Gamecocks Drop First Game Of Series To Arkansas

FAYETTEVILLE, ARK. —- No. 16 South Carolina softball dropped the opening game of a three-game series against No. 17 Arkansas as the Razorbacks earned a 3-2 victory on Friday night at Bogle Park. Carolina looked poised for a comeback in the seventh as Alyssa Kumiyama lifted a solo home run to start the inning but it wasn’t enough as Arkansas hung on for the victory. 
 
The Gamecocks scored the final two runs of the game but Arkansas moved to 2-2 in the SEC as Carolina dropped to 0-4. 
 
South Carolina (20-6, 0-4 SEC) never dropped its head as the Razorbacks jumped out to an early 2-0 lead with a two-out homer in the first. Arkansas extended the lead to 3-0 with a double in the bottom of the fourth. 
 
From there, Carolina took the momentum as Kenzi Maguire plated a run in the fifth thanks to an error in the field. The Gamecocks looked to be on the verge of a big inning with runners on second and third following the error at short but Arkansas found a way to escape the frame with a 3-1 lead. 
 
The teams traded a scoreless sixth before Kumiyama’s homer in the seventh as the Razorbacks slipped away with the victory in the opening game of the series with a 3-2 win. 
 
Cayla Drotar, Jana Johns and Kumiyama accounted for the three South Carolina hits on the night. 
 
Drotar (6-4, 0-3 SEC) took the loss in the circle for the Gamecocks going six innings with two earned runs.