Arkansas takes on South Florida after run-ruling Fordham to kick off Fayetteville Regional

No. 5 overall NCAA Tournament seed Arkansas (43-11) began Fayetteville Regional play with an 8-0 walk off run rule triumph over Fordham at Bogle Park on Friday. The Razorbacks will face South Florida Saturday afternoon with a spot in the championship round on the line.

AUSL Draft selection Dakota Kennedy’s two-run home run in the bottom of the sixth inning secured the win over the Rams. It was Kennedy’s first home run since Mississippi State on April 11. Tianna Bell and Karlie Davison also hit a long ball and five Hogs finished with multiple hits.

Arkansas led 3-0 in the bottom of the second when a lightening delay briefly halted the matchup, but play resumed about 40 minutes later and the Razorbacks handled business the rest of the way.

Payton Burnham also tossed another gem, as the Oregon native went the distance while allowing just 3 hits while issuing no walks and striking out 6 batters.

Click here for the full box score.

GAME NOTABLES

• The Razorbacks registered their 22^nd run-rule victory of the season which ranks second in program history and one shy of the single-season program record set in 2025.
• Tianna Bell blasted her team-leading 16^th home run of the season, setting a new single-season career high. She previously hit 15 last season while at Cal. Bell also improved her reached-base streak to a team-best nine games.
• Arkansas is now 25-28 all-time in NCAA Tournament play, including an 18-16 mark under head coach Courtney Deifel. The Razorbacks have now won six consecutive opening round games in regional play dating back to 2021.
• Payton Burnham tossed her second-consecutive complete-game shutout after throwing a three-hit seven-inning shutout her last time out against Mississippi State (May 6).
• Arkansas recorded its 25^th home win this season which is tied for third-most in Bogle Park history (2009-present).

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Arkansas will take on the South Florida Bulls (43-15) in the semifinal round. The Bulls are led by legendary head coach Ken Eriksen, who has more than 1,200 career victories and is among the Top 6 active coaches with the most wins. They are the back-to-back AAC Tournament champions and defeated Washington 3-1 in the first round of the Fayetteville Regional.

Statistical comparison

2026 Stats	Arkansas	South Florida
Batting average	.339	.294
OPS	1.004	.799
Runs per game	7.5	4.7
Home runs	73	29
Stolen bases (success rate)	32 (94%)	55 (77%)
ERA	2.47	2.57
Opponent batting average	.213	.239
Fielding percentage	.979	.979

How To Watch 

Who: 1-seed Arkansas Razorbacks vs. 3-seed South Florida

When: Saturday, May 16 at 4:30 p.m. CT

Where: Bogle Park – Fayetteville, Arkansas 

How to watch: ESPN+

Regional Schedule

Game 1: Arkansas vs. Fordham – 4:30 p.m. 
Game 2: Washington vs. South Florida – 7 p.m. 

Saturday, May 16

Game 3: Arkansas vs. South Florida – 1 p.m.
Game 4: Fordham vs. Washington – 3:30 p.m.
Game 5: Loser of Game 3 vs. Winner of Game 4 – 6 p.m.

Sunday, May 17

Game 6: Winner of Game 3 vs. Winner of Game 5 – 1 p.m.
Game 7: If necessary game – 3:30 p.m.

• Times are not final and can be adjusted by the NCAA and TV

Arkansas vs. South Florida Players To Watch

ARKANSAS 

LHP Robyn Herron

2026 stats: 1.98 ERA, 27 GP, 106 IP, 69 H, 30 ER, 39 BB, 166 K, .177 BAA

1B Tianna Bell 

2026 stats: .377/.454/.710, 53 GP, 162 AB, 61 H, 9 2B, 15 HR, 55 RBI, 20 BB, 16 K

UTL Brinli Bain

2026 stats: .355/.508/.543, 53 GP, 138 AB, 49 H, 17 2B, 3 HR, 33 RBI, 42 BB, 18 K

DP Dakota Kennedy

2026 stats: .353/.449/.741, 47 GP, 139 AB, 49 H, 10 2B, 1 3B, 14 HR, 43 RBI, 22 BB, 21 K

3B Ella McDowell 

2026 stats: .340/.426/.599, 53 GP, 162 AB, 55 H, 9 2B, 11 HR, 50 RBI, 22 BB, 14 K

SOUTH FLORIDA

Anne Long

2026 stats: 1.59 ERA, 33 GP, 171.1 IP, 130 H, 39 ER, 53 BB, 111 K, .210 BAA

Alex Wilkes

2026 stats: .349/.418/.599, 58 GP, 172 AB, 60 H, 16 2B, 9 HR, 49 RBI, 17 BB, 16 K

Alexa Galligani

2026 stats: .330/.377/.486, 58 GP, 185 AB, 61 H, 10 2B, 2 3B, 5 HR, 31 RBI, 11 BB, 24 K

Toryn Fulton

2026 stats: .317/.411/.532, 56 GP, 139 AB, 44 H, 3 2B, 3 3B, 7 HR, 33 RBI, 25 BB, 23 K

Kathy Garcia-Soto

2026 stats: .301/.397/.434, 58 GP, 173 AB, 52 H, 11 2B, 6 3B, 14 RBI,22 BB, 22 K

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