CONWAY, Ark. – The University of Central Arkansas softball team (15-9, 2-0 SLC) opened Southland Conference play with a pair of victories against the UIW Cardinals (8-14, 0-2 SLC) at Farris Field on Friday. UCA took the opening game 11-1 and followed with a 3-0 victory.
The Bears leaned on two outstanding pitching performances from
Rio Sanchez and
Jordan Johnson. Sanchez threw a complete game and gave up just three hits, while Johnson threw a complete-game shutout on two hits.
Lauren Brooks led the offense with four RBIs on two hits.
Lexi McClellan,
Kayla Crutchmer, and
Cylla Hill all had a multi-hit game for UCA.
Crutchmer continues to inch closer to the career stolen base record of 99. With her three stolen bases tonight, she is just two stolen bases away from tying the school record.
Game 1 – UCA 11, UIW 1
Mary Kate Brown drew a one-out walk to start the Bears rally. After Brown advanced to second on a wild pitch,
Kaylyn Shepherd drew a walk. Hill followed with a single to the short stop and set up bases loaded with one out. Brown scored on a passed ball, followed by a walk by
Tylar Vernon.
Reagan Sperling drove in the second run on a sac fly to right field. Brooks cleared the bases with a double to left center, which scored two runs. McClellan drove in the fifth run of the inning on a single to left center.
The Bears added a run in the home half of the second on a sac bunt by Shepherd and extended the UCA lead to 6-0 after two innings.
Hill drew a walk to start the bottom of the third. Vernon singled to left and put runners on first and second. Sperling drew a walk and loaded the bases. Brooks singled to center field and drove in two more runs. Jordon Johnson pinch ran for Brooks. Johnson got into a rundown, that allowed Sperling to steal home and Johnson advanced to second. McClellan notched an RBI double to left field.
Kamryn Coleman pinch ran for McClellan.
Morgan Nelson recorded a pinch-hit single through the left side and allowed Coleman to advance to third. Coleman eventually scored on a passed ball to make the score 11-0.
UIW got on the board in the top of the fifth on an RBI ground out to second.
Sanchez improved to 2-4 on the year in the circle. She pitched five innings with four strikeouts, scattered three hits, and gave up one earned run.
Game 2 – UCA 3, UIW 0
Crutchmer started the home half of the first inning with a single to the third baseman. She followed that with a stolen base. After a Shepherd walk, Hill belted a two-run double to right center.
In the home half of the third, McClellan reached on a single to third and was able to advance to second after a throwing error was made on the play. Crutchmer lined an RBI single to left and put the Bears on top, 3-0. Crutchmer picked up her second stolen base of the game on the next pitch.
In the top of the sixth with a runner on first and one out, McClellan made one of the smoothest double plays on a ball hit up the middle. McClellan fielded the ball on the run, stepped on second and threw a bullet to first for the double play.
Johnson picked up her third complete-game shutout on the season and moved to 5-3 on the year. She went seven innings and struck out four. She did not allow a hit until the top of the seventh and only surrendered two for the game.
Annie Gunther picked up the loss and fell to 1-6 on the year for UIW. She went six innings and had one strikeout.
The Bears look to complete the three-game sweep of the Cardinals on Saturday, March 7. First pitch is scheduled for 11 a.m. The softball game will be the first leg of the Bear Crawl and fans will receive free hot chocolate and coffee. Fans in attendance will also receive a credential for free admission to all ticketed events on the day. For more about the Bear Crawl
click here. Follow along with
live stats or
watch.
From the Coach – Head Coach David Kuhn
"We had two outstanding pitching performances tonight by Rio and Jordan. We made some really good defensive plays and had some timely hitting. It sounds cliché, but today was a good day for the Bears."
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