Kramer Krush slams door on Tennessee and lifts Arkansas into SEC semifinal with OU

BY DUDLEY E. DAWSON

Arkansas left fielder Raigan Kramer took care of the job herself with a dagger Thursday afternoon at the SEC Softball Tournament.

Kramer jumped on the first pitch see saw from Tennessee ace Karlyn Pickens in the seventh inning and launched a grand slam that lifted the Razorbacks to a 6-1 win over the Vols in quarterfinal action.

The Kramer Krush came a day after she drew a walk that allowed Arkansas slugger Bri Ellis to hit a walk off grand slam in a 5-1 win over host Georgia in Athens.

“I don’t think she had thrown me a ball all day so when I went in there I said ‘I am going to swing at this first pitch,” noted Kramer, whose nickname is Jimmy.

“…I knew going into the situation that she was gong to attack and I was just ready for it.”

It was just Kramer’s second home run of the season and only the fourth given up by Pickens in 2025.


The slam was the second of Kramer’s career and only one Pickens has given up in her career.


The blast also came a half inning after Razorback center fielder Reagan Johnson’s acrobatic catch saved possibly two runs and the game.


“She’s been doing that all year,” Kramer said. “For a second I thought it was too far, but when she came down with it, I was like let’s go.”

Arkansas pitcher Robyn Herron (17-5, 2.56 ERA) allowed one unearned run on 6 hits and fanned nine while throwing 90 pitches and out dueling Pickens (20-8, 0.96 ERA), the SEC Pitcher of the Year.

“I am just really proud of our team and finding a way today, Arkansas head coach Courtney Deifel said. “We knew it was going to be a battle with Tennessee and Karlyn Pickens, and I felt like our team did a really good job of staying composed and getting information every time without losing enthusiasm toward working through, which is really hard to do in this game.

“One reason we could is because of Robyn and our defense today, but I am just really proud of this group.”


All six runs given up by Pickens were were unearned on a day when she allowed seven hits and fanned 10 while throwing 123 pitches.

The win moves Arkansas (40-11) into a semifinal match Friday at 3 p.m. CST against SEC regular season champion and top seed Oklahoma (44-7), who beat LSU 4-1 earlier on Thursday.

Oklahoma swept Arkansas in a three-game series in Fayetteville early in the SEC season.

“We all know the last time we played them, we didn’t play our best,” Kramer said. “So we want to play them at our best and and we want to get their best and see what happens.”

The game featured a pitching duel between Arkansas starter Robyn Herron (17-5) and Pickens (20-8), tabbed the SEC Pitcher of the Year by USA Today earlier this week.

Both aces pitched three scoreless innings to begin the game.

But the Razorbacks jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the fourth when Tennessee (40-14) committed an error allowed both Kramer and Ellis to score.

Kramer had singled and Ellis doubled to lead off the inning.

It stayed that way until the sixth when Tennessee’s Ella Dodge led off with a single and advanced to third on Morgan’s bunt and a throwing error by Arkansas catcher Kennedy Miller.

Taylor Pannell’s run-scoring infield single plated Dodge to cut the Razorbacks lead to 2-1.

Sophia Nugent hit a deep fly ball to center that Johnson leaped to catch.

Herron then fanned Emma Clark to strand the tying and go-ahead runs.

“I am excited for Jimmy (Kramer) because she loves the spotlight and this is just a really, really big moment, and we have already watched out team celebrate that moment probably 12 times,” Deifel said. “It just gives me chills every time, but she was ready.”

Tennessee will now wait to see where it will be placed in the NCAA Softball Tournament bracket is announced on Sunday night at 6 p.m. CST on ESPN2

“What you want to do is come down here, learn from everything that happens, win or lose, and then get back to work,” Tennessee head coach Karen Weekly said. “I just told them to be really, really excited about where we are and Sunday night, and never, ever take this for granted.”

Photo courtesy of Razorbacks Communications