The Arkansas Razorbacks opened their NCAA softball tournament run with an 8-0 victory over the Fordham Rams on Friday at Bogle Park in Fayetteville, Arkansas. Payton Burnham pitched a six-inning shutout, and the Razorbacks hit three home runs to secure the run-rule win in their Fayetteville Regional opener.

Burnham allowed three hits and no walks while striking out six. Karlie Davison hit a two-run homer in the bottom of the second inning and finished 2-for-3 with two RBIs. Tianna Bell added a solo shot in the third as part of a 2-for-4 performance. Dakota Kennedy capped the scoring with a decisive two-run homer in the sixth.

Several other Razorbacks contributed to the 11-hit attack. Reagan Johnson went 2-for-4 with an RBI and a stolen base, Brinli Bain was 2-for-3 with an RBI and Atalyia Rijo also chipped in with two hits. Kailey Wyckoff had a sacrifice fly in the fifth inning.

The Fordham Rams managed just three singles, coming from Mikayla Swan, Sadira Forcucci, and Eva Koratsis, in the loss. Starting pitcher Olivia Simcoe pitched 3⅓ innings, allowing four earned runs on seven hits.

Up next: Regional play in the NCAA softball tournament continues Saturday.

ESPN Generative AI Services creates recaps from event data and/or transcripts that are reviewed by human editors before posting; email support@espncustomercare.com for corrections.