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.
"Games are won and lost in the first inning a lot," Razorbacks Coach Courtney Deifel said. "We watched a lot of Beavers and she doesn't miss a lot, so I think we were the benefactor of nerves, and then [Beavers] settled in and I thought she looked really good."
After the first, Beavers surrendered three hits the rest of the way, one being Audrie LaValley's home run to lead off the fourth that pushed the Arkansas lead to 6-0.
But Razorbacks pitcher Callie Turner didn't seem to need much support, keeping UCA (19-15) scoreless for the first 32/3 innings.
The Bears finally scored in the fourth on a Tylar Vernon home run and tacked on another run in the fifth when Tremere Harris scored on Jaylee Engelkes' double that was compounded by a Razorback error.
Turner, who entered the game with a 4.08 ERA in 12 innings all season, said having an early advantage gave her an extra level of comfort in the circle.
Facing a lefty-heavy UCA lineup factored into Deifel's decision to give Turner her fourth start this season.
"I have a ton of confidence in her, and I was just really, really pleased with how she competed tonight," Deifel said of Turner. "She controlled the zone really well, and I thought she used our defense really well."
With Arkansas (25-7) up 6-2 entering the bottom of the seventh, the Bears put some serious game pressure on reliever Jenna Bloom. Jenna Wildeman and Harris worked one-out walks before advancing to second and third, respectively, on a sacrifice fly.
Engelkes then ripped a double into the right-center gap, scoring both. But Bloom induced a Kylie Griffin groundout back to the circle for the final out.
"We're capable of playing against anybody in the country," UCA Coach Jenny Parsons said. "But when you play an LSU or an Arkansas or a Mississippi State, just the name on the jersey gives you some butterflies. I think we came out tight ... and it cost us."
Parsons reminded her Bears that they'd trailed the Razorbacks 5-0 last April in Fayetteville, only to come back and send things to extra innings before losing 7-6.
The teams meet again April 26 at Bogle Park in Fayetteville.
"Our goal when I started as head coach here is to compete with them," Parsons said of Arkansas. "Our goal is to be in the top 40 and get at-large bids and have them come play here with this atmosphere.
"We've got to start beating some of those [top teams]."