The University of North Florida softball team had their nine-game winning streak snapped Monday night, as they lost to Arkansas in a 14-0 rout. Sophomore right-hander Cameron Ponich was the pitcher of record for the Ospreys, as she went three innings and gave up six runs (four of them were earned) while walking three on 81 pitches.
Recap
The Razorbacks got off to a fast start in the first inning. After two infield singles opened the inning, Arkansas scored three runs on a pair of grounders to the Osprey middle infield. The second of the pair was fielded cleanly by senior second baseman Lauren Brock, who flipped it to junior shortstop Kelsey Vogel for the force at second, but Vogel’s throw to first sailed wide, allowing two runs to score.
Arkansas added another two runs in the second. With two runners on, left fielder Raigan Kramer jumped on the first pitch from Ponich, sending it to the wall in right-center field to plate Reagan Johnson and Kennedy Miller. In the third, Johnson plated another run with an RBI single up the middle, extending the Razorbacks’ lead to 6-0.
The Ospreys got their best chance of the night to avoid a shutout in the bottom half of the third. Seniors Mackenzie Woods and Lauren Brock each legged out infield singles, setting the stage for senior two-way standout Allison Benning with two outs. After working the count to 3-2, she struck out on a high fastball from Arkansas pitcher Payton Burnham to end the threat.
North Florida turned to senior right-hander Ashley Connor to try to slow down the Arkansas lineup, but they continued to hit well. After tacking on a seventh run with a sacrifice fly in the fourth inning, Arkansas broke the game open in the fifth, erupting for five more runs. Third baseman Ella McDowell and first baseman Bri Ellis each delivered RBI singles, while Jayden Ramos capped the rally with a pinch-hit two-run double to put the Arkansas lead at 12-0.
From there, the Razorbacks turned to right-hander Lexi King to close the contest. She shut down the Ospreys over two innings of work with just one hit allowed and collected a strikeout on 34 pitches, securing the win for Arkansas.
Post-Game Thoughts
After the game, head coach Jeff Conrad lamented the sloppy play on defense, mentioning how important it is to ‘not play against ourselves.
“I think the frustrating part is they are good enough to beat us on their own,” he said. “I feel like in these games we just had [defensive] lapses. And those really put us in tough spots.”
Conrad also mentioned the importance of getting used to facing top-level competition.
“Getting this group in front of these teams, getting used to it is gonna be really important,” he said. Let’s start growing in these games and playing more competitive against these teams. …because our goals involve going through places like Arkansas, Florida, Florida State, etc.”
UNF will stay in town to host cross-town rival JU at the UNF Softball Complex. The series will start on April 17 and end on Apr. 19, with all games at 7 p.m
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