Razorbacks Win Two on Day Two of Wooo Pig Classic
FAYETTEVILLE – The University of Arkansas softball team is finding its groove again, after sweeping the competition on day two of the Wooo Pig Classic. The Razorbacks started the afternoon with a 9-0 run-rule victory over Omaha, followed by a hard fought 9-6 battle win over Nevada.
Omaha (1-12) managed only one hit against starting pitcher Mary Haff in game one. Haff faced 16 batters, recorded four strikeouts and giving up no free bases on balls.
Arkansas (16-3) took a 2-0 lead after one frame, as sophomore Hannah McEwen led off with a single up the middle and was brought in with an absolute rocket into the parking lot by Katie Warrick. The home run was Warrick’s third of the season and 17th of her career.
The third inning rolls around and this time, sophomore Danielle Gibson and Ashley Diaz take their swing at the Maverick pitcher each sending a solo home run over the wall, giving the Hogs a 4-0 lead.
Diaz home run is her first of the season and now makes eight of nine starting Razorbacks to hit dingers this season.
Arkansas would bat around in the fourth inning and score its final five runs with RBI from senior Haydi Bugarin, Gibson, Diaz and sophomore Kayla Green.
The shutout victory by the Hogs is their sixth of the season and their fifth run-rule win.
Nevada wouldn’t go down so easily for the Razorbacks, and despite jumping out to a 6-0 lead in the third inning, Arkansas would find themselves tied at six runs a piece headed into the fifth inning.
The Hogs used the batting power of Gibson and McEwen to take a 2-0 lead through two innings, then took advantage of back-to-back walks, a double by Aly Manzo, and two more runs off the bat of Parr to build their six-run lead.
After the Wolf Pack tied the game with a four-run fifth inning that including consecutive lead-off singles, Haff would return to the circle to relieve storms starting in the sixth inning.
Back at the plate, the Razorbacks rose to the occasion, batting in the go-ahead lead in the bottom of the fifth inning with the help of Warrick, then continued to rally with two more runs in the sixth. Those two runs, courtesy of a double from Bugarin and a single from Parr, would be the lead that Arkansas needed to secure the win.
The Hogs return to Bogle for another day of play in the Wooo Pig Classic, with a double-header against Boston University scheduled for 4:00 pm and 6:00 pm (CT).
