Liberty University
14-7
Arkansas
15-4
Lady Flames Fall to No. 8 Arkansas in 14-9 Slugfest
3/10/2022 8:52:41 PM | Softball
Coach Richardson Postgame Press Conference
The eighth-ranked Arkansas Razorbacks held on for a 14-9 victory over Liberty on Thursday at Kamphuis Field at Liberty Softball Stadium. The Razorbacks held leads of 9-0 and 13-4, but Liberty kept battling and posted an impressive offensive performance.
Arkansas (15-4) earned its seventh straight win, while Liberty (14-7) saw its winning streak snapped at eight games. Coming into tonight’s game, Arkansas had given up just eight total runs during the last six games, while Liberty had allowed seven runs during its eight-game winning streak.
Arkansas was ranked as highly as No. 8 this week by D1Softball.com, while appearing No. 11 in the ESPN.com/USA Softball Collegiate Top 25 and being ranked 12th in both the Softball America Collegiate Top 25 and USA Today/NFCA Top 25 Coaches Polls.
Scoring Summary
Arkansas – 1st INNING – McEwen doubles, Sides scores, 1-0
Arkansas – 1st INNING – Gammill doubles, McEwen scores, 2-0
Arkansas – 1st INNING – Malkin singles, Gammill scores, 3-0
Arkansas – 2nd INNING – Prigge scores on a passed ball, 4-0
Arkansas – 2nd INNING – Gammill hit by pitch with bases loaded, Sides scores, 5-0
Arkansas – 2nd INNING – Malkin homers to center, grand slam, Gammill, Ellsworth and McEwen score, 9-0
Liberty – 2nd INNING – Craine homers to center, grand slam, Wilson, Roupe and Soto score, 9-4
Arkansas – 3rd INNING – McEwen singles to right, Kildow scores, 10-4
Arkansas – 3rd INNING – Ellsworth singles, Sides scores, 11-4
Arkansas – 3rd INNING – Gibson flies out, sacrifice fly, McEwen scores, 12-4
Arkansas – 3rd INNING – Malkin singles, Ellsworth scores, 13-4
Liberty – 4th INNING – Allan singles, Howard and Barrett score, 13-6
Arkansas – 5th INNING – McEwen homers, 14-6
Liberty – 5th INNING – Howard homers, Howard and Cino score, 14-8
Liberty – 6th INNING – Allan homers, 14-9
Notable Numbers
- Arkansas outhit Liberty 13-10 for the game, while the Razorbacks committed three errors. Liberty left six runners on base, while Arkansas stranded seven.
- 2021 SEC Pitcher of the Year Mary Haff (5-2) earned the win for Arkansas, allowing one run on one hit and striking out four in two relief innings. Starter Chenise Delce and reliever Jenna Bloom gave up four tuns each, with three of Bloom’s runs being unearned.
- Karlie Keeney (8-3) drew the loss, allowing three runs on four hits in 2/3 of an inning, while Megan Johnson yielded three runs and Emily Kirby, seven. McKenzie Wagoner held Arkansas to one run on four hits, striking out three and walking one in the final four innings.
- Arkansas’ Linnie Malkin went 3-for-5 with a homer and six RBI. Hannah McEwen batted 3-for-4 with a double, homer, three RBI and three runs scored. Hannah Gammill went 2-for-2 with a double, two RBI and two runs scored.
- Rachel Craine went 1-for-3 with a grand slam, while Lou Allan batted 2-for-4 with a homer and three RBI. Mary Claire Wilson went 2-for-4, while Devyn Howard batted 2-for-3 with a homer, two RBI and two runs scored.
Turning Point
- Arkansas built a 9-0 lead after two times at bat. The Lady Flames narrowed the gap to 9-4 on Craine’s second-inning grand slam.
- The Razorbacks added four runs in the third to make it 13-4, but the Lady Flames chipped away. Howard’s two-run homer in the fifth extended the game, while Allan’s solo shot in the sixth narrowed the gap to 14-9.
Beyond the Box Score
- Liberty won each of the first two meetings all-time against Arkansas, with the last being a 2-0, 10-inning win on March 16, 2021 in Fayetteville, Ark.
- Arkansas was the first opponent to score in the first inning since UCF, Feb. 15. Liberty is now 0-5 this season when its opponent scores in the first inning and 1-7 when its opponent scores first.
- Liberty finished its 11-game homestand with a 9-2 record. During that span, the Lady Flames outscored opponents 75-27.
- The Lady Flames are 1-5 this season against nationally-ranked opponents.
- Craine is the first Liberty true freshman since Madison Kotchey, May 8, 2015 against Coastal Carolina to hit a grand slam. Craine is the first Lady Flame whose first career homer is a grand slam since J’Nae Jefferson, who did so March 3, 2007 against Rhode Island.
- Today tied for the most combined homers in a Liberty game inside Liberty Softball Stadium. On Feb. 27, 2021, Liberty (three) and Villanova (two) combined for five homers.
- Today’s two grand slams were the ninth and 10th grand slams in Liberty Softball Stadium history. Prior to tonight, Madison Via (March 9, 2021 vs. Longwood) was the last player to hit a grand slam at the stadium.
Up Next
Liberty plays eight out of its next nine games on the road, beginning with four games this weekend at Clemson’s Tiger Invitational, Saturday and Sunday. The Lady Flames will play twice each against Illinois and the 15th-ranked Clemson Tigers.
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Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Haff (5-2)
L: Keeney, Karlie (8-3)
Batting:
2B: McEwen 1 ; Gammill 1
HR: McEwen 1 ; Malkin 1
RBI: McEwen 3 ; Ellsworth 1 ; Gibson 1 ; Gammill 2 ; Malkin 6
SH: Prigge 1
SF: Gibson 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Sides 3 ; McEwen 4 ; Ellsworth 2 ; Gammill 2 ; Malkin 1 ; Kildow 1 ; Prigge 1
SB: Sides 1
CS: Sides 1
HBP: McEwen 1 ; Gammill 2 ; Prigge 1
Batting:
2B: Canetto, Kara 1
HR: Howard, Devyn 1 ; Allan, Lou 1 ; Craine, Rachel 1
RBI: Howard, Devyn 2 ; Allan, Lou 3 ; Craine, Rachel 4
Base Running:
RUNS: Howard, Devyn 2 ; Allan, Lou 1 ; Soto, Alexis 1 ; Roupe, Rachel 1 ; Wilson, Mary Claire 1 ; Craine, Rachel 1 ; Cino, Ava 1 ; Barrett, Raigan 1
HBP: Roupe, Rachel 1
