Razorbacks Open NCAA Regional Play by Hosting Saint Louis

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – For the sixth time in program history and fifth year in a row, the Arkansas softball team and Bogle Park will host an NCAA Tournament Regional on May 16-18. The No. 4 national seed Razorbacks will open play against Saint Louis on Friday evening at 5:30 p.m. on ESPN+.

Prior to the Hogs and Billikens matchup, Oklahoma State and Indiana will clash beforehand at 3 p.m. on ESPN2. Mike Couzens (PxP) and Leah Amico (Analyst) will be on the call for all games during the regional this weekend.

The winners of the first two games will meet at Noon on Saturday, while the losing teams will face off at 2:30 p.m. in the double-elimination bracket.

LEADING OFF

• The Razorbacks finished the regular season and SEC tournament with a 40-12 record that included a 14-10 conference showing. Arkansas finished the regular season by winning its final six SEC series which is the most consecutive series wins for the Hogs since 2022.
• Arkansas recorded its seventh 40-win season in program history, five of which have come under the guidance of head coach Courtney Deifel.
• The Razorbacks have earned a program-record 21 wins by run-rule this season. The previous record of 16 was set back in 2014.
• Arkansas has outscored opponents 393-161 this season.
• Arkansas won a program-record five series this season against Top 10 opponents with series wins over No. 7 Tennessee, No. 2 Florida, No. 10 South Carolina, No. 1/2 Texas A&M and No. 10 LSU. The Razorbacks’ five Top 10 series victories are the most nationally.

PRESENCE IN THE POLLS

• Arkansas checked in at No. 1 in the Softball America Poll, No. 2 in the D1 Softball Poll, No. 3 in the ESPN/USA Softball Poll and No. 4 in the NFCA/GoRout Coaches Poll entering the postseason.
• The Razorbacks’ No. 1 ranking in the Softball America Poll last week was the first No. 1 ranking in program history. The previous best in-season ranking was last week when Arkansas was ranked second in the Softball America Poll.
• The Razorbacks have been ranked in the Top 25 of the NFCA Coaches poll for a program-best 86 consecutive weeks dating back to the start of the 2020 season. Arkansas is one of six programs nationally to have appeared in the Top 25 of every NFCA Coaches Poll since the start of the 2020 season, joining Oklahoma, Florida, UCLA, Oklahoma State and Florida State.

HISTORY LESSON

• Arkansas is 20-26 all-time in NCAA Tournament play, including a 13-14 mark under head coach Courtney Deifel.
• The Razorbacks are looking to get back in the win their first regional since 2022. Arkansas went 1-2 in last year’s regional with a win over SEMO and losses to Arizona and Villanova.
• Arkansas holds a perfect 8-0 all-time record against Saint Louis. The Hogs swept a doubleheader in the last matchup with the Billikens on April 10, 2018, in St. Louis.
• Arkansas and Oklahoma State have met 15 times, with the Cowgirls holding an 8-7 advantage in the series. The teams last met on Feb. 11, 2021, when Oklahoma State defeated Arkansas 12-11 in Monroe, La.
• The Razorbacks own a 1-0 record over the Hoosiers as Arkansas defeated Indiana 7-0 on Feb. 18, 2023, in Clearwater, Fla., behind a complete-game shutout from Robyn Herron.

HOGS SECURING THE HONORS

• Arkansas’ Bri Ellis (SEC POY, First-Team All-SEC, SEC All-Defensive Team), Robyn Herron (Second Team), Reagan Johnson (Second Team) and Ella McDowell (Second Team) all earned All-SEC accolades this season. Ellis became the second Hog in program history to earn SEC Player of the Year honors, joining KB Sides who accomplished the feat in 2022.

BRI’s HISTORIC HITTING 

• Arkansas first baseman Bri Ellis is putting together one of the greatest individual seasons in NCAA history. Ellis is batting .475 with 26 home runs, 72 RBI, 145 total bases, 58 walks and 61 runs scored while posting a 1.189 slugging percentage, a .649 on-base percentage and a 1.838 OPS. Her 26 homers and 72 RBI are both single-season program records and she is on pace to set single-season program records in batting average and on-base percentage. She currently leads the nation in slugging percentage, on-base percentage and OPS while leading the SEC in 10 offensive categories. Ellis finished the regular season ranked second nationally in home runs per game (0.51) and walks per game (1.42), becoming the first player to finish the regular season in the top two nationally in both categories since Jen Yee of Georgia Tech in 2010.
• Ellis was previously named SEC Player of the Year after batting .397 with a league-leading 11 home runs and 29 RBI while drawing 27 walks and posting a .983 slugging percentage, .606 on-base percentage, and 1.589 OPS during SEC Play. She finished the conference slate on a 20-game reached base streak. Defensively, the first baseman posted a perfect 1.000 fielding percentage with 124 putouts and seven assists on her way to earning SEC All-Defensive honors for the second consecutive year.
• She currently owns a 1.838 On-Base Plus Slugging Percentage (OPS) which leads the country and is on pace to be the best single-season mark since the statistic was first tracked in 2016.
• Only 24 players since 2016 have registered an OPS above 1.500 throughout the entirety of a single season. Of those players, only six SEC players have accomplished the feat, while 12 Power Five (Pac 12 Included) players in total have accomplished the feat.
• Of the four USA Softball National Player of the Year Award winners who batted and won the award since 2016, only Jocelyn Alo of Oklahoma (2021, 2022) registered a single-season OPS of above 1.500.
• Ellis is having one of the most impressive seasons at the plate in softball or baseball history. Ellis is walking and homering at an absurd rate this season. Through 52 games, Ellis has homered once every 4.69 at-bats while walking once every 3.34 plate appearances. Both numbers are better than Barry Bonds’ 2001 season, which is widely regarded as one of the most impressive seasons in baseball history. Bonds homered once every 6.52 at-bats and walked once every 3.75 plate appearances.
• Ellis finished the regular season ranked in the Top 2 nationally in home runs per game (2nd, 0.51) and walks per game (2nd, 1.20). The last Division I player to finish the regular season ranked in the Top 2 nationally in both categories was Jen Yee in 2010, who finished second in HR per game (0.47) and first in walks per game (1.42).

