NCAA SOFTBALL SUPER REGIONAL ARKANSAS AT OKLAHOMA

Freshmen making impact for UA softball team

Arkansas Hannah McEwen celebrates after scoring a run Friday, March 30, 2018, during the fourth inning against Mississippi State at Bogle Park in Fayetteville.
Arkansas Hannah McEwen celebrates after scoring a run Friday, March 30, 2018, during the fourth inning against Mississippi State at Bogle Park in Fayetteville.

FAYETTEVILLE -- A freshman trio of pitcher Mary Haff, right field Hannah McEwen and catcher Kayla Green have helped the Arkansas Razorbacks make their first NCAA softball super regional appearance.

"From day one they've never acted like freshmen," University of Arkansas, Fayetteville Coach Courtney Deifel said. "They've never flinched. They were ready for this stage. They knew exactly what they signed up for and they were prepared for it."

Haff (29-6) has set Arkansas' record for victories in a season going into Friday's super regional opener at Oklahoma. She's one of three finalists for the national freshman of the year award and has a 1.35 earned run average with 246 strikeouts and 41 walks in 207 2/3 innings over 43 games.

McEwen has started all 57 games for Arkansas (42-15) and is batting a team-leading .341 with 12 home runs and a school-record 56 runs batted in.

Green has started 56 games. She has a team-high .991 fielding percentage and is batting .238 with 6 home runs, 12 doubles and 26 RBI.

"We're looking for recruits that can come in and make an immediate impact, so we definitely saw that in them," Deifel said. "We knew they had the talent.

"But they've handled the game. They've handled the ups and downs. The way they control their emotions. The way they take care of themselves and then take care of each other. It's just pretty awesome that they're doing that all as freshmen."

Haff went 3-0 and didn't allow a run in 18 2/3 innings last weekend when Arkansas beat DePaul once and Wichita twice at Bogle Park to win its first NCAA regional title.

"Mary has lifted us to whole new heights that couldn't have even been imagined in the past," Razorbacks senior third baseman Autumn Buczek said.

McEwen hit a two-run home in Arkansas' regional-clinching 6-4 victory over Wichita State on Sunday that put the Razorbacks ahead 5-4 in the fourth inning.

"Hannah's such a smart hitter," Deifel said. "She's such a student of the game. She's constantly thinking about what she needs to do.

"She's never going to let one pitch burn her twice. She'll make an out and she'll come back into the dugout and be like, 'All right, that's not going to get me again.' "

Buczek said McEwen as the ability to make quick adjustments at the plate.

"Hannah learns really well pitch to pitch -- not just at-bat to at-bat," Buczek said.

Deifel, an All-American catcher at the University of California-Berkeley, appreciates how Green plays such a key spot defensively.

"It's a very mentally and physically taxing position, so the fact that she's done what she has over the course of almost 60 games, it's pretty incredible for a freshman," Deifel said. "She handles our pitching staff so well. She knows them as individuals and knows how to talk to them, how to communicate, what buttons to push."

Arkansas senior left fielder Tori Cooper said the freshmen immediately fit in with their new teammates.

"They play so calm and collected," Cooper said. "It's easy to get out there in these situations and be all tense -- have your eyes get big -- but they don't."

Buczek said the confidence of the freshmen has impacted the entire team in a positive way.

"They just believe in themselves," Buczek said. "They keep it simple. They play the game that they've always played, and they don't make it bigger than it is. They just do their thing."

Deifel said Haff, McEwen and Green have shown maturity and consistency in making the transition from being high school stars to playing well in college.

"They know exactly who they are and they show up every day expecting to win with this looseness about them that is infectious," Deifel said. "They don't let something negative in the game define them. It just makes them hungry to do more."

Sports on 05/24/2018

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ARKANSAS AT OKLAHOMA NCAA SOFTBALL SUPER REGIONAL

WHEN 4 p.m. Friday (Game 1 in best 2-of-3 series)

WHERE Hynes Field, Norman, Okla.

RECORDS Arkansas 42-15; Oklahoma 53-3

SERIES Oklahoma leads 23-2

STARTING PITCHERS Arkansas: RHP Mary Haff (29-6, 1.35 ERA). Oklahoma: LHP Paige Parker (28-2, 0.89 ERA).

TELEVISION ESPN2

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