FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – Mary Haff and Autumn Storms combined on a seven-hit shutout to lift No. 6 national seed Arkansas to a 4-0 victory over South Dakota State in the second round of the NCAA Division I Softball Championship Fayetteville Regional Saturday afternoon at Bogle Park.
The Razorbacks, 42-9, advance to Sunday's championship. South Dakota State dropped to 43-7 overall and is slated to play the winner of Saturday's second game between Stanford and Manhattan in an elimination game on ESPN3.com at 6 p.m. Saturday.
Arkansas jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the top of the second as designated player Linnie Malkin turned on an inside offering from Jackrabbit starter
Grace Glanzer and pulled it down the left-field line for a two-run homer.
The Razorbacks upped their advantage with 4-0 with a pair of runs in the fourth. Kayla Green doubled in Danielle Gibson with the first run of the frame on a double to right-center, with Green later scoring on a single off the first-base bag by Aly Manzo.
SDSU put together a pair of threats, loading the bases in both the fourth and seventh innings, but came up empty each time. The seventh-inning threat included three consecutive two-out singles by
Cheyanne Masterson,
Rozelyn Carrillo and
Peyton Daugherty, but Storms ended the rally – and the game – with a strikeout.
Haff struck out seven Jackrabbit batters over six shutout innings, walking one and surrendering four hits.
Daugherty tallied three of SDSU's seven hits, including a double.
Glanzer, who fell to 19-5 on the season, notched her second complete game of the regional, striking out four and walking three over seven innings. She allowed six hits – all to different Razorbacks.
NOTES
- Arkansas leads the all-time series, 2-0
- The Jackrabbits were shut out for the first time this season
- Daugherty turned in her third three-hit performance of the postseason (Summit League tournament and NCAA regional)
- Jocelyn Carrillo extended her streak of games reaching base safely to a team-best 21 with a fourth-inning single
- Glanzer has 22 complete games in her 26 starts this season
-GoJacks.com-
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