Conway – The Central Arkansas Bears and Lamar Cardinals closed out their Southland Conference series with a doubleheader on Saturday afternoon. The teams split the twinbill, with the Bears taking the first game 7-4 and the Cardinals winning the day's second game 5-2.

Central Arkansas (32-17, 13-8 SLC) struck early in the opener, putting up three runs in the bottom of the first inning. Right fielder Briana Whisenhunt opened the inning with a walk and then stole second base before advancing to third on a ground out from second baseman Sarah Bigej. Third baseman Sam Forrest then drove Whisenhunt in, roping a double back up the middle and catcher Jessie Taylor followed with her 10^th home run of the season, planting a 3-1 offering from Lamar starter Amie Cisneros over the wall in right field.

The Bears extended their lead with four runs on two hits in the bottom of the third. Left fielder Hannah Stirton led off with an infield single before advancing to third on a double from first baseman Audrey Pratt. After a walk from pinch hitter Cheyenne Kuhn loaded the bases, fellow pinch hitter Krissy Fontillas drew another walk to push the UCA lead to 4-0. A fielder's choice from Whisenhunt made it 5-0, before Bigej and Forrest drew back-to-back walks to make it 6-0. Following a Lamar pitching change, a wild pitch allowed Whisenhunt to score and put the Bears in front 7-0.

The Cardinals (29-16, 16-5 SLC) got a single run in each of the final four frames and were threatening for more in the top of the seventh, but a double play ended the game.

Kayla Gomness (10-4) earned the win with her ninth complete game of the season. She allowed three earned runs on 10 hits while striking out three and issuing one walk.

In the second game of the day, the Cardinals struck twice in the top of the first inning, but the Bears cut the lead in half in the bottom of the frame. Whisenhunt led off with a single and stole second base, before moving to third on an infield single from Forrest. A throwing error on the play allowed Whisenhunt to score.

In the top of the third, LU took advantage of a pair of UCA errors and a wild pitch to push its lead to 5-1.

The Bears opened the bottom of the fifth with back-to-back doubles from designated player Randi Wallace and Pratt to pull to within 5-2, but would be unable to get any closer in the final two innings.

Shivaun Landeros (19-11) took the loss for the Bears, allowing five runs on eight hits and a walk while striking out three in 2.2 innings of work. Payton Herman was solid in relief for UCA, allowing just two hits and a walk while striking out one in 4.1 innings of scoreless work.

On the day, the Central Arkansas offense was led by Pratt, who went 4-for-6 with an RBI and Whisenhunt, who was 3-for-6 with a walk and three stolen bases.

Central Arkansas closes out the home portion of its schedule next weekend, playing host to Houston Baptist. The Bears and Huskies will play a single game at 6:00 PM on Friday night, before closing out the series with a doubleheader at 11:00 AM on Saturday.