Burnham’s no-hitter and Wyckoff’s 5 RBIs lift Arkansas to 10-0 win over St. Louis

BY DUDLEY E. DAWSON

FAYETTEVILLE – It was first-ever NCAA Softball Tournament game for both Arkansas freshman pitcher and Razorback junior Kaylie Wyckoff, but they both made one to remember.

Burnham pitched a five-inning no-hitter while allowing just two base runners and Wyckoff went 3 for 3 with a career-high 5 RBIs as top-seeded Arkansas cruised to a 10-0 run-rule victory over fourth-seeded St. Louis Friday night before 3,048 fans at Bogle Park.

“When you get out here, no matter if it’s your first one or your 10th one, you have a little bit of nerves,” Arkansas head coach Courtney Deifel said. “There’s excitement, and for them to just stay really present and do what they do — it was great to see them so comfortable in that moment.”

The win moves the Razorbacks (41-12) into a Saturday’s noon game with second-seedded Oklahoma State (34-18), who scored nine unanswered runs to down third-seeded Indiana 11-6 in Friday’s first game.

The two teams met in a fall scrimmage in Tulsa with the Cowgirls winning 9-3.

“We are a completely different team,” Deifel said. “We have grown individually and collectively. It is like so long ago. When I look back that, I wouldn’t even recognize that team. We’ve gone through some hard times together. We have gone through some great times together.”

After Burnham pitched a 1-2-3 first inning, Arkansas exploded for five runs in the bottom half of the inning.

That included Regan Johnson’s lead off single, two one-out walks and Wyckoff’s RBI single that got scoring started.

Ella McDowell’s base-loaded walk, Kennedy Miller’s two-ring single and Karlie Davison’s RBI single also plated runs as the Razorbacks batted around.

“I’m just really proud of the team with the way they came out in our first game here,” Deifel said “I thought that P (Payton) and our defense set a really good tone in the first inning. Our offense carried that momentum, and I thought they just did an incredible job of taking what they gave us and then also being ready when the ball showed up. I just thought it was a complete effort.”

Wyckoff’s second-inning RBI single pushed that to 6-0 and the Texas Tech transfer delivered a bases-loaded, bases-clearing double in a four-run fourth that also included Ataylia Rijo’s run-scoring single to push to cap the scoring.

“Being in postseason for the first time, I kind of got a little a little bit in my feels,” Wyckoff said. “I kind of had to set that aside, because it’s not about me. But going into it, I just knew that I had to stick to my plan and it just kind of worked out for me.”

Burnham, pitching Arkansas’ 17th career no-hitter and third this seasoin walked a batter in the third and hit a batter in the fifth or she would have tossed a perfect game.

“I’m really proud of P for a no-hitter,” Deifel said. “It’s really exciting as a freshman to come [into] your first postseason game in Bogle and just really trust your stuff and trust your defense.”

That’s exactly what Oregon native Burnham (14-2) said she did on Friday while throwing just 66 pitches, facing 17 batters and fanning 6.

“My defense behind me, they played perfect,” Burnham said. “It wouldn’t have happened without them, but I was just trusting my stuff through the zone, trusting in my defense and then our offense, just putting the pressure on and keeping the pressure on.”

St. Louis head coach Christy Connoyer was proud of her team’s first-ever NCAA Tournament game and looking forward to play Indiana in a elimination game Saturday at 2 p.m.

“Kudos to Arkansas,” Connoyer said. “They can swing the bat…very disciplined team. Courtney, she runs a really nice program. So, hats off to Arkansas for their discipline and their plate approach.”

Photo by John D. James