FAYETTEVILLE — If the No. 12 Arkansas softball team is to advance out of its own NCAA Tournament regional, it will require winning three consecutive games.
The Razorbacks (37-17) were defeated 2-1 by Arizona in the Fayetteville Regional winners’ bracket Saturday at Bogle Park. The defeat pushed Arkansas one loss away from elimination.
Arizona advanced to the regional final, which is scheduled to be played Sunday at 3 p.m. The Wildcats need one more win in the double-elimination regional to advance to the super regionals.
“I think the tight games breed more confidence because it's a mental grind as well as a physical grind,” Arizona coach Caitlin Lowe said. “That's what I was proud of the team for today. They were locked in for every single moment, responding after a very big home run in the seventh inning.
“I think that's huge. They weren't deflated. They put their shoulders back and they competed. I think the close games… you want to be in those pressure moments and figure out ways to win.”
Villanova and Southeast Missouri State are scheduled to play an elimination game Saturday at 5:05 p.m. The winner of that matchup will play another elimination game at 7 p.m. against Arkansas, with the survivor advancing to play Arizona.
Arkansas’ bats were quiet most of the game. The team manufactured two hits off Arizona starter Aissa Silva and one against reliever Brooke Mannon, a solo home run by Rylin Hedgeco*ck to lead off the bottom of the seventh inning.
Arizona took a 2-0 lead in the first inning. It was all the Wildcats needed.
Arkansas starter Robyn Herron struggled early with command. After she loaded the bases with one out due to three full-count walks, the Wildcats scored runs on a sacrifice fly from Olivia DiNardo and an RBI single by Blaise Biringer.
“They let the game come to them in the first inning,” Lowe said. “I thought that was a really big deal. I know you see the zeroes in the hit column [to load the bases], but I see three people on base and putting us in a good position to score runs…Against a good pitcher you just find a way, and they found a way early.
“[Herron] is an elite level pitcher and [Arkansas coach Courtney Deifel] is an elite level pitch caller. That's just how it goes in a good softball game — we found a way to push some runs across.”
The Razorbacks left two runners on back-to-back in the third and fourth innings. Timely hitting was a struggle for Arkansas, which was 1 for 8 (.125) at the plate with runners on base.
Silva pitched the first 2 1/3 innings for the Wildcats before they turned to Mannon, who did not allow a hit until Hedgeco*ck’s homer in the seventh. Silva came back in to pitch the final three outs.
“We're a pitching staff,” Silva said. “We’re really close with each other, so always having each other's back is our No. 1 M.O., and making sure that we're always together as one. Just knowing that [Mannon] came in, did what she needed to do for me and had my back, I knew even more [so] that I had to go in and have her back for that.”
Hedgeco*ck led Arkansas with two hits and Bri Ellis added a third-inning single. The three hits were Arkansas’ fewest since a 6-0 loss May 3 to Ole Miss in a series opener.
The relief performance from Mannon came one day after she struggled against Villanova. Mannon did not record an out, walked three and gave up a hit Friday.
“We wanted to mix up the look today, especially for [Arkansas’] power-hitting righties,” Lowe said. “I think they do a good job of making adjustments, so we wanted to get [Mannon] right back in the game, for sure. We have a staff that we are coming to the postseason with, and she needs to be ready.
“I thought the coolest thing was her response from yesterday. I mean, that's huge against a very good hitting team. She came out with a lot of confidence and had her stuff working.”
Arizona threated to score in both the fourth and fifth innings, but left runners stranded at third base. A leaping grab by Bri Ellis ended the fourth and kept Blaise Biringer (triple) from scoring. The fifth inning came to an end on double play that saw Kaiah Altmeyer thrown out at home.
Herron pitched a complete game for Arkansas with 2 runs allowed on 3 hits and 3 walks. She struck out 4 batters and 61 of her 102 pitches were thrown for strikes.
It was the eighth game between Arkansas and Arizona since 2021, when the Wildcats swept the NCAA Fayetteville Super Regional. The Wildcats own a 5-3 advantage in that timespan.
Should Arizona lose Sunday, it would force a winner-take-all Game 7 at the regional.
