Arkansas softball
Arkansas’ Mary Haff (above), an All-SEC pitcher last season, returns for the Razorbacks’ softball team, which claimed its first NCAA regional title last season. Arkansas opened the season Friday with a 7-3 victory over Campbell at Lake Charles, La.
FAYETTEVILLE — Coming off its best season in the program’s 22-year history, expectations have grown to a new level for the University of Arkansas softball team.
The Razorbacks opened the 2019 season in Lake Charles, La., on Friday in the Cowgirl Classic against Campbell University. They find themselves ranked 12th nationally in the ESPN/USA Softball Top 25 and 14th in the USA Today/ NFCA coaches poll, both alltime highs.
“There is no pressure,” fourth-year Coach Courtney Deifel said. “I think it’s just balancing expectations and making sure we continue to focus on what we have always focused on, and that’s doing what we do, doing it well, and just being the best version of ourselves every day.”
Deifel took over a program that went 17-39 (1-23 in the SEC) in 2015. In 2018, her third season, she led Arkansas to a 42-17 mark (12-12 in the SEC) and its first-ever regional championship. The Razorbacks ended last season with a loss to Oklahoma in the Norman Super Regional.
“I give our girls a ton of credit because they have poured everything they have into it,” Deifel said of the program’s turnaround. “These girls play with a ton of heart, they have a ton of character, and I think our fans have seen that and been incredibly supportive.
But this is a new year, the coach is quick to point out.
“With how great last year was for us as a program, this team hasn’t done anything yet,” Deifel added. “So you’re going into a new year, you have more expectations, and more of a target on your back. Teams are going to be gunning for us.”
The team will have familiar faces in the pitching circle, including All-SEC hurler Mary Haff, a top 3 finalist for the NFCA National Freshman of the Year Award a year ago. The sophomore posted a 29-7 record with a 1.51 earned run average. She pitched a no-hitter against Northern Colorado, as well as seven one-hitters.
Complementing Haff ’s rise
ball will be drop-ball specialist Autumn Storms, a junior with 28 victories over the past two seasons.
“It’s just been great to embrace everything, especially with the progress we have made as a program, it’s just been crazy,” Storms said with a wide smile. “I think Mary and I are a great one-two punch, especially with me being a drop-ball pitcher and her being a rise-ball pitcher, we really do complement each other really well.”
The Arkansas batting lineup will feature three all-conference players from a year ago, although only one — sophomore outfielder Hannah McEwen — was an All-SEC performer. The Razorbacks have welcomed second-baseman Danielle Gibson, an All-Pac 12 transfer from Arizona State, and outfielder Ryan Jackson, a transfer from Bethune-Cookman, who was a two-time Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference Player of the Year.
“The team looks a lot different than it did last year,” Deifel said. “Of course, it is still consistent with who we are going to have in the [pitching] circle. But outside of that, we have a lot of new faces that are going to contribute.
“Anytime we have a chance to make our program better, and it’s the right fit, then we’re going to go for it.”
Gibson had a .343 average for the Sun Devils last season, with 12 home runs and 39 RBI. Jackson led the Wildcats with 17 homers and 50 RBI.
In Softball America’s Top 100 Player Rankings released Thursday, four Razorbacks made the list. Haff was the highest ranked at No. 18, followed by McEwen at No. 40, Gibson at No. 62 and Jackson at No. 99.