FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – In Sunday's series finale at Bogle Park, No.17 Auburn softball (29-9, 7-8 SEC) fell in five innings, 13-4, to No. 10 Arkansas (28-7, 9-3 SEC).
"If you look at the scoreboard, we got our butts kicked," said head coach Mickey Dean. "But we didn't give ourselves a chance in the circle. With eight hits and 17 runs, those numbers don't match up. We had too many free passes ahead of their big hitters. We competed at the plate against Mary Haff. She is one of the best pitchers in the SEC. We faced her twice and chased her out of both games."
Three of Auburn's four hits in Sunday's finale were home runs, bringing Auburn's season total to 64.
Errors proved costly for the Tigers as miscues in the first and second innings allowed nine Razorback runs to score. A grand slam in the third inning pushed Arkansas lead to 13-0.
The Tigers refused to quit as junior Lindsey Garcia led off the fourth with a solo home run. Freshman Bri Ellis also delivered a solo blast in the inning for her 13th home run of the season, inching another step closer to Kasey Cooper's freshman record of 18.
Sophomore Kelsey Schmidt continued the fourth inning rally with a double down the line to left. Freshman Riley McNemar slugged a pinch-hit home run, the first of her career, in front of the Kansas native's friends and family that made the short trek to Fayetteville.
Arkansas added four runs in the fourth off a bases-loaded triple from KB Sides and a sacrifice fly.
UP NEXT
Auburn continues its road stand on Wednesday with a midweek tilt at Mercer. First pitch is set for 5 p.m. CT.