Massive Bomb Gives Arkansas Second Shot at Ducks

Razorbacks look to force two games Sunday afternoon for chance to face Stillwater Regional winner

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – Swings like that are generally reserved for Major League Baseball.

You know the swing. A hitter cranks back and lays into the ball with so much power and ferocity that there's no need to even see the camera shot of the ball leaving the yard. What you heard told you all you needed to know. And while it's rare in college baseball to see a hit so powerful, it's even more rare in college softball. 

However, Saturday night in the top of the seventh, Rylin Hedgecock, who has been a one woman army assaulting the Arkansas record books from the plate all season, put the game away with a blast so mammoth that it immediately put a stake in the heart of whatever hope Notre Dame may have held. It cleared the tent in left and was inches away from clearing the outer fence, barely keeping it from exiting into the parking lot. 

Until that swing cemented a 5-0 win to advance the Razorbacks to the finals of the Fayetteville regional, senior All-SEC pitcher Chenise Delce was locked in a pitcher's duel with freshman upstart Micaela Kastor. 

A line drive to center in the second drove home Lauren Camenzind to put Arkansas up 2-0, but from there the faucet shut off for the Razorbacks. Kastor gave up a single hit the next four innings and went three up, three down in all but one. At one point she threw four pitches and got three outs. In the sixth, when Arkansas needed a few runs to generate a little breathing room, Kastor got out of the inning on seven pitches.

Meanwhile, Delce was cruising along for the most part until the sixth. It was at that point that Joley Mitchell, a Rose Bud product who was the 2019 Arkansas Gatorade Player of the Year and the 2018 MaxPreps National Junior of the Year, figured out the scouting report on Delce, moving up in the box to get in front of nasty drop balls for a single up the middle. It ensured her season would end with 35 straight games having reached base.

Mitchell took second on a wild pitch prior to Delce walking Karlli Closs to bring the potential go-ahead run to the plate in the form of the Irish's most dangerous hitter, Karina Gaskins. With no outs and the game on the line, the pressure was on and Delce was going to need a borderline miracle to get out of the situation without giving up at least part of that 2-0 lead. 

Fortunately for her, Gammill was feeling a bit spiritual over at third. Delce got Haskins to ground to third. Gammill stepped on the bag and threw across the diamond to first for the very rare softball double play. Now backed by two outs with a lone runner at second, Delce relaxed and forcedLexi Orosco to fly out at the warning track to end Notre Dame's last legitimate threat.

Arkansas now hopes to force a pair of games out of Oregon in the regional final. The two met in the same game last season with the Razorbacks coming out of the winner's bracket to send the Ducks back to the West Coast in a single game with a 9-3 win. Coach Courtney Deifel and her team will look to prevent Oregon from exacting revenge beginning at 1 p.m. on ESPN+. Should the Razorbacks win, the second game will take place at approximately 3:30 p.m. on ESPN+ also.

HOGS FEED:

RAZORBACKS FALL AGAIN, BUT STILL CLAIM SHARE OF SEC CHAMPIONSHIP

HOG FANS CAN SIT BACK, GET SOME PERSPECTIVE AFTER FRIDAY NIGHT LOSS TO VANDERBILT

RAZORBACKS GIVE UP HUGE LEAD IN STINGING LOSS TO VANDERBILT

DERRIAN FORD MAKES SURPRISING CHOICE FOR TRANSFER DESTINATION, STAYING IN ARKANSAS

RAZORBACKS' JORDAN WALSH, RICKY COUNCIL IV MAKING NOISE AT NBA COMBINE IN CHICAGO

MCADOO RECOVERY EXPECTED TO BE VERY SLOW PROCESS

ESPN'S NBA DRAFT COMBINE COVERAGE ENDED UP BEING WALL TO WALL RAZORBACK COVERAGE

RAZORBACKS ERIC MUSSELMAN TALKING AT NBA COMBINE A BIG POSITIVE FOR PROGRAM IN LOT OF WAYS

CALLER GETS FORMER HOGS QB MATT JONES TO REVEAL HIS CONNECTION TO OLE MISS STREAKER

MASSIVE MOVE BY ACC COULD TRIGGER LOT OF THINGS THAT COULD AFFECT RAZORBACKS, SEC SCHEDULES

RAZORBACK FANS STANCE ON BASEBALL GETTING OVERALL NO. 1 SEED EASY WAY TO SORT TRUE FANS FROM THOSE HOPPING ON BANDWAGON LATE IN SEASON

FORMER HOG DOMINECK DETAILS WHY HE LEFT ARKANSAS, HOW HE'S ADJUSTING TO LIFE IN COLORADO

VAN HORN CONSIDERED PULLING HOLLAN IN COMPLETE GAME GEM, BUT NOT FOR LONG

RAZORBACKS GET COMPLETE GAME FROM HUNTER HOLLAN TO TAKE SOUTH CAROLINA SERIES ON SUNDAY

NEW OFFENSE UNDER DAN ENOS MAY HAVE SOME CLUES WITH LATEST TIGHT END COMMITMENT

HOGS GET JUST ENOUGH OFFENSE TO TAKE DOWN NO. 6 SOUTH CAROLINA

ARKANSAS HIGH SCHOOL PLAYER HAS FUN WITH AUBURN AFTER RECRUITING INVITE THAT WAS SERIOUSLY WRONG

TAKEOVER OF ESPN RADIO SHOW PROVED HOG FANS WANTED TO TALK ABOUT ANYTHING OTHER THAN TRANSFER PORTAL LATE IN WINDOW

DESPITE GUT-WRENCHING LOSS, RAZORBACK SOFTBALL WAKES UP TO GOOD NEWS

SLOW NEWS DAY, SPECULATION MAKES DEVO DAVIS RADIO APPEARANCE BIGGER NEWS THAN NORMAL

RAZORBACKS COACH DAVE VAN HORN STARTING HAGEN SMITH ON FRIDAY NIGHT BUT NOTHING FINAL ON REST OF WEEKEND.

ARKANSAS BASEBALL SCHEDULE

FAYETTEVILLE WEATHER UPDATE

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