Razorbacks get early jump on Kangaroos
SOFTBALL NO. 15 ARKANSAS 9, MISSOURI-KANSAS CITY 3
Danielle Gibson and Sam Torres both went 2 for 3 Tuesday while Keely Huffine went 2 for 4 to lead No. 15 Arkansas to a 9-3 victory over Missouri-Kansas City at the Urban Youth Academy in Kansas City, Mo.
After the Kangaroos took a 1-0 lead on a passed ball in the bottom of the first inning, the Razorbacks responded with four runs in the top of the second. After Huffine singled to left field to start the inning and Valerie Ventura struck out looking, UMKC pitcher Mia Hoveland walked Torres and Hannah McEwen to load the bases. Braxton Burnside drew a third consecutive walk to score Huffine and tie the game at 1-1. Gibson was hit by a pitch, scoring Torres to take a 2-1 lead. Kayla Green then hit a sacrifice fly to right field to score McEwen, and Burnside scored on Linnie Malkin’s double to left field that gave the Razorbacks a 4-1 lead.
McEwen singled up the middle to start the fourth inning. Gibson singled and was tagged out at second when Green reached on a fielder’s choice. Malkin walked on a pitch that got by catcher Alexis D’Ambrosio, which allowed McEwen to score to give the Razorbacks a 5-1 lead. Green scored on Larissa Cesena’s RBI single and Huffine singled to load the bases. Pinch hitter Lauren Graves then followed with a two-run single that scored Cesena and Malkin for an 8-1 lead. Huffine scored on an RBI single by Torres to increase the lead to 9-1.
UMKC scored its remaining two runs in the bottom of the fourth on an RBI single by Delaney Fenoglio, and Ally Vonfeldt scored on D’Ambrosio’s RBI groundout to second base.
Reliever Jenna Bloom earned the victory for the Razorbacks after allowing 1 walk and 2 strikeouts in 2 innings of work. Hoveland took the loss for the Kangaroos. She was charged with all 9 runs on 7 hits with 6 walks and 4 strikeouts in 32/3 innings.
GIBSON HONORED
Arkansas first baseman Danielle Gibson helped the Razorbacks go back-to-back, earning the SEC softball player of the week honors, announced by the league office on Tuesday.
Gibson joins teammate Braxton Burnside, who was co-player of the week the week previously. The Razorbacks moved up two spots to No. 15 in this week’s ESPN. com/USA Softball rankings, which were released Tuesday afternoon.
The redshirt junior went 6 of 11 with a home run and 3 doubles in the Razorbacks’ three-game sweep of Ole Miss over the weekend. Gibson hit a walk-off solo home run in the bottom of the eighth inning to help Arkansas earn a 3-2 win on Saturday. She went 2 for 4, drove in a run and scored one in Friday’s win. She also doubled, was intentionally walked and scored on a wild pitch in the series finale.
It’s the second time she’s earned player of the week honors in her career. Gibson was selected in 2019 after she became just the second player in softball history to hit for a home run cycle.
Gibson leads the nation with 13 doubles, is tied for second with 42 hits, tied for third with 87 total bases and is tied for sixth with 34 RBI. Her .429 batting average ranks sixth in the SEC, and she’s tied for second in the league with 10 home runs.