Huntsville, Texas –

The rubber match of Central Arkansas’ Southland Conference series at Sam Houston State didn’t go how the Bears were hoping it would. After taking the first game of the series 5-3 and coming up just short of a rally to lose the second game 9-8, the Central Arkansas offense was unable to produce much of anything on Sunday, dropping the game by a score of 10-0.

Sam Houston (14-15, 3-3SLC) jumped out to an early lead in the bottom of the first inning. Center fielder Tori Benavidez hit an infield single to first base to lead off the inning. She then stole second base. Following a pop up to short, first baseman Kim Damian collected her second home run of the series, putting an offering from Kelsie Armstrong over the left field fence to drive in Benavidez and give the Bearkats a 2-0 lead.

After Central Arkansas (20-9, 4-2 SLC) stranded a pair in the top of the second, Sam Houston added two more runs in the bottom of the frame. A fielding error allowed second baseman Alyssa Coggins to reach third to start the inning. Shortstop Tiffany Castillo then blasted a two-run homer of her own, putting the ball over the left field fence to extend the Bearkat lead to 4-0. A single, stolen base and another single pushed the lead to 5-0 before Central Arkansas was able to retire Sam Houston and end the inning.

In the third inning, the Bearkats continued their trend of scoring multiple, although they changed up their methods. Ciara Clampitt came in to relieve Armstrong, hitting designated player Hillary Adams to start the inning. Another single and a pair of stolen bases gave the Bearkats runners on second and third when Castillo stepped into the box. She threaded a single down the right field line, plating Adams and Coggins for her third and fourth RBIs of the day, and extended the Sam Houston lead to 7-0.

Sam Houston added three runs in the bottom of the fourth to push their lead to 10-0. Clampitt gave up a pair of single before being lifted in favor of Kelsie Barker. A fly out to deep left field allowed the runners to advance to second and third. Damian then roped a double to left-center, driving in both runners and extending the lead to 9-0. Adams followed with a single to left field, plating Damian.

Offensively, Central Arkansas collected six hits on the day. Designated player Sarah Bigej and right fielder Sam Forrest both went 2-for-3, with Forrest picking up her 12^th double of the season for the Bears’ only extra base hit.

Kelsie Armstrong (13-6) got the start for the Bears, allowing five runs in only two innings of work to take the loss. The game marks only the third time in 18 starts that Armstrong has not finished the game. She gave up five hits, two of them home runs, and struck out four Bearkats. Ciara Clampitt relieved Armstrong after the second inning, giving up four runs in an inning plus of work. She allowed four hits. Kelsie Barker came on after Clampitt faced two batters in the bottom of the fourth, throwing ­­­a single inning and allowing a single run on two hits. She recorded one strike out.

Haley Baros (5-7) earned the win for the Bearkats, working five innings of six hit softball and striking out five Bears.

Central Arkansas looks to get back on track in SLC play on Tuesday and Wednesday afternoon. The Bears will travel to Houston, Texas to face off with the Southland’s newest member, Houston Baptist. The teams will play a double-header beginning at 2:00 in the afternoon on Tuesday before closing the series with a single game at 2:00 on Wednesday afternoon.