Arkansas to Tuscaloosa
Derek Oxford
Issue date: 4/17/09 Section: Sports
Arkansas' annual trip to Sherwood was the perfect tune-up for a weekend trek to Tuscaloosa, Ala., to face the Alabama Crimson Tide.
The Razorbacks faced off against Centenary on Wednesday in central Arkansas and came away with a 6-2 victory, improving their record to 25-17.
Arkansas is now 7-0 in games played in Sherwood, where Arkansas has played a game every season since 2006.
"It's always special to come down to Sherwood because it's always a great crowd," Arkansas head coach Jamie Pinkerton said. "It's good to bring the team down here and let them see the appreciation and support the Razorbacks have all around the state."
Arkansas started off on the wrong foot with a three-base error in the outfield but made up for it with Miranda Dixon's pitching and a balanced offensive output.
"We got off to a slow start with an uncharacteristic error in the outfield," Pinkerton said. "But I like the way we bounced back to score in the second. Offensively, I liked the way we swung the bats tonight. We didn't leave many runners on base."
Senior Kayla Johnson made history Wednesday with her 3-for-3 performance at the plate, and her two runs brought her total to 120 over her career, making her Arkansas' all-time leader in runs scored.
Dixon improved to 16-6 in the circle, pitching a complete game and giving up only two hits.
"Miranda did a great job pitching for us," Pinkerton said. "She pitched with confidence, didn't get behind and I liked her presence out there in the circle. Overall, it was a nice win for us over a good Centenary team and it should give us a good boost going into Tuscaloosa this weekend against Alabama."
Alabama is ranked No. 6 in the country but Arkansas shouldn't fear the Crimson Tide after defeating a pair of top-25 teams last week in Oklahoma and LSU.
The Crimson Tide (35-8, 13-6 Southeastern Conference) dropped two spots in the national rankings after a tough weekend at South Carolina, but rebounded Tuesday at home in a sweep of Kentucky.
The Razorbacks faced off against Centenary on Wednesday in central Arkansas and came away with a 6-2 victory, improving their record to 25-17.
Arkansas is now 7-0 in games played in Sherwood, where Arkansas has played a game every season since 2006.
"It's always special to come down to Sherwood because it's always a great crowd," Arkansas head coach Jamie Pinkerton said. "It's good to bring the team down here and let them see the appreciation and support the Razorbacks have all around the state."
Arkansas started off on the wrong foot with a three-base error in the outfield but made up for it with Miranda Dixon's pitching and a balanced offensive output.
"We got off to a slow start with an uncharacteristic error in the outfield," Pinkerton said. "But I like the way we bounced back to score in the second. Offensively, I liked the way we swung the bats tonight. We didn't leave many runners on base."
Senior Kayla Johnson made history Wednesday with her 3-for-3 performance at the plate, and her two runs brought her total to 120 over her career, making her Arkansas' all-time leader in runs scored.
Dixon improved to 16-6 in the circle, pitching a complete game and giving up only two hits.
"Miranda did a great job pitching for us," Pinkerton said. "She pitched with confidence, didn't get behind and I liked her presence out there in the circle. Overall, it was a nice win for us over a good Centenary team and it should give us a good boost going into Tuscaloosa this weekend against Alabama."
Alabama is ranked No. 6 in the country but Arkansas shouldn't fear the Crimson Tide after defeating a pair of top-25 teams last week in Oklahoma and LSU.
The Crimson Tide (35-8, 13-6 Southeastern Conference) dropped two spots in the national rankings after a tough weekend at South Carolina, but rebounded Tuesday at home in a sweep of Kentucky.
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