For the third time in five years, Arkansas is hosting postseason softball at Bogle Park. The Razorbacks are the No. 4 overall seed and will welcome Oregon, Wichita State and Princeton to Fayetteville this weekend.
Here’s everything you need to know ahead of the 2022 Fayetteville Regional…
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Schedule
Friday, May 20
Game 1: Arkansas vs. Princeton — 5 p.m. CT, SEC Network
Game 2: Oregon vs. Wichita State — 7:30 p.m. CT, SECN+
Saturday, May 21
Game 3: Winner Game 1 vs. Winner Game 2 — 1 p.m. CT, TBA
Game 4: Loser Game 1 vs. Loser Game 2 — 3:30 p.m. CT, TBA (elimination game)
Game 5: Winner Game 3 vs. Loser Game 3 — 6 p.m. CT, TBA (elimination game)
Sunday, May 22
Game 6: Winner Game 3 vs. Winner Game 5 — 1 p.m. CT, TBA
Game 7: Winner Game 3 vs. Winner Game 5 — 3:30 p.m. CT, TBA (if necessary — if Game 3 winner loses Game 6)
Scouting Reports
Arkansas
2022 Record: 44-9 (19-5 SEC)
Conference Finish: 1st in regular season, won SEC Tournament title
Head Coach: Courtney Deifel (234-126 in 7 seasons at Arkansas)
The Razorbacks have followed up the best season in program history with an even better one in 2022. After capturing a share of the SEC regular-season title and hosting a super regional — both firsts — last year, Arkansas won the SEC outright, captured the SEC Tournament championship and is now the No. 4 overall seed in the NCAA Tournament, in prime position to make their first ever trip to the Women’s College World Series.
They’ve done it with a balanced attack, but the Razorbacks have been particularly potent offensively. As a team, they’ve already shattered single-season school records for batting average, on-base percentage, slugging percentage, runs scored and home runs. They’ll enter the postseason ranked fourth, third, fifth, fourth and tied for fourth in those categories, respectively, among Division I teams.
Individually, Danielle Gibson (.442/.492/.848, 18 HR, 63 RBI) is one of 10 finalists for USA Softball’s National Player of the Year award, while Linnie Malkin (.397/.483/.913, 20 HR, 63 RBI) actually leads the team in home runs, but it was KB Sides — an Alabama transfer — who was named SEC Player of the Year. She’s hitting .395/.510/.722 overall with 12 home runs, but hit an incredible .453/.543/.853 in SEC play, plus is 28 for 32 on stolen base attempts this season.
Back as a super senior, Mary Haff — last year’s SEC co-Pitcher of the Year — is 18-4 with a 2.79 ERA, 140 strikeouts and only 32 walks in 133 innings this season. Arkansas actually has two aces this year with the emergence of Tulsa transfer Chenise Delce, who was named SEC Pitcher of the Year with a 17-2 record, 2.19 ERA, 161 strikeouts and 33 walks in 128 innings.
Oregon
2022 Record: 31-17 (10-14 Pac-12)
Conference Finish: 5th in regular season, no conference tournament
Head Coach: Melyssa Lombardi (115-66 in 4 seasons at Oregon)
Despite a losing record in the loaded Pac-12 conference, Oregon still ended the year as a top-25 team, landing at No. 23 in the latest USA Today/NFCA Coaches Poll. The Ducks won five of their final six games of the season, helping them reach the NCAA Tournament for a second straight year and 22nd time in school history.
Catcher Terra McGowan is Oregon’s best player, earning first-team All-Pac-12 and Pac-12 All-Defensive Team honors despite missing half of the season with a hand injury. The junior doesn’t have a lot of power — only 10 of her 30 hits have been for extra bases, with just two home runs — but rarely strikes out (3 strikeouts in 75 at bats) and is incredibly clutch (.529 with RISP). She hit .393 in Pac-12 play.