ROB CAN SPIN IT

• Junior left-hander Robyn Herron is 17-6 this season with a team-best 2.50 ERA and 150 strikeouts in 128.2 innings pitched while limiting opposing hitters to a .191 batting average. She earned her 16th win of the season against Tennessee after striking out nine and allowing one unearned run on six hits in seven innings pitched (May 8). She was recently ranked 8th nationally in the Softball America May Position Rankings.
• Arkansas is 27-6 (.818) when Robyn Herron goes 5+ innings during her collegiate career.
• Her .180 career batting average against this season is on-pace to be a program record.

RAKING AT THE PLATE

• Entering this week, Arkansas ranks among the nation’s leaders in numerous categories, including hit-by-pitch (8th, 54), runs per game (8th, 7.56), SAC flies (4th, 29), on-base percentage (6th, .441), RBI per game (12th, 6.92), walks (4th, 256) and slugging percentage (19th, .551).
• This year’s Arkansas team already ranks among the best in program history in batting average (2nd, .323), doubles (2nd, 80), slugging % (2nd, .551), on-base % (1st, .441), runs (2nd, 393), sacrifice flies (1st, 29), RBI (2nd, 360), total bases (2nd, 750), walks (1st, 256) and HR (3rd, 70).
• Arkansas owns a .441 on-base percentage. One Arkansas starter has an OBP of .600+ while six starters own an on-base percentage of .400+.

SOOIE SPINNERS

• The Razorbacks own a 3.00 ERA this season while striking out 320 batters and limiting opponents to a .217 batting average in 324.1 innings pitched.
• Arkansas has registered 43 shutouts since the start of the 2023 season. The Razorbacks are one of only nine programs to rank in the top 20 nationally in shutouts in 2023 and 2024, joining the likes of Oklahoma, Boston, Oklahoma State, Tennessee, Stanford, Alabama, South Dakota State and Cal State Fullerton.
• Arkansas entered the week ranked 28th nationally with 12 shutouts this season and ranked 19th nationally in shutouts in 2024 with 14 and 17th nationally in 2023 with 17.
• The Razorbacks have posted 11+ shutouts in each of the last five seasons, one of just 16 programs nationally to accomplish the feat.

HOUTSTON HOGS

• Arkansas has six players on its roster from the Houston metropolitan area: Courtney Day (Pearland), Bri Ellis (Houston), Cam Harrison (Katy), Ella McDowell (Richmond), Ashtyn Reichardt (Brookshire), Kailey Wyckoff (Katy).
• As of May 15, the five active Razorbacks from the Houston metropolitan area, have accounted for 48.9% (215-440) of Arkansas’ hits, 42.2% (170-403) of runs scored, 78.6% (55-70) of home runs and 63.5% (228-358) of RBI this season.

THE LEGEND OF JIMMY

• Senior OF Raigan Kramer has one of the more unique nicknames in college softball, since before arriving in Fayetteville, Kramer is known as Jimmy to her teammates and coaches. “I tried out for a team in 2018 and the coaches didn’t know who I was,” Kramer said in a 2020 interview. “All they knew was that I was #99. Supposedly, they knew someone who was #99 named Jimmy that they used to play men’s fastpitch with. From then on out that’s who I was. It just stuck. I’m almost positive some of the younger girls that were in our organization have no idea that my name is not actually Jimmy.”
• She became just the fifth player in program history to register 100+ walks in a career during a 2-1 series finale win over Kentucky (March 30).
• Kramer is batting .308 with 40 hits, 48 runs scored, six doubles, two home runs, 25 RBI and 44 walks in addition to posting a .486 on-base percentage.
• She blasted a grand slam in a 6-1 win over Tennessee on May 8. The grand slam was the second of her career and the first allowed in Karlyn Pickens’ college career.
• She drew a career-high four walks in a 9-0 win at Tennessee (March 23).
• Kramer is one of the most disciplined hitters in program history and is currently ranked 2nd in program history in career walks with 113.
• She is one of 10 active players nationally entering the 2025 season, having registered 32+ walks in each of the previous two seasons
• Kramer and Devon Wallace (2011-2014) are the only players with 30+ walks in three consecutive seasons in program history.

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