FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – Missouri State softball (1-14) suffered a 13-2 loss in five innings on the road at No. 11 Arkansas (19-1) to close out the Woo Pig Classic on Sunday afternoon.
 
The Bears didn't let a matchup with one of the nation's top teams intimidate them as they struck first in the contest. Kayla Ulrich led the game off with a double to get things rolling before Halle Studer moved pinch runner Taylor Akers over to third base with a sacrifice bunt. McKenzie Vaughan then came to the plate and knocked an RBI double off the wall in left center field, scoring Akers as the Bears took an early 1-0 lead. 
 
Arkansas put its first two runners of the game on in the bottom of the first with no outs, but the MoState defense came up big as they forced a fly out and turned an inning-ending double play on a liner to shortstop. 
 
As the second inning rolled around, the potent Arkansas offense didn't stay quiet for long. The Hogs utilized three hits, four free bases and two errors to put a six-spot on the scoreboard in the second frame to take the lead. 
 
Missouri State answered immediately in the top of third inning. After a ground out to start the frame, MoState reeled off consecutive singles from Ulrich and Studer to put two Bears on base. A fielder's choice served as the second out of the inning as the Razorbacks got the lead runner heading to third base. With two on and two outs, Riley Baber and Kenzie Derryberry sent back-to-back singles to right field to score Studer and make it a 6-2 ballgame. Missouri State was unable to keep the rally going as a ground out to third base ended the inning with three Bears left on base. 
 
The Razorbacks tacked on two more runs in the third inning with an RBI single up the middle to extend their lead to 8-2. After a quiet fourth inning for both squads, Arkansas was able to end this one in just five innings after scoring five runs in the fifth, which included a walk-off grand slam, to defeat MoState 13-2 in its final game of the Woo Pig Classic. 
 
Ulrich and Vaughan contributed four of MoState's seven hits on the day, while Vaughan and Baber tallied RBI on the afternoon. 
 
Missouri State will stay in the state of Arkansas for a single game on Monday (March 3) afternoon at Central Arkansas. First pitch against UCA in Conway, Ark. is set for 5:00 p.m. and the game will stream on ESPN+.