024 Season at Paradise Classic

Grace Tafolla February 7, 2024

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – No. 12 Arkansas opens its 2024 campaign against five teams at the Paradise Classic in Boca Raton, Fla. – Marshall, FAU, Ohio, Penn State and Michigan State.

First pitch in the Hogs’ season opener on Feb. 8 is slated for 1 p.m. CT vs. Marshall at Joan Joyce Field. The game can be streamed via FloSoftball. Arkansas will take on host FAU on Feb. 8 at 6 p.m. The game will be available to stream on FAU’s website.

LEADING OFF

Under head coach Courtney Deifel, the Razorbacks are 11-3 all-time on opening day.
Last year, Arkansas defeated Weber State, 8-0 (5), and UNLV, 11-0 (5) at the Rebel Kickoff in Las Vegas.
Under Deifel, the Hogs are 28-8 all-time on opening weekend, including a 27-4 mark over the last seven seasons.

HISTORY LESSON

Arkansas is 1-1 all-time against Marshall.
Thursday’s meeting between the Hogs and Thundering Herd is the first since 2004. Arkansas and Marshall split a doubleheader.
The Razorbacks are 1-6 all-time against FAU. The pair clash for the first time since 2016. Arkansas is looking for its first win vs. the Owls since 2006.
The Razorbacks will take on former volunteer assistant, Jordan Clark (2016-18), who is in her second year as head coach at FAU.

RYLIN’S RETURN

2023 NFCA First-Team All-American DP/UTL Rylin Hedgecock returns for her redshirt senior season in 2024.
The Valdosta, Ga., native was named to USA Softball’s Preseason National Player of the Year Watch List on Jan. 24.
As a junior, Hedgecock hit .335 and led Arkansas with 21 home runs, 62 RBI, 127 total bases, a .459 on-base percentage and .774 slugging percentage.
She was the only league player with at least 21 home runs and 62 RBI and tied for fifth nationally in home runs.
She slugged a clubhouse-best, three multi-home run outings, including a three-home run performance at No. 20 Kentucky on April 22.

HOT START

With a 5-0 weekend in Boca Raton, Arkansas would start 5-0 in back-to-back years for the first time since 2018-19.
Since 2017, the Hogs are a remarkable 27-4 (.871) on opening weekend under head coach Courtney Deifel.
Going 10-0 to start the season would give Arkansas its best start in program history.
Last season in Arkansas’ opening weekend at the Rebel Kickoff in Las Vegas, the Razorbacks outscored opponents 51-9 across five games.
Over the past two seasons (2022-23), Arkansas is 9-2 while playing in the state of Florida. The Razorbacks went 6-0 in 2022 after sweeping Florida in a three-game home series and then going 3-0 to win the SEC Tournament Championship in Gainesville. In 2023, the Hogs went 3-2 at the Clearwater Invitational, picking up wins against No. 22 Louisiana, Indiana and Nebraska.

20-FUN

Rylin Hedgecock is one of four Razorbacks to hit 20+home runs in a single season after demolishing 21 in 2023, joining Braxton Burnside (25 HR in 2021), Linnie Malkin (22 HR in 2022) and Danielle Gibson (20 HR in 2022).

THE STANDARD

Arkansas is the only SEC team to record a top-four conference finish in each of the last three seasons. Arkansas won the SEC in 2021 and 2022 and finished fourth this season.

POWER TO THE PORTAL

Head coach Courtney Deifel dipped into the transfer portal this offseason and brought in the No. 2 class in the country after signing RHP Reis Beuerlein, RHP Morgan Leinstock, OF Nia Carter and first baseman Bri Ellis.
D1Softball rated the transfer class as No. 2 in the country, behind Oklahoma.
Deifel is known for her prowess in the transfer portal. Former notable Arkansas transfers include Danielle Gibson, KB Sides, Chenise Delce, Braxton Burnside, Taylor Ellsworth and Kristina Foreman.
During her freshman year at Mississippi State in 2023, Beuerlein made a team-high 26 appearances with nine starts for the Bulldogs. The right-hander pitched to a 3.13 ERA, a 5-4 record and fanned 69 batters across 76.0 innings of work. Beuerlein’s 17 relief appearances tied for the team-lead and ranked ninth in the SEC.
Transferring to Arkansas from Southern Miss for her final season, Leinstock made 104 career appearances spanning from 2020 to 2023. During her time at Southern Miss, Leinstock recorded 37 wins, a 2.65 ERA and 443 strikeouts over 489 innings pitched.
During the 2023 campaign, Leinstock led the staff in almost every statistical category, pacing Southern Miss with 13 victories, a 2.56 ERA and 185 strikeouts while limiting opponents to a .232 batting average across 183 innings pitched. Leinstock also powered the Golden Eagles with 17 complete games and four saves in 34 appearances. She hurled four double-digit strikeout performances.

BRI BOMBS

Arkansas landed one of the biggest transfers in the country this offseason with Bri Ellis joining the Razorbacks for her junior season after two dominant campaigns for Auburn.
Ellis, who was named SEC Freshman of the Year in 2022, has 117 starts to her name and owns a .288/.685/.398 career slash line with 96 RBI, 87 hits and 34 home runs.
As a sophomore in 2023, Ellis was one of two Tigers to start all 62 games and held a .275 batting average, .601 slugging percentage and .415 on-base percentage behind 42 hits, 47 RBI and 14 home runs.
As a true freshman in 2022, Ellis held a .302 batting average behind 45 hits and 20 home runs. Her 20 home runs shattered the program’s freshman home run record.
Ellis led Auburn in multiple offensive categories as a sophomore in 2023, pacing the Tigers in home runs (14), RBI (47), total bases (92), slugging percentage (.601), HBP (7) and sacrafice flies.
She proved to be an integral part of Auburn’s defense at first, carrying a .989 fielding percentage which stands sixth in Auburn’s all-time program history.

REWRITING POSTSEASON HISTORY IN ‘23

Arkansas made its 12th NCAA Tournament Appearance in 2023 and the sixth NCAA appearance under head coach Courtney Deifel.
Arkansas has made six consecutive NCAA Tournament appearances – every season it has been held since 2017.
Prior to Deifel’s arrival, the program had made just six NCAA Tournament appearances.
Arkansas hosted an NCAA Regional for the fourth time in history in 2023.
All four of the program’s top-16 overall seeds have come under Deifel: 2018 (#13), 2021 (#6), 2022 (#4) and 2023 (#11).
The Hogs drew a top-16 seed for the third season in a row in 2023.

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