Differently wired Razorbacks anxious to dive into NCAA Softball Regional on Friday

BY DUDLEY E. DAWSON

FAYETTEVILLE – The Arkansas softball program has been ultra-successful the past several years, but one goal has eluded it – a trip to Oklahoma City for the NCAA Women’s College World Series.

But head coach Courtney Deifel and her national four seed Razorbacks (40-12) are optimistic this is the season to do that with a postseason pathway that would include all of its pre-WCWS games at its Bogle Park.

They’ll get that quest started Friday at 5:30 p.m. against fourth-seeded St. Louis (34-22) in the Fayetteville Regional, right after the regional opens with a 3 p.m. gamer between second-seeded Oklahoma State (33-18) and third-seeded Indiana (33-18).

The Arkansas-St. Louis game will be streamed by ESPN + with the winner moving on to noon game on Saturday.

“They (the Razorbacks) are wired differently than teams we have had in the past,” Deifel said. “…They have learned and wanted to learn from everything they go through – both the good and bad and not and not all teams are wired that way. They lean on each other and I think that is huge because no one person in no one area thinks they have to carry this team.”

The Arkansas coaching staff took being eliminated by Oregon in 2023 and Villanova last season to heart.

“I hate losing,” Deifel said. “If you’re around me at all, you’re gonna know that. It forced us to really look at what we do, how we do it. We went to work, the staff went to work. We worked all summer on really diving into just having a deeper connection to our culture.”

Arkansas pitcher Robyn Herron agrees this year’s Razorback team is different.

“This team is really confident and we are confident to know that it we get punched in the face, we are going to bounce back and we are going to be resilient,” Herron said. “That is one of our core words for this year and I just think our resiliency is what sets us apart from last year’s team.”

“…It’s also realizing that we’re not that same team and so not trying to bring it back up too much and just sticking to the present. Knowing that last year wasn’t us and just the ability to come back from that and learn and just be a better team is so inspiring.”

Deifel admits she has been anxious to get back in action after losing to Oklahoma 8-6 in walk off fashion in an SEC Tournament semifinal.

“We are excited to host postseason here in Fayetteville at Bogle Park,” Deifel said. “I am really proud of the team for earning the fourth seed and earning the opportunity to play at Bogle again. It is going to be a tough field, they are all tough this time of year and we are excited to get going.

“It seems like a long week and we’ve been like ‘come on, get here already.’ We are excited to get going and excited for the atmosphere at Bogle.”

St. Louis started the season 9-16, but finished it 25-6 run with a 15-game winning streak included in its last 31 games. That includes losing its Atlantic 10 tournament opener and then winning four straight to claim the title.

This is the Billikens’ first ever NCAA Tournament appearance.

“We had a good idea we were going to see St. Louis once they won their conference tournament so we go a little bit of a jump on it,” Deifel said. “Obviously winning twice that last day was big, knowing how to win under pressure was huge.

“They have two pitchers that seem to be 1A and 1B so we have been diving into that and diving into their offense. Their three hitter has 19 home runs with 80 RBIs and that’s incredible.”

St. Louis head coach Christy Connoyer is obviously pleased her team and its push toward the postseason, which included a bus ride from St. Louis that took 10 hours after a breakdown.

“You can throw anything at us,” she said. “It’s the journey. You don’t get caught up too much in the destination. You get caught up in what’s happening at that moment. They’ve done it, and they’ve done a tremendous job of it.”

Connoyer is impressed with Arkansas.

“They do things well,” Connoyer said. “I’ve known Courtney Deifel for a long time, and I know she runs a quality program. They’re also human. We talked about that factor as well.

“We have opportunities to attack their pitching if we stay on time, and we have opportunities to keep them off balance. I think it’s going to be a battle. You throw your shoulders back and go out there and compete.”

St. Louis will fight until the last strike per Connoyer.

“We’ve been in championship scenarios a ton,” Connoyer said. “…I do think there’s [an aspect of] staying in the moment and competing till there are no more strikes on the board. And if there are strikes on the board, we’re going to put our best foot forward.”

Oklahoma State has been to five straight WCWS while Indiana is the best average hitting team in the nation.

“When you look at Oklahoma State, they have had a lot of success in the postseason,” Deifel said. “They are a team that has an ace in the circle that is one of the best and ha some of the best numbers in the game and they rely on her heavily. So they are tough. They have a strong ace and a strong offense.

“…Then you have Indiana, who has the highest team batting average in the country. They swing it and I think they look and think they can outpace who they play. So each team has a different makeup and all of them are obviously playing well right now.”

Photo by John D. James