Abilene, Texas – The Central Arkansas Bears and Abilene Christian Wildcats took to the field at Polly Wells Field on Saturday afternoon, with each team looking to win the Southland Conference Series between the two. Central Arkansas got another strong performance in the circle from senior Kayla Gomness and a record-setting performance from fellow senior Briana Whisenhunt on the base paths to win the game 7-3 and the series 2-1.

Central Arkansas (22-31, 12-12 SLC) wasted no time in taking the lead, putting up six runs in the top of the first inning to put the game out of reach. Whisehunt got things going with a single to right and moved to third on a single from first baseman Kaylyn Shepherd. The pair would then pull off a double steal, giving the Bears a 1-0 lead and Whisenhunt sole ownership of the UCA career stolen bases record with the 95^th stolen base of her career.
 

After designated player Cylla Hill reached on a dropped fly ball, catcher Ryan Holdiness made the Wildcats pay, blasting a three-run home run to left field to push the UCA lead to 4-0. Second baseman Krissy Fontillas followed with a single down the left field line and shortstop Kate Myers moved her around to third with a double down the right field line. After a walk from right fielder Morgan Felts loaded the bases, a wild pitch scored Fontillas and an RBI ground out from third baseman Audrey Pratt drove in Myers and made it 6-0 in favor of the Bears.

Abilene Christian (29-20, 17-8 SLC) would add a run in the third and fourth innings, getting an RBI groundout from shortstop Peyton Hedrick and an RBI double from catcher Kaleigh Singleton, but the Bears would get one back in the top of the fifth. Hill led off with a single, but was erased on fielder's choice from Holdiness. After a walk from Fontillas moved Holdiness to second, junior Brianna McArthur was called on to pinch run.Myers would then push the UCA lead to 7-2 with an RBI single to right-center field.

The Wildcats would get an RBI single from first baseman Brianna Barnhill to cut the UCA lead to 7-3, but that would be as close as they could get, as Gomness got a double play to escape a jam in the sixth before working around an error in the seventh.

Gomness, who is 6-2 over her last eight starts pushed her winning streak to four straight starts, limited the Wildcats to three runs on 10 hits and a walk while striking out two
batters in 7.0 innings of work.

At the plate, Myers was 2-for-4 with a double, a run, and an RBI, while Shepherd went 2-for-3 with a walk and a run scored.

The Bears will close out the regular season on the road next weekend, travelling to Natchitoches, Louisiana for a three-game set at Northwestern State. The Bears and Lady Demons will play a single game at 5:00 PM on Friday, before wrapping things up with a doubleheader at noon on Saturday.