FAYETTEVILLE — Coach Courtney Deifel did not recognize her Arkansas softball team when it opened SEC play March 7-9 in Oxford, Miss.
During the first two games of a series loss at Ole Miss, the Razorbacks were outscored by a combined 18-4. It was what Deifel called a “punch in the face” for her team — a reality check, per se — as an introduction to the sport's toughest conference.
Arkansas (43-12), the No. 4 overall seed in the NCAA Tournament, learned from the trip and finished the regular season on a heater. The Razorbacks won their final six SEC series, including victories over fellow national seeds Tennessee, Florida, South Carolina, Texas A&M and LSU.