Conway – The Central Arkansas Bears took to the field on the final day of the Southland Conference Tournament on Friday and battled a pair of opponents and the weather. The Bears won their second elimination game, defeating Northwestern State 7-4, before falling to Nicholls 4-2 in the semifinals.

After seeing their elimination game against the Lady Demons (23-33-1), originally scheduled for 6:30 PM last night, be rescheduled twice due to rain, the Bears finally took to the turf at Farris Field at 11:00 AM this morning. With a light drizzle falling, centerfielder Briana Whisenhunt and first baseman Kaylyn Shepherd each worked a walk from NSU starter Katelyn Boles. The Lady Demons immediately went to the bullpen, but Central Arkansas (26-34) continued to show a keen eye at the plate, with designated player Cylla Hill and catcher Lauren Brooks drawing walks off of reliever Makayla Brown, with Brooks' free pass giving the Bears a 1-0 lead. Right fielder Morgan Felts pushed the lead to 2-0, lofting a sacrifice fly to center to drive in Shepherd, before shortstop Kate Myers picked up an RBI groundout, plating Hill and making it 3-0. After second baseman Krissy Fontillas drew UCA's fifth walk of the inning, the game entered a lightning delay.

Six hours and 14 minutes later, the Bears and Lady Demons returned to action, as a fielding error allowed Brooks to score to give UCA a 5-0 lead after half an inning and six and a half hours of play.

The Lady Demons would chip away at the UCA lead, getting an RBI groundout from centerfielder Sidney Salmons in the bottom of the third and an RBI single from right fielder Hayley Barbazon in the fourth.

The Bears struck back in the top of the fifth, when felts led off with a double down the right field line and Myers drew a walk. Following a sacrifice bunt from Fontillas, pinch hitter Bailey Reynolds hit a sacrifice fly to right to score Felts and push the UCA lead to 5-2.

Felts would get thing started again in the top of the seventh, leading off with a bunt single and advancing to second on a walk from Fontillas. An error would allow the UCA right fielder to score, before a wild pitch brought Fontillas in and made it 7-2 UCA.

The Lady Demons would plate a pair in the bottom of the seventh, but a ground ball to Pratt at third ended the game.

Kayla Gomness (18-18) picked up the win, allowing four runs on 12 hits and four walks while striking out three.

Central Arkansas would immediately return to action, taking on the Nicholls Colonels (40-20) in another elimination game.

The Bears would again strike first, as Felts led off the bottom of the second with a walk before coming around to score on a double from Myers.

The Colonels took advantage of a Central Arkansas error to even things at 1-1 in the top of the fourth inning, before plating two more unearned runs in the fifth to take a 3-1 lead. A solo home run from catcher Veronica Villafranco would push it to 4-1 in the top of the seventh.

Central Arkansas attempted to rally in the bottom of the frame, when Felts led off with a single and scored on a double from Brooks to make it a two run game, but that would be all the Bears could muster.

Gomness took the loss despite limiting the Colonels to a single earned run on nine hits and two walks while striking out six.