CONWAY, Ark. – The Central Arkansas softball team takes to the road for the final time in the regular season with a key Southland Conference series against Southeastern Louisiana. Currently the Lady Lions and Bears are second and third, respectively.
 
Earlier today, Jenna Wildeman was named to the Top-30 List for the 2021 Schutt Sports / NFCA Division I National Freshman of the Year. The list will be cut down to 10 on May 13.
 
The Bears are coming off of an extra-inning thriller against Memphis, where UCA needed a come-from-behind effort to secure the win.
 
Wildeman leads the team with a .338 batting average, 42 stolen bases, and 34 runs scored. Cylla Hill leads the Bears with seven home runs and 31 RBIs. Mary Kate Brown leads the team with 10 doubles and is second in the squad with a .368 batting average. Kaylyn Shepherd and Kristen Whitehouse are tied for second on the team with four homers.
 
The pitching staff is led by Kayla Beaver with an ERA of 1.43 and a record of 15-6. She also leads the team with 122 innings of work and has tallied 91 strikeouts. Jordan Johnson leads the team in the circle with 116 strikeouts. She has a record of 9-7 in 118.1 innings of work.
 
Friday will be the 49th meeting between the two programs. UCA enters with a 23-15 record against SLU.  The Bears hold a slight 11-9 lead in the series in Hammond. However, the Lady Lions won the last meeting 7-6 on May 7, 2019, in the Southland Conference Tournament in Natchitoches, Louisiana.
 
Audrey Greely leads SLU with a .400 batting average, is tied for the team lead in doubles with seven, and is tied for the team lead with three home runs. Lindsey Rizzo is second on the team with a .374 average. Aeriyl Mass leads the squad with 35 runs scored. Mass and Rizzo are tied for the team lead with 25 stolen bases. The SLU pitching staff is led by Heather Zumo with an ERA of 1.96, 124 innings pitched and 124 strikeouts.
 
First pitch of the doubleheader is scheduled for 5 p.m. on Friday. The game can be watched on ESPN+ or by clicking here. Live stats are provided here.

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