Lake Charles, La.-

The Central Arkansas Bears’ quest for the number three seed in the Southland Conference Tournament took a hit Friday night, as the Bears lost 4-0 to the McNeese State Cowgirls. Coming into the game, both teams were tied for third place with an 11-7 conference record.

The Cowgirls (32-18, 12-7 SLC) got on the board in the bottom of the third inning when center fielder Claire Terracina doubled and then came around to score on second baseman Lauren Lagner’s single. They added a run in the bottom of the fourth. Catcher Stacey Conley doubled to lead off the inning. Pinch runner Kelsey Jolly advanced to third on a sacrifice bunt from shortstop Katie Roux and scored on a sacrifice fly by first baseman Dani Price. Center fielder Alanna DiVittorio got the Cowgirls on the board again in the bottom of the fifth inning with her seventh home run of the season. The Cowgirls got their final run of the day in the bottom of the sixth inning. Right fielder Marissa Koetting led off the inning with a double and advanced to third base on Conley’s sacrifice bunt. Pinch runner Megan Knippa came in to score on an error.

The Bears (35-20, 11-8), who came into the game leading the Southland Conference in hitting, managed only two hits on the day. Left fielder Nicole Beals singled in the fourth inning and third baseman Melissa Bryant singled in the seventh inning.

Tiffany Denham (13-9) got the win for the Cowgirls, going the distance and allowing two hits. She struck out four and walked one. Kelsie Armstrong (22-13) took the loss in her 26^th complete game of the season. She allowed seven hits and three earned runs, while striking out seven.

The Bears look to rebound tomorrow afternoon at one o’clock, with the third seed still in play. A win would again tie the Bears with the Cowgirls, and Central Arkansas holds the tie-breaker due to their 2-2 record against the conference’s top two seeds.