Lake Charles, La. – The fourth-seeded Central Arkansas Bears waited over two hours for their Southland Conference Tournament elimination game against the second-seeded Nicholls Colonels on Thursday afternoon, thanks to weather. When the game, originally scheduled for a 1:30 PM start time, finally got going at 4:00 PM, the Bears and Colonels found themselves locked in a low-scoring contest, which Nicholls eventually won 3-1.


The game proved to be a pitcher's duel early, with the teams combining for just one hit through the first three and a half innings. Nicholls (39-16) plated the game's first run in the bottom of the fourth inning. Shortstop Haley Parkerson led the inning off with a double before moving to third on a sacrifice bunt from shortstop Amanda Gianelloni. A fly ball to deep right field off the bat of designated player Veronica Villafranco then brought in Parkerson, giving the Colonels a 1-0 lead.

Central Arkansas (35-22) had opportunities throughout the early portion of the game, putting a runner on in the second, third, and fourth innings by way of lead-off walks, but it wasn't until the top of the fifth that the Bears were able to strike. Shortstop Kate Myers got things going for the Bears with an infield single, diving into first base just ahead of Gianelloni's throw. Pinch hitter Randi Wallace then laid down a sacrifice bunt to move Myers to second, and a wild pitch from Nicholls hurler Hannah Haydel. Right fielder Briana Whisenhunt then delivered for UCA, legging out an infield single to plate Myers and even the score at 1-1.

Catcher Jessie Taylor drew a one-out walk in the top of the sixth inning to start a threat for the Bears, before pinch-hitter Bailey Reynolds laid down a sacrifice bunt. The throw to first ended up in right field, allowing Taylor to advance to third, and Reynolds then stole second base, but Haydel got a pair of strikeouts to end the threat.

The Colonels re-took the lead in the bottom of the sixth, getting the inning started with a lead-off walk from center fielder Danielle Phillips. A groundout from Parkerson moved the Nicholls leadoff to second, before a wild pitch on a walk to Gianelloni gave the Colonels runners at second and third with one out. A groundout to shortstop from Villafranco brought in Phillips to put Nicholls up 2-1, before a single up the middle was stopped by a diving Sarah Bigej to keep the runners at the corners. First baseman Alexis Huss then squeezed a single just inside the third base bag to plate Gianelloni and push the Colonel lead to 3-1. Kayla Gomness came in from the bullpen and got a groundout to second base to end the inning.

Central Arkansas was unable to get a rally going in the top of the seventh, going down in order to end the game.

"It was a well-played ballgame," said UCA head coach David Kuhn. "Both pitchers threw well, and both teams played really solid defense. We had chances today, but couldn't seem to put a ball in play to put us ahead and give us a boost. You've got to tip your cap to Nicholls, they draw walks, move runners over, and they just out-executed us today, and that's on me. Our team played hard today, and they've done that all year long, so they've got nothing to hang their heads about."

Shivaun Landeros (21-14) took the loss for the Bears, allowing three runs on five hits and three walks in 5.2 innings pitched. Gomness retired the only batter she faced.

Whisenhunt and Myers tallied the Bears' only hits on the day, while Taylor collected a pair of walks.

This is the third-straight season that Central Arkansas has finished with at least 30 wins, and the fourth in the past five seasons. Over that period, the Bears have averaged almost 34 wins per season and appeared in the Southland Conference Tournament five times. The Bears have won at least one game in the tournament three times in the past five years, including winning the entire tournament for the first time in program history and advancing to the NCAA Tournament last season.

"That level of success creates a barometer and standard of excellence to strive for, and we're not going to turn back," said Kuhn of his program's recent success. "We've established a culture and a tradition of excellence in the past five years with four 30-win seasons, and we've come a long way, from being one of the worst teams to being a top-80 team in the country the past few seasons. We're looking at our body of work right now and happy at the season as a whole. It's not just about how you finish, because only one or two teams are going to end the weekend happy, and excited for a great group of seniors that are not only great players, but great people that have represented this program well."

The loss ends the careers of a senior class that is, without a doubt the most successful in program history. In addition to the unparalleled team success that Taylor, Landeros, Bigej, Sam Forrest, Lindsay Elliott, and Amy Gunnells helped lead the Bears to, the group also set 20 program records of the career or season variety, and has scattered their names throughout the top-10 of numerous other categories.