CONWAY, Ark. – The Central Arkansas softball team had a dominant performance on day one of the Michelle Short Memorial Classic at Farris Field on Thursday. The Bears opened the tournament with a 9-1 victory against Omaha (0-5) and followed that up with a 5-0 win against Missouri State (3-2).
The Bears had solid pitching as two pitchers combined for 11 strikeouts on the day. The bats woke up as 14 runs were scored. UCA improved to 5-7 on the year.
Cylla Hill added the power with two home runs
Game One UCA 9, Omaha 1
The Mavericks got on the board first in the top of the second when Lexi Burkhardt hit a home run over the left field wall.
Tylar Vernon led the home half of the second with a single through the left side.
Mary Kate Brown recorded a one-out single to left and Vernon moved to second.
Tremere Harris collected a two-out single through the left side and loaded the bases for the Bears.
Jenna Wildeman doubled to left center and drove in Vernon and Brown. After
Reagan Sperling drew a walk,
Kaylyn Shepherd was hit by a pitch and scored Harris from third. The Bears took a 3-1 lead into the third.
Wildeman notched a one-out double to right center and advanced to third on a fielding error by the center fielder. Shepherd drew a walk and put runners on the corners.
Megan Crownover came in to pinch run for Shepherd. Crownover stole second and gave UCA runners on second and third with two outs. Hill blasted a ball off of the left field foul pole for a three-run homer and extended UCA's lead to 6-1.
Shepherd led the bottom of the sixth off with a walk. Hill then launched her second home run of the game to center field and extended the UCA lead to 8-1.
Erin Blackburn doubled to left field.
Gabbi Scott singled to left field and after a misplayed ball by the left fielder, Blackburn scored. Her run enforced the run rule and the Bears claimed a 9-1 victory.
Hill led the offense with five RBIs on two home runs. Wildeman finished the game with two hits and two RBIs. Brown also had two hits in the game.
Rio Sanchez picked up the win in the circle for UCA. She threw a complete game and struck out three batters.
Burkhardt provided the offense for the Mavericks with her solo home run. Sydney Hampton fell to 0-3 in the circle for Omaha.
Game Two UCA 5, Missouri State 0
Missouri State started the game with back-to-back singles,
Kayla Beaver was able to get out of the inning unscathed.
Wildeman led the bottom of the fist with a single to first base. Shepherd was hit by a pitch and Hill followed with a walk to load the bases for UCA. Brown singled to right field and drove in Wildeman and Shepherd. UCA held a 2-0 lead after one inning.
Both pitchers started to buckle down for the next two innings as neither pitcher surrendered scoring opportunities.
In the bottom of the fourth,
Lexi McClellan recorded a one-out single to left field and advanced to second on a field error. Wildeman singled to the shortstop and a throwing error by the shortstop allowed McClellan to move to third. McClellan scored on a wild pitch and Wildeman went from first to third. Sperling reached on an error by the shortstop and scored Wildeman from third. Shepherd drew a walk and Sperling advanced to second. Crownover pinch ran from Shepherd. Sperling and Crownover executed a perfect double steal and moved to second and third, respectively. Brown hit a deep fly foul that was caught and allowed Sperling to tag up from third and score. Central Arkansas held a 5-0 lead at the end of four innings.
Harris produced a one-out single to left field in the bottom of the fifth. She stole second and then advanced to third on an error by the shortstop. UCA was unable to capitalize and add to the lead.
Beaver picked up the win in the circle and improved to 2-2 on the season. She recorded a season-high eight strikeouts. She scattered six hits and did not give up a run. Wildeman led the team with a perfect 3-for-3 performance at the plate and scored twice. Brown had a team-high three RBIs and was 1-for-2.
Madison Hunsaker got the loss with 3.1 innings of work and gave up five runs, two of which were earned. She struck out two and walked three. Gracie Johnston pitched 1.2 innings in relief and struck out two batters. Daphne Plummer led Missouri State with a 2-for-2 game at the plate.
UCA will have a day off on Friday and then will be back at Farris Field for two games on Saturday. The Bears will play Western Illinois at 12:15 p.m., followed by Arkansas-Pine Bluff at 2:30 p.m.
From the Coach – Head Coach David Kuhn
"We had good starting pitching from Beaver and Rio. We had timely hitting up and down the lineup. Those two along with solid defense is a recipe for success."
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