GAINESVILLE, Fla. – No. 6 Arkansas utilized 11 hits and commanding pitching by Mary Haff and Chenise Delce to grab a 5-4 series-clinching win against No. 9 Florida Saturday afternoon at Katie Seashole Pressly Stadium. The Hogs took game one, 9-1 (6), Friday night.
Senior RHP Mary Haff (13-3) got the win after hurling five innings and holding the Gators to three earned runs on five hits. The Winter Haven, Fla., native struck out one while tossing two quick 1-2-3 innings in the second and fourth. Junior RHP Chenise Delce picked up her second save of the season after covering the final two frames to preserve the lead. Delce totaled three punchouts for the Razorbacks to secure the win. In the last two games against Florida, the Arkansas pitching staff has allowed just one extra base hit while restraining opponents to a .208 batting average.
Senior KB Sides hit a career-high three doubles to go along with two runs scored and an RBI.
“I was seeing the ball well today and was just trying to get my barrel out front and smash it,” said Sides. “Our team believed in ourselves, and I wanted the bat in my hands. Our team is filled with such great hitters, so it’s easy to stay the course and keep pushing until we get what we want.”
Sophomore Hannah Gammill matched her career-high in hits with three. Graduate Taylor Ellsworth paced the Hogs with two RBIs. Senior Hannah McEwen energized at the two-hole, going 1-for-2 with a sacrifice fly for an RBI. Senior Linnie Malkin amassed the Razorbacks’ other RBI on a two-out double to left center. Cally Kildow continued to impress with a base knock and tied her career-high in runs scored with two. Audrie LaValley and Kacie Hoffmann each recorded base hits.
Arkansas improves its record to 34-8 and 13-4 in the SEC. The Razorbacks outhit the Gators at an 11-6 clip and have outscored Florida 14-5 in the series’ first two games.
How It Happened
Arkansas struck in the top of the first on Ellsworth’s ground out to third, sending Sides home for the game’s first run.
Florida responded in the bottom frame with three runs to grasp onto a 3-1 lead.
Arkansas began chipping away at the Gator lead in the third. McEwen’s sacrifice fly to right was deep enough to plate Sides from third. Ellsworth followed suit with a ground out to short to collect her second RBI of the game and tie it up at 3-3. Malkin tacked on the fourth run on a two-out, RBI double to left center.
The Gators added their final run of the game in the fourth on a sacrifice fly.
In the sixth, Sides launched a two-out double to score Kildow and permanently give the Hogs a 5-4 lead.
Up Next
Sunday’s series finale is scheduled for 11:30 a.m. CT on SEC Network+.
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