Huntsville, Texas – The Central Arkansas Bears returned to action against the Sam Houston State Bearkats on Saturday looking to avoid a sweep in their Southland Conference series. The Bears did just that, picking up a 5-3 win.

Sam Houston State (14-16, 5-4 SLC) struck first, getting a lead-off home run from third baseman Tori Koerselman in the bottom of the first inning, but Central Arkansas (12-22, 3-6 SLC) responded immediately. After catcher Ryan Holdiness reached on an error to open the inning, pitcher Kailla Searcy reached base on a fielder's choice that saw Holdiness erased at second base. Designated player Bailey Reynolds then came through for the Bears, blasting her first home run of the season over the fence in left-center field to drive in Searcy and give UCA a 2-1 lead.

The Bearkats got a run back in the bottom of the inning, tying the game at 2-2 thanks to an RBI ground out from centerfielder Megan McDonald, but Central Arkansas answered immediately again, putting up three runs on two hits and two errors in the top of the third. Right fielder Briana Whisenhunt got things going, singling up the middle and stealing second base before first baseman Kailla Searcy worked a walk to bring up second baseman Cylla Hill, who ripped a single to centerfield to load the bases. Searcy then lofted a sacrifice fly to center to drive in Whisenhunt and a pair of throwing errors from the Bearkats allowed Shepherd and Hill to score on the play to give the Bears a 5-2 lead.

Sam Houston State would cut the UCA lead to 5-3 in the fifth inning, but senior Kayla Gomness would shut down the Bearkats over the final 2.1 innings keep the lead at two.

Searcy (2-4) picked up the win on the day, limiting the Bearkats to a pair of earned runs on six hits and a walk while striking out two in 4.2 innings. Gomenss held the Bearkats to just two hits in 2.1 innings of relief work to earn her second save of the season.

At the plate, Hill went 2-for-4 with a run scored, while Reynolds was 1-for-2 with a pair of runs batted in and a run scored.

The Bears take a break from SLC play on Tuesday, heading to Memphis, Tennessee to take on the Memphis Tigers at 5:00 PM. Central Arkansas will then return home for a weekend series against SLC foe Nicholls. The teams will face off in a doubleheader set to begin at 4:00 PM on Friday, before wrapping up the series at 12:00 PM on Saturday.