Return to SEC features weekend series with Auburn

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – The Razorbacks return to Southeastern Conference play this weekend after a mid-week sweep of the Border War. Arkansas (21-13, 8-4) will host Auburn (25-12, 5-6) at Bogle Park in a three-game weekend set. Saturday’s doubleheader will begin at 1 p.m. with game two to follow approximately 20 minutes after the completion of the first. The series finale is scheduled for an 11 a.m. start Sunday.Whitney Cloer leads a trio of Razorbacks hitting over .300 on the season. Cloer leads the team with a .370 batting average. As a show of her consistent play, her average hasn’t dipped below .345 this season. The senior catcher also has a team-high eight home runs and 29 RBI. Cloer leads the SEC with 12 doubles.Brittany Griffiths and a surging Kayla Johnson round out the top three hitters for Arkansas. Griffiths is second on the team with a .333 batting average. The freshman shortstop is hitting .382 against conference opposition and clubbed her first career home run, a three-run shot, against Oklahoma State during Wednesday’s Border War. Johnson has raised her batting average to .306 with the help of a .450 average against SEC teams. Johnson has hit safely in eight of the Razorbacks’ 12 conference games this season.Jessica Bachkora, tied for the team lead in runs with Johnson, is hitting .294 with five home runs and 23 RBI. Both figures are career highs for the junior outfielder. Bachkora and Johnson have each scored 23 runs. Johnson is five runs away from taking over the top spot on Arkansas’ career runs scored list.On the season, Arkansas is hitting .268 as a team. In SEC games, the Razorbacks hold a .294 batting average, which is third in the conference for league-only games.In the circle, Miranda Dixon is 13-4 with a 2.71 ERA. With Wednesday’s victory over Tulsa, Dixon surpassed her previous career best set last season. In 119 innings pitched, she has struck out 103 batters and walked just 31. Dixon tied a season high with 10 strikeouts against Ole Miss.Kim Jones, the usual game-one starter during SEC play, is 6-6 in 16 appearances this season. She has a 2.93 ERA and 54 strikeouts in 78.2 innings pitched. Jones earned her third complete game shutout of the season in her last out, a 8-0 win over Oklahoma State. As a staff, the Razorbacks team ERA stands at 3.36.In 39 all-time meetings between Arkansas and Auburn, the Tigers hold the 20-19 advantage. The Tigers have won the last five meetings, including a doubleheader last season at Auburn. Arkansas’ last win in the series came during the 2006 season. The Razorbacks are 10-7 against Auburn at home.The Tigers enter the weekend series with a 25-12 record and a 5-6 tally in conference play. In its last outing, Auburn was swept by No. 1 Florida.At the plate, the Tigers are led by Myesha Finney and her .333 batting average. She has a team-high five home runs, in addition to 16 RBI. Kyndall White is hitting .317 with eight doubles and Tatiana Fernandez leads with Auburn with 18 RBI. Against SEC teams, Amber Harrison leads the club with a .333 batting average, two home runs and seven RBI. Overall, the Tigers are hitting .251 as a team.In the circle, Anna Thompson leads Auburn in victories with a 12-7 record. She carries a 1.55 ERA with 169 strikeouts in 108.1 innings pitched this season. Jenee Loree has made a team-high 20 starts and has a 10-4 record with a 2.23 ERA. She has struck out 117 batters in 122.1 innings of work. As a staff, the Tigers carry a 2.04 ERA this season.The Razorbacks’ 8-4 conference record is the best 12-game SEC start in program history. Admission for Saturday’s game will be discounted with $1 Day at Bogle Park. Fans can also collect the 2009 Razorback softball trading cards. All games will be broadcast on KXUA Fayetteville (88.3 FM) and ArkansasRazorbacks.com, which will also feature live stats for the weekend series against Auburn.

Download: 2009 notes.pdf