CONWAY, Ark. - The University of Central Arkansas softball team lost to Southeastern Conference member Ole Miss 7-5 at Farris Field on Wednesday evening. The Bears (10-14) outhit the Rebels (10-18) , but Ole Miss capitalized on three UCA errors by scoring three unearned runs. UCA also left 10 runners on base.
In the top of the first, Londen Ladner and Cali Overbeck each hit a two-run homer to give the Rebels a 4-0 lead. Center fielder Brittany Broome singled to lead off the second and later scored on a Marina Parra sacrifice fly to put Ole Miss up 5-0 in the second.
UCA chipped away at the lead, scoring two runs in the bottom of the second. Junior Katie McGregor and senior Shay Ristau started the inning with back-to-back base hits. Freshman second baseman Taylor Dear drove in McGregor from third on a ground ball. Freshman Tarra Underhill followed with a double down the right field line, scoring Ristau.
The Bears scored two more in the third when sophomore catcher Melanie Bryant extended her 14-game hitting streak with a base hit that scored right fielder Nicole Beals. With the bases loaded, Underhill drew a walk scoring Bryant, cutting the lead to 5-4.
Sophomore left fielder Candice Gauntt, returning to the lineup after missing 14 games with a broken thumb, led off the bottom of the fourth with an infield single and tied the game on a McGregor double.
A pair of UCA errors and back-to-back RBI doubles from Natalie Nimmo and Overbeck in the fifth put Ole Miss up 7-5. UCA threatened in the sixth when they loaded the bases with two outs, but Rebel reliever Lindsey Perry induced a ground out by Ristau to end in the inning.
Gauntt, Beals, Bryant and McGregor had two hits each for the Bears. Underhill drove in two runs and drew two walks. Ladner, Overbeck and Broome recorded two hits a piece for Ole Miss with Overbeck driving in three runs.
Perry (7-3) earned the win by allowing two hits and three walks in four innings. Ole Miss starter Kendall Bruning gave up eight hits, three earned runs and a walk with three strikeouts in three plus innings. Sophomore Kelsie Armstrong (7-10) suffered the loss for UCA. She allowed nine hits, four earned runs and two walks. Armstrong also had three strikeouts, giving her 301 for her career. She became the third pitcher in UCA history to pass the 300-strikeout mark.
UCA will host UT Arlington in a three-game Southland Conference series beginning with a double-header at 11 a.m. Saturday.
