Lady'Back softball remains undefeated

FAYETTEVILLE – The University of Arkansas softball team remained undefeated in fall play winning three games Sunday at Lady’Back Yard. The Lady Razorbacks improved to 6-0 after defeating Texarkana College 4-1, Northeastern Oklahoma A&M 10-2 and Tulsa 2-1. Sophomore Sandra Smith led the way for the Lady’Backs hitting .571 with four RBIs, three doubles and two runs. Senior Dayna Huckabee was 1-for-2 with a solo home run, while sophomore Jessica Bachkora added five hits, five runs and an RBI. Freshman Emily Jones went 2-for-2 with an RBI. “We’re dinged up a little bit and we had to pick spots with our players today,” said head coach Jamie Pinkerton. “We were able to utilize our whole roster and we had people that stepped up. I was pleased with our effort. We faced two good pitchers today and took advantage of the opportunities they gave us.” In game one, Texarkana scored in the first inning on an illegal pitch but Arkansas answered in the second when Smith led off with a double to left field. She was moved to second base by junior Kayla Johnson and crossed the plate on a groundout to second by senior Samantha Buckner. The Lady’Backs took the lead in the third inning behind the bat of sophomore Miranda Dixon. Junior Jocelyne Moncrief and Bachkora singled before Dixon smacked a double off the left-center fence that scored both runners. In the fifth inning, Dixon scored on a Bulldog error extending Arkansas’ lead 4-1. Henry earned her second win of the fall season throwing a complete game with nine strikeouts. Dixon stayed hot in game two firing off a two-run home run in the first inning against NEO. She plated Bachkora who singled and stole second. In the third inning Arkansas increased its lead to 9-0 with seven runs on four hits. Highlights included a three-run double to right center by Smith on two outs, an RBI double down the right field line by Bachkora, an RBI single by junior Brandy Baze and a sacrifice fly from Buckner. Freshman Lauren Iverson also singled in the inning. NEO came back with two runs in the fourth off of an Arkansas error and an RBI single from Kaylani Bryan. Freshman Emily Jones lifted the Lady’Backs to a five-inning, 10-2 victory by scoring Bachkora on two outs with a single through the right side. Dixon picked up the win, improving to 2-0. She pitched three innings and struck out four. Arkansas tallied 11 hits in the contest. Versus Tulsa the game was scoreless through three and a half innings, until Huckabee launched a solo home run to center field with one out in the bottom of the fourth. Tulsa tied it up in the sixth when Sara Dyer hit an RBI single through the left side to score Lauren Menke who reached on a lead-off walk. In the top of the eighth with a runner on third, Tulsa’s Vanessa Vice nearly painted both foul lines to score what would have been the winning run, but Arkansas’ defense held the Golden Hurricane in check. It was not until the bottom of the inning with two outs that Smith singled up the middle scoring Bachkora from second for the game winning RBI. “Sandra came up huge today in key situations,” Pinkerton said. “She’s showing why she’s a key component to this team.” Henry started on the mound and threw 5.1 innings. She allowed one run on two hits and struck out six before she was relieved by Dixon in the top of the sixth. Dixon threw 2.2 innings and earned the victory giving up just one hit. “To have an opportunity to have a Division I school come in really gives us a gauge,” said Pinkerton. “It was a high pressure game we had to make plays to win. That is going to help us down the road especially with team maturity.” Arkansas returns to Lady’Back Yard Sunday, Sept. 30, for its third fall tournament. The Lady’Backs face Seminole, Crowder and Northeastern State. For more information about Arkansas softball, please log on to LADYBACKS.COM.