Softball

Razorbacks Welcome South Carolina to Bogle Park This Weekend

Hunter Corneliusen
Hunter Corneliusen April 10, 2025
WATCH (Friday) WATCH (Saturday) WATCH (Sunday)

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – Coming off their 18th run-rule victory of the season at North Florida on Monday, the No. 10/12 Arkansas Razorbacks resume the SEC slate by hosting No. 10/11 South Carolina for a three-game series this weekend at Bogle Park.

The series opener is set for 6 p.m. on Friday, while Saturday’s matchup will start at 7 p.m. before the series concludes on Sunday at 1 p.m. Friday and Sunday’s games will be broadcast on SEC Network+ and Saturday’s matchup will be televised on SEC Network. Brett Dolan will provide play-by-play commentary of the action on Friday and Sunday. Joining Dolan in the booth as color commentators will be Dorian Craft (Friday) and Sydney Parr Lee (Sunday). Alex Perlman (PxP) and Erin Miller (Analyst) will be on the call for Saturday’s contest.

LEADING OFF

  • The Arkansas Razorbacks are 29-8 and coming off a series win at No. 2 Florida last weekend by winning the first and final game of the series, 4-1 and 9-5, giving Arkansas its highest-ranked series win in program history. Arkansas then concluded its road trip with a 14-0 (5 inn.) drubbing of North Florida, marking the Hogs’ 18th run-rule victory of the season, improving a program record.
  • The Razorbacks have earned a program record 18 wins by run-rule this season. The previous record of 16 was set back in 2014.
  • Arkansas has outscored opponents 294-107 this season.

PROMOTION PACKED WEEKEND

  • Many promotions are on deck this weekend at Bogle Park. Friday will be Pink Out and Barbie Night, honoring survivors of breast cancer and honoring those who are fighting or have battled cancer. Arkansas will celebrate senior first baseman Bri Ellis prior to first pitch on Saturday and also have postgame fireworks. Sunday will be Bark in the Park Day.
  • Ticket sales are currently at capacity for Saturday. A limited number of chairback seats and Bogle Berm tickets will be available for purchase at the home plate ticket window on game days starting 90 minutes before first pitch. Single-game chairback tickets are $15, while Bogle Berm tickets are $10 for adults and $5 for youth. Walk-up tickets will be on sale while supplies last.

PRESENCE IN THE POLLS

  • Arkansas checked in at No. 7 in the Softball America Poll, No. 8 in the D1 Softball Poll, No 10 in the ESPN/USA Softball Poll and No. 12 in the NFCA/GoRout Poll this week.
  • The Razorbacks have been ranked in the Top 25 of the NFCA Coaches poll for a program-best 81 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 and South Carolina have met 68 times, with South Carolina leading the all-time series 30-38.
  • Courtney Deifel holds a 12-8 record against South Carolina while at Arkansas.
  • Arkansas has won eight of the last nine meetings between the program dating back to 2021.

SCOUTING SOUTH CAROLINA

  • South Carolina is 31-8 this season and 6-6 in SEC play under first-year head coach Ashley Chastain Woodard who arrived in Columbia, S.C. from Charlotte where she spent five years leading the 49ers.
  • The Gamecocks are batting .320 309 hits, 258 runs scored, 112 extra-base hits and 242 RBI while owning a .435 team OBP. Arianna Roddi leads South Carolina with 11 homers and 36 RBI this season while posting a .367 batting average with 33 hits, seven doubles and 30 runs scored.
  • In the circle, South Carolina is led by Jori Heard (13-2, 2.53 ERA, 97 IP, 79 K) and Sam Gress (8-4, 2.55 ERA, 79.2 IP, 64K). South Carolina owns a 2.74 team ERA while limiting opponents to a .234 batting average in 250.1 innings pitched this season.

RAKING AT THE PLATE

  • Entering this weekend, Arkansas ranks among the nation’s leaders in numerous categories, including hit-by-pitch (6th, 42), runs per game (11th, 7.95), SAC flies (2nd, 24), on-base percentage (8th, .452), RBI per game (8th, 7.38), walks (6th, 180) and slugging percentage (16th, .588).
  • Through 37 games, this year’s Arkansas team ranked among the top three in program history in batting average (1st, .336), doubles (1st, 67), slugging % (2nd, .588), on-base % (1st, .452), runs (1st, 294), sacrifice flies (1st, 24), RBI (1st, 273), total bases (2nd, 562) and walks (1st, 180). The Razorbacks’ 24 sacrifice flies are a single-season program record.
  • Arkansas owns a .452 on-base percentage. Two of the Razorbacks’ starters own an OBP of .500+ while seven starters own an on-base percentage of .400+.

