SEMO takes Arkansas to the limit

The SEMO softball team battled the Arkansas Razorbacks in game one of the NCAA Regional on Saturday at Bogle Park in Fayetteville, AR. The Redhawks led 2-0 for much of the contest before ultimately falling 3-2.

SEMO had played the Razorbacks twice this season, losing 5-0 and 5-4 (eight innings) so going into this weekend, head coach Mark Redburn said they knew what to expect. The Redhawks got things going in the second inning with three singles before Brittany Affolter singled to center and brought in two runs.

Affolter said she was just looking for a pitch to hit and she was able to connect on one back up the middle.

“I figured that they were gonna come inside on me and I just needed a pitch to hit and luckily went up the middle and scored two runs,” Affolter said. “It was probably the best feeling I could have had, it’s nice to come up there and not be afraid to step in the box and just take a deep breath and do what you know how to do.”

SEMO held onto the 2-0 lead until the bottom of the fifth when Arkansas scored all three of their runs and never relinquished the lead. Fifth-year senior Paytience Holman pitched the first five innings and held the Razorbacks in check until the fifth, Holman said she kept them off the scoreboard by mixing up her pitches.

“Honestly it’s just mixing the high and low pitches, trying to keep them guessing with the offspeed and trusting my movement while not trying to do too much,” Holman said. “I also tried not to let the umpire kind of get my head zone when his zone was inconsistent. So I’m just trying to keep my composure and just trust the process.”

The Redhawks will meet the Villanova Wildcats tomorrow at 4:30 p.m. in a win-or-go-home elimination game.