Razorbacks take hit softball road show to Baton Rouge

BY DUDLEY E.DAWSON

FAYETTEVILLE – With no fear of being on the road, Arkansas’ softball team will head to LSU this weekend with a ton of confidence.

The No. 13 Razorbacks (32-11, 11-7) will open a three-game series against the No. 7 Tigers (35-11, 11-10) Friday night at 6 p.m. in Baton Rouge, La.

“It’s gone well,” Arkansas head coach Courtney Deifel said. “I feel like we are at that time of year where we know we are in  good routine. It’s a balance of just getting reps and  managing prep. The weeks go fast at this point. I think we are in a good spot and ready to go.”

Arkansas has won its last four overall series – all over fellow Top 25 teams – and also been victorious in its last quartet of SEC road trips.

“They have found ways to grit out every series and it looks a little different every weekend and is some one different every week,” Deifel said of her squad. “More often than not our pitchers have given us a chance and fought for us and our defense has been steady.

“Then it is someone different stepping up offensively. I think we have made good adjustments against pitching staffs we are facing, gotten better from game to game and just found ways to win.

“Some days it doesn’t look great and we have found ways to win and some days it does look great and everything is firing.

“The key is just finding a way to win and being plus one (in runs). I think they just stay the course and have been really resilient, especially of late.”

For the third straight week, Arkansas will go into battle with a player who has won at least a share of the SEC’s Pitcher of the Week award.

Razorback Robyn Herron (9-8, 1.80 ERA) got the nod three weeks ago while Morgan Leinstock (12.2, 1.73) has won the past two.

“The key to Morgan’s A-plus performances has been her confidence in herself and her team,” Deifel said. “Even though she may not be feeling her best on any given day, she is going to give you 100 percent that she has to give that day every single day.”

LSU was 24-0 in non-conference action this season before Tuesday night’s 9-4 loss to Louisiana-Lafayette.

The Tigers, the seventh straight top 25 foe the Razorbacks have faced, have lost their last three league series and 7 of their last 10 contests overall.

They are led by pitchers Sydney Berzon (15-6, 1.97, 14 complete games) and  Kelly Lynch (6-1, 2.61).

“Well, they are really strong, really strong,” Deifel said. “They complement each other really well. That has been a consistent strength for them for years now. (LSU head coach) Beth (Torina) does a really great job.

“So it’s going to be a challenge. They have a really great pitching staff, they have a strong offense and we are playing at LSU, which is a tough place to play so it is going to be a huge challenge.

 “Offensively, they are a really good balance of power and table setters. They put pressure on defense, they are aggressive on the base paths. They understand their zones really well so they don’t stretch a ton. So they are a very complete offense.”

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SEC Standings:

Tennessee 14-4
Texas A&M 15-6
Florida 12-6
Arkansas  11-7
Georgia 10-8
LSU 11-10
Mississippi State 9-9
Missouri 8-10
Alabama 8-10
Kentucky 7-11
South Carolina 6-12
Auburn 6-12
Ole Miss 3-15