Hogs get first Top 25 ranking of softball season

FAYETTEVILLE — Winner in nine of its last 10 games, Arkansas checked in at No. 23 in Tuesday’s release of the USA Today/NFCA Coaches’ Poll.

The Razorbacks stand at 25-6 overall with a 2-4 mark in SEC play after last weekend’s series win over Missouri.

Tuesday’s ranking release sets up a top-25 matchup with No. 20 Mississippi State at Bogle Park this weekend. The three-game series begins Friday at 6 p.m. with gates opening one hour prior to first pitch.

Arkansas was most recently ranked in the NFCA poll last season where it had a seven-week run in the top 25.

After a 4-1 week that featured a doubleheader sweep of UT-Arlington and a series win over Missouri, the Razorbacks were also up five spots to No. 25 in Monday’s release of the NCAA RPI.

The team sits just one spot shy of cracking the USA Softball Collegiate Top 25.

In their last outing, the Razorbacks rallied from a four-run deficit in their series finale against Missouri with seven runs in the bottom of the fifth inning.

The outburst was punctuated by a game-tying, three-run shot by freshman Kayla Green and go-ahead double by senior Autumn Buczek.

Green’s home run was Arkansas’ 39th of the season which ranks second in the SEC and is tied for the seventh most in the nation.

The Razorbacks also carry top-50 national marks in slugging percentage (.502), team ERA (1.91) and scoring (5.77 runs per game).