NATCHITOCHES, La. — Northwestern State scored three runs in the top of the seventh, and Central Arkansas could not find an answer in the bottom half of the inning as the Bears fell 5-2 to the host Demons in the semifinals of the Southland Conference Softball Tournament on Friday.

The Bears (38-19), who fell behind 2-0 in the second inning to the second-seeded Demons (39-12), rallied with a pair of runs in the bottom of the fifth to tie the game and looked poised to take the lead in the sixth but were retired with the bases left loaded.

In the fifth, Central Arkansas freshman outfielder Sam Forrest broke the school's single-season hit record with her 78th hit of the season, coming on an RBI single chopped through the infield to score freshman Lindsey Elliott from third. In the next at-bat, freshman Sarah Bigej reached on a fielder's choice to score sophomore Tiffany Roby, who had doubled then moved to third on Forrest's single.

Though they threatened, the Bears were unable to manufacture any runs in the sixth despite a pair of hits and getting a third runner on base due to a Demons error.

With the loss, the Bears will need to win three games on Saturday in order to claim the tournament championship and advance to the NCAA Tournament. The first hurdle will be at 10:30 a.m. against third-seeded Sam Houston State, who defeated Southeastern Louisiana on Friday night to advance to Saturday.

If the Bears defeat the Bearkats, they'll then be tasked with again facing Northwestern State – needing to win twice against the Lady Demons, who are undefeated in the double-elimination tournament. The first of those games would be at 2:05 and available online on ESPN3.