COLOMBIA, SC – Arkansas number 19 hit two home runs, and pitcher Mary Haff hit 10 in a 4-1 win over South Carolina’s 20th at the SEC opening at Carolina Softball Stadium on Friday night. The Razorbacks (18-2, 1-0 SEC) increased the school’s record by winning its 17th consecutive game and, for the third consecutive year, won the league’s opening match against a qualified opponent.
With infielder Braxton Burnside and designated player Linnie Malkin’s home runs, the Razorbacks led the SEC by hitting 49 bombs this season, which is tied for ninth in a single season in the show’s history.
How did this happen
Haff sizzled in the first three innings, facing two over the minimum and eliminating five. In the second, she took a mini jam two in one, one outside, hitting the side. The product from Winter Haven, Florida, went through the third and fourth stanzas, facing the minimum while hitting three and throwing only 14 shots.
After outside defender Sam Torres was hit by a pitch, Burnside interrupted the goalless game at the start of fifth place, giving Arkansas a 2-0 lead in a two-run home run on the left. Burnside’s 12 homers this year lead the SEC and occupy second place nationally. South Carolina (13-4, 0-1 SEC) cut the lead in half on the home team with three singles. Haff limited damage and runners trapped in the first and second, with third baseman Nicole Duncan’s diving claw in a raised bunt serving as the main move.
Malkin immediately recovered the race in sixth position, firing a home run to the left, which gave Arkansas a 3-1 advantage. The Razorbacks added a safe run while outfielder Ryan Jackson was working on a walk and was sacrificed for second by outfielder Larissa Cesena, establishing Lauren Graves’ coup for the single RBI.
Haff (11-1) shot tremendously and allowed only six singles with 10 eliminations. She did not walk like a hitter and won her 11th victory as a national leader. Kelsey Oh (1-3) traveled the distance through South Carolina, allowing seven strokes, four runs won and three walks with three eliminations. Arkansas out of the Gamecocks, 7-6.
Razorbacks and Gamecocks play the game in the middle of the series at 13:00 CT Saturday on SEC Network +.
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