Conway – The Central Arkansas Bears continued play in the 2017 Southland Conference Tournament on Thursday morning, facing off against the Lamar Cardinals in an elimination game. The Bears were able to survive and advance, thanks to a two-run home run from freshman Lauren Brooks in the bottom of the sixth inning.

Lamar (28-28) struck first when left fielder Ashley McDowell led off with a single through the right side before moving to over to third on ground outs from centerfielder Brittany Rodriguez and catcher Brynn Baca. After third baseman Sable Hankins worked a four-pitch walk, she intentionally got caught in a run-down on a steal attempt, allowing McDowell to score from third to give the Cardinals the 1-0 lead.

Central Arkansas (25-33) appeared poised to respond in the bottom of the frame as designated player Cylla Hill and Brooks worked a walk, but a fly out to center killed the rally. The Bears would threaten again in the fourth inning, as Hill led off with a walk and Brooks poked a single to right field. The pair advanced on a groundout from right fielder Morgan Felts, but a fielder's choice saw pinch-runner Brianna McArthur tagged out in a rundown and a diving catch in right-center field closed out the inning.

After seeing left fielder Hannah Stirton cut down at the plate in the bottom of the fifth inning, the Bears finally broke through in the sixth inning. Hill again got things started, legging out a single to the shortstop, before Brooks put the Bears up, crushing her first career homer to left field to give UCA the 2-1.

The Cardinals would put the first two batters on base thanks to a walk and a bunt single, but UCA pitcher Kayla Gomness would slam the door, getting a pair of flyouts to left
field and before fielding a ground ball and firing to first for the final out.

Gomness (17-17) earned the win for the Bears, limiting the Cardinals to a single earned run on six hits and five walks while striking out one in 7.0 innings. The complete game was her 25^th of the season.

At the plate, Brooks was a perfect 2-for-2 with a pair of RBI, a run scored, and a walk, while Hill was 2-for-2 with a walk and a run scored.

The win sees Central Arkansas advance to another elimination game, set for 11:00 AM Friday morning. The Bears, who are the fifth seed, will square off against the sixth-seeded Northwestern State Lady Demons. The winner will advance to yet another elimination game at 1:30 PM on Friday against number two Nicholls. The winner of that game will move into the Southland Tournament Championship game against top-seeded McNeese at 4:00 PM.