BRI’s OPS IS BETTER THAN THE REST

  • Arkansas first baseman Bri Ellis currently owns a 1.900 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. Additionally, her 1.256 slugging percentage is also the highest of anyone on the list, leading the next closest in that period by 116 percentage points (Desirae Spearman, 2025, New Mexico State).
  • 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.
  • This season, 10 players have an OPS above 1.500 through April 8, including four SEC players. The next closest player in OPS to Ellis is Desirae Spearman of New Mexico State (1.789), who plays home games at 3,909 FT above sea level. Nobody posted a 1.500+ OPS nationally last season.
  • 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. Valerie Cagle (2023, Clemson), and Sierra Romero (2016, Michigan) won the award despite recording an OPS lower than 1.500. Alo, Skylar Wallace (2023, Florida), and Abbey Cheek (2019, Kentucky) are the only three NFCA Player of the Year Award winners to post a 1.500+ OPS since the award’s inception in 2016.
  • The 24 players that have previously accomplished a 1.500+ OPS in a single season have combined for four National Player of the Year Awards 18 NFCA All-America selections (13 First-Team, 4 Second-Team, 1 Third-Team), 24 NFCA All-Region selections, (22 First-Team, 2 Second-Team), 26 First-Team All-Conference selections and 16 Conference Player of the Year Award winners.

ROB 5+ = GOOD NEWS FOR THE HOGS

  • Arkansas is 23-6 (.793) when Robyn Herron goes 5+ innings in her collegiate career.

YOUNG HOGS GRABBING THE HONORS

  • Arkansas has took the last three SEC Freshman of the Week honors. Ella McDowell became the first player in program history to earn consecutive Freshman of the Week laurels (April 1, April 8) The Razorbacks earned back-to-back SEC Freshman of the week honors for the first time ever courtesy of Payton Burnham (March 25) and Ella McDowell (April 1) earning the distinction in consecutive weeks.
  • The Hogs’ three freshman of the week selections are the most in program history through April 8 of a season.

DISPOSING OF NO. 2

  • By taking two games of a three-game series at No. 2 Florida, Arkansas earned its highest-ranked series win in program history (April 4-6).
  • Arkansas earned its highest-ranked win in the series opener on Friday night at No. 2 Florida since defeating No. 2 Tennessee, 5-4 on March 15, 2014 at Bogle Park (ESPN/USA Softball Poll).
  • It also marked the highest-ranked opponent head coach Courtney Deifel has defeated in her career (previous high was No. 3 Georgia (2024) and No. 3 Tennessee (2023). Both were previously the highest-ranked series wins in program history.
  • It also marked just the fourth win over a No. 1 or No. 2 opponent in program history in the ESPN/USA Softball Poll.
  • Arkansas head coach Courtney Deifel has earned 80 ranked wins during her tenure at Arkansas which accounts for 65% of all ranked wins in program history. In the 19 years prior to Deifel, Arkansas had a total of 43 ranked wins (NFCA Poll).

EIGHT IS GREAT

  • Arkansas is 217-3 when scoring eight or more runs since 2002, including a 150-1 mark during the Courtney Deifel era (2016-present).
  • The Razorbacks are on an 88-game winning streak when scoring 8+ runs. The last loss the Razorbacks had when accomplishing the feat was a 12-11 loss to Oklahoma State on Feb. 11, 2021, during the season opener at the Best on the Bayou Classic in Monroe, La.

MCDOWELL WOWS

  • Freshman infielder Ella McDowell has wasted no time making her presence known as a Razorback. She is batting .393 this season with 44 hits, six home runs, six doubles, a triple, 36 RBI , 21 runs scored and 12 walks.
  • McDowell was named D1 Softball National Player of the Week and SEC Freshman of the Week after batting .706 during the week with 12 hits, three doubles, a home run, eight RBI and four runs scored in addition to a walk. She posted a .722 on-base percentage and 1.059 on-base percentage while registering multiple hits in all four of the Razorbacks’ games to increase her hitting streak to six games while improving her batting average by 56 percentage points. During the second game at No. 2 Florida, McDowell went 4-5 with four RBI, three of which came on a three-run homer in the top of the third inning. Her four hits were a single-game career high and marked the first four-hit game by a Razorback this season, while her four RBI tied a single-game career high.
  • She hit a game-winning solo HR in a 2-1 series-finale win over Kentucky (March 30) to earn SEC Freshman of the Week honors.
  • McDowell went 2-4 with 2 RBI in a loss to No. 1 Oklahoma (March 15).
  • She went 2-3 with a career-high four RBI in a 20-3 thumping of Ole Miss (March 9).
  • McDowell blasted a two-run home run in a win over Missouri State on March 2.
  • In a 12-4 win over Southern Miss, she went 2-4 with a solo home run, a double and two runs scored (Feb. 15).
  • In a season-opening 3-1 win at Texas State, McDowell led Arkansas at the plate by going 2-3 with a solo home run in the sixth inning (Feb. 6)
  • Her home run accounted for the Razorbacks’ 6,600th run in program history.
  • She became the first Razorback freshman to homer on opening day since Rylin Hedgecock accomplished the feat on Feb. 7, 2020, during a 10-0 win over UTEP in Las Cruces, New Mexico.

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

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