The Ducks’ overall pitching numbers aren’t terrible — 3.83 ERA and 1.24 WHIP — but they have struggled a bit against good competition, as those numbers fall to a 5.71 ERA and 1.52 WHIP in conference play. Freshman Stevie Hansen is their top pitcher, as she’s 13-8 with a 3.10 ERA, 120 strikeouts and 28 walks in 115 1/3 innings.
It’s also worth noting that Oregon is prolific on the base paths, with 81 steals in 98 attempts. The Ducks’ 1.69 steals per game led the Pac-12 and rank 28th nationally. They appear to have speed throughout the order, too, as three players have double-digit stolen bases (led by Hanna Delgado’s 14) and four others have at least six.
Wichita State
2022 Record: 33-16 (14-4 AAC)
Conference Finish: 2nd in regular season, reached semifinals of AAC Tournament
Head Coach: Kristi Bredbenner (319-250-1 in 11 seasons at Wichita State)
This is a team that should be familiar to Arkansas, as Wichita State visited Bogle Park back on Feb. 19 and lost to the Razorbacks 7-4. Located just 4.5 hours apart, the two teams have met frequently, with Arkansas — having won five straight — leading the all-time series 10-4.
Led by Kristi Bredbenner, the Shockers have become a very good mid-major program in recent years. This is their fourth trip to the NCAA Tournament since 2016. That includes an appearance in the 2018 Fayetteville Regional, in which it finished runner-up to the Razorbacks.
Wichita State may have managed only four runs against Arkansas back in February, but it has one of the best offenses in the country. Similar to the Razorbacks, the Shockers are top-five nationally in batting average, on-base percentage, slugging percentage, scoring and home runs. In fact, they rank third in batting average and second only to No. 1 Oklahoma in the other categories.
The onslaught is led by AAC Player of the Year Addison Barnard, who leads the country with 32 home runs, and first-team All-ACC shortstop Sydney McKinney, who leads the country with a .511 batting average. Those two went a combined 4 for 8 against Arkansas on Feb. 19, while their teammates were a combined 3 for 21.
In the circle, Wichita State is not a very high strikeout team, with only 211 in 300 2/3 innings, and has a team ERA of 4.00. Opponents are hitting .269 against the Shockers, who appear to have three primary pitchers: Alison Cooper (3.36 ERA, 60 1/3 IP), Erin McDonald (4.01 ERA, 103 IP) and Caitlin Bingham (4.27 ERA, 100 IP).
Princeton
2022 Record: 27-15-2 (17-4 Ivy League)
Conference Finish: 1st in regular season, won Ivy Playoff Series
Head Coach: Lisa Van Ackeren (166-194-2 in 10 seasons at Princeton)
With the pandemic wiping out most of 2020 and the Ivy League limiting its teams to playing just local teams in 2021, Princeton played only 11 games over the last two years. Before that, it had back-to-back seasons finishing 19 and 13 games under .500.
That made the season the Tigers enjoyed this year even more impressive. They started off 1-8, but have gone 26-7-2 since then and won the regular-season title before punching their ticket to the NCAA Tournament by taking two of three games against Harvard in the Ivy Playoff Series.
Princeton is a pitching-dominated team, with an ERA of 2.99 and 353 strikeouts in 295 1/3 innings. The staff is led by Ivy League Pitcher of the Year Alexis Laudenslager, who is 11-7 with a 1.93 ERA and holding opponents to a minuscule .181 batting average. The junior has also racked up 138 strikeouts in 109 innings. Two other pitchers have also seen significant innings: junior Ali Blanchard (2.65 ERA, 151 K, 105 2/3 IP) and sophomore Molly Chambers (3.50 ERA, 62 IP). The trio has a combined ERA of 2.56.
Offensively, six Tigers are hitting over .300. Adrienne Chang (.368), Serena Starks (27 RBI) and Lauren Sablone (5 HR) lead the team in the Triple Crown categories, plus Sophia Marsalo (.324/.355/.430) was named the Ivy League Rookie of the Year. As a team, Princeton hits for a solid average (.295), but has only 15 home runs in 44 games.
Stat Comparison
