MADEIRA BEACH, Fla. - After dropping a 5-3 decision to George Mason on Friday afternoon, the University of Central Arkansas softball team bounced back with a 4-2 win over Monmouth at the Madeira Beach Invitational.
GEORGE MASON 5, UCA 3
Similar woes from the opening week plagued UCA (4-3) in the 5-3 loss to George Mason (1-4). UCA committed three more errors, something that has been a thorn in the side of Central Arkansas so far in the early going of 2019.
It was the Patriots who got on the board first with three runs in the opening inning. The Bears clawed back with two runs of their own in the third inning on Libby Morris's second homer of the season. However, it was George Mason who held strong in the latter innings, as the Atlantic-10 representative pushed across some insurance runs and held on late to claim its first victory of the year.
NOTABLES
- Ellie Reaves was strong in relief for Central Arkansas. After bailing the Bears out of a first-inning jam, Reaves went out to toss 6.0 innings, allowing only two earned runs and striking out two.
- UCA shortstop Cylla Hill is simply on fire. She finished the contest 3-3 with a pair of hard-hit doubles.
- Morris's two-run shot in the third was absolutely crushed. She is now tied for the team lead in RBIs with seven.
- Krissy Fontillas was clutch in her only at-bat of the contest. She laced an RBI-double (her first hit and RBI of the season) to trim the Patriot advantage in the bottom of the seventh.
UCA 4, MONMOUTH 2
The Bears showed their moxy in the nightcap as they gutted out a 4-2 win over Monmouth (0-2). It was freshman Kamryn Coleman who had the biggest hit of her young UCA career that sparked the early Bears rally.
Coleman laced a shot into right-center field in the second inning to give UCA the lead. After the Hawks battled back to tie the game, it was some smart baserunning that propelled the Bears to victory. UCA scored once on a wild pitch and once on a set first-and-third baserunning play, which was more than enough to earn the win.
NOTABLES
- Rachel Haberman (2-1) came on in relief and shut down the Hawks to earn win No. 2 for her this year. She tossed the final 3.0 innings and allowed just one hit.
- Freshman Jordan Johnson gave the Bears some much-needed starting pitching. While she did not pick up the decision, she threw 4.0 innings and struck out three.
- Oakley Sisemore wreaked havoc on Monmouth throughout the contest. She finished 3-3 with two runs scored and a stolen base.
- Kayla Crutchmer went 2-3 in this game after also going 2-3 in the opener. After a bit of a slow start, she is now hitting .409.
- Erin Blackburn came off the bench to provide one of the biggest moments of the contest. After smoking a double into right, Blackburn later went on to be the winning run when she crossed home on a wild pitch.
QUOTES FROM HEAD COACH DAVID KUHN
On George Mason contest:
"It was more of the same miscues that have cost us all year so far," said Kuhn. "We have to make plays defensively and we have to do a better job of not putting people on base. We got down early but I though Ellie Reaves was the highlight of the night for us. She did a great job of keeping us in the game."
On Monmouth
"We hit some balls really hard all day but especially in the Monmouth game," Kuhn said. "We were aggressive and that's how we are going to play. We had two people get thrown out at home and we got doubled up on a hit-and-run, but we are going to continue to do those things. That's just who we are. I thought it was good win after not playing all that well in the first game."
ON DECK
UCA will resume play in the Madeira Beach Invitational tomorrow at 10:30 a.m. (CST). The Bears will take on Ball State before finishing up the doubleheader with a 3:30 p.m. (CST) tilt with Quinnipiac.
