FAYETTEVILLE — Arkansas was three outs away from a historic win for the program last week at the Puerto Vallarta Challenge in Mexico.

Playing a top-five Washington team that reached the Women’s College World Series last season, the Razorbacks took a 2-1 lead into the bottom of the seventh only to see the Huskies score twice to win it in walk-off fashion.

While most coaches shy away from talk of moral victories, fourth-year coach Courtney Deifel said she was proud of the way her team played against one of the premier programs in the country.

“They never got big-eyed over who we were playing,” Deifel said. “They just went in and did what they do really well. Although we didn’t get the outcome we wanted, I think it shows them that they can really compete and beat anybody.”

The heartbreaking loss didn’t linger very long, as the Razorbacks won their final two games in Mexico by scores of 11-0 and 8-2 over Northern Colorado and Sacramento State, respectively.

That improved their record to 8-1 on the season and the loss to Washington didn’t hurt them too much in the polls. Arkansas remained at No. 12 nationally in the USA Today/NFCA Coaches and Softball America polls and dropped one spot to No. 12 in the ESPN.com/USA Softball rankings.

All nine of those games were played away from home, but Arkansas returns to Bogle Park this week to host the Razorback Invitational. Its home opener is at 5 p.m. Thursday against Southeast Missouri State and will be streamed on SEC Network-plus, meaning it can be watched on ESPN3.com or the WatchESPN app.

One area Deifel will certainly be looking to improve is her team’s defense. She described it as a “work-in-progress,” with the Razorbacks sitting at a team fielding percentage of .938, which is tied for 219th out of 269 Division I teams.

Those issues nearly cost them a game in Mexico, as four errors led to five unearned runs in Arkansas’ 6-5 win over North Dakota State. Later that same day, an error led to Washington’s first run.

“When you have younger players or players at new positions, we’re still looking for that one person to really step up and put the fire out,” Deifel said. “Right now, it seems to be piling up, but it piles up in one game and then we’re pretty clean for the next few. We just have to figure out how to regain control and handle the ball.”

Sure enough, Arkansas made just one error in its final two games in Mexico. It was committed by senior third baseman Haydi Bugarin, who has actually played really solid defense after a shaky start to the year.

After converting from second base during the offseason, she committed two errors in six chances in Arkansas’ opener. Since then, she’s made two in 33 chances and Deifel feels like she’s settled in at the new position.

“In just the short amount of time, I’m going to say it’s probably the position I’ve seen her take the most comfort in, being the most comfortable there,” Deifel said. “She has to handle it a lot since she gets all kinds of different balls - she gets the mis-hit ground balls, she gets the hard ones in the hole, she gets the short game and she’s doing really, really well with it.”

Much like last season with the emergence of Hannah McEwen in the outfield and Mary Haff in the circle, Arkansas has been anchored by a freshman so far this year.

Maggie Hicks led Sheridan to three straight Arkansas Class 6A state championships and has seemingly picked up where she left off in high school, leading the Razorbacks with a .435 batting average (10 for 23) through eight games.

She also has one home run, eight RBIs and two stolen bases, while playing excellent defense as the starting shortstop.

“She’s just such a competitor and she is so athletic,” Deifel said. “As well as she’s hitting offensively, she’s been huge for us defensively and I’m excited for our fans to see her this week at home.”

Perhaps the biggest praise for Hicks came from teammate Ashley Diaz, a senior who leads the team with nine RBIs. When asked if she was surprised by the freshman’s performance, she smiled and said no.

“We always knew she was a baller,” Diaz said. “She’s really great. She came in and immediately made an impact and we’re really lucky to have her.”

Admission to all Arkansas home softball games is free and seating is general admission.

Thursday

5 p.m. - Arkansas vs. Southeast Missouri State

Friday

10 a.m. - Drake vs. IUPUI

12:15 p.m. - Drake vs. Southeast Missouri State

2:30 p.m. - SIU-Edwardsville vs. IUPUI

4:45 p.m. - Arkansas vs. Southeast Missouri State

7 p.m. - Arkansas vs. SIU-Edwardsville

Saturday

10 a.m. - Drake vs. Southeast Missouri State

12:15 p.m. - IUPUI vs. Southeast Missouri State

2:30 p.m. - Arkansas vs. Drake

4:45 p.m. - Arkansas vs. SIU-Edwardsville

7 p.m. - IUPUI vs. SIU-Edwardsville

Sunday

10 a.m. - SIU-Edwardsville vs. Drake

12:15 p.m. - Arkansas vs. IUPUI

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