CONWAY — The nerves were evident for the University of Central Arkansas’ Kayla Beavers at the outset.
With a record crowd of more than 1,200 at Farris Field on Tuesday night and fans surrounding the entirety of the outfield fence, the Bears’ ace pitcher was missing her spots in the first inning. Arkansas made Beavers pay.
The Razorbacks poured the offense on in the first inning, scoring five runs with their first six hitters, the big blow coming on a Linnie Malkin grand slam. It was just enough for No. 10 University of Arkansas to hang on for a 6-4 nonconference victory against their in-state foe despite UCA bringing the tying run to the plate with two outs in the bottom of the seventh inning.