STARKVILLE, Miss. – Central Arkansas repeated the trend from yesterday's games, winning the first before dropping the second. Saturday, however, began with a third Power 5 win for the Bears, as the team defeated host Mississippi State 5-3, hitting a second grand slam in as many days, before falling to Southern Illinois in the night game.
Game One – Central Arkansas 5, Mississippi State 3
Mary Kate Brown was the hard hitter in the first game, sending one deep in the top of the third to put the first runs on the board. Two hitters later,
Kristen Whitehouse doubled to score pinch runner
Lindsey Williams to open up a five-run lead in the third.
Mississippi State would answer with one in the bottom half of the third, getting on the board itself and pulling within four.
Though Central Arkansas was done scoring for the day, the defense locked in for the next couple of innings, allowing just one hit in the fourth and pulling off a double play in the fifth after a batter got hit by a pitch. Mississippi State added a pair of runs in the sixth, but it was too little, too late.
Kayla Beaver tossed a complete game, scattering six hits across seven innings. Brown rebounded from a slow start last weekend, finishing the first game of the day 3-for-4 at the plate with four RBI.
The win also marked the third Power 5 win on the season for the Bears, including the second win over an SEC team this year. After defeating LSU last weekend, Central Arkansas has claimed wins over Georgia Tech and now Mississippi State this weekend.
Game Two – Central Arkansas 6, Southern Illinois 9
Game Two of the day trended in Central Arkansas' favor early on; batting as the home team, the Bears gave up an early one to the Salukis in the first inning before responding in the home half of the first with a pair of their own runs. With
Jenna Wildeman and
Tremere Harris on base,
Jaylee Engelkes and Whitehouse both singled, driving in a run each.
Harris scored Wildeman in the second inning, after Wildeman ended up at third all on her own after singling to get on base. Another Saluki fielding error allowed Whitehouse to reach base in the fourth, bringing home another pair of runners, after which
Kylie Griffin singled to score another run, building a 6-1 lead in the fourth inning.
In the fifth, however, all the momentum shifted to Southern Illinois. Eight batters produced singles or walks, moving runners through for six runs in the inning before finally flying out to right field to end the inning, but the damage had been done. The Salukis would tack on two more in the seventh to put the score out of reach, claiming the 9-6 final.
Central Arkansas will finally play at home next, hosting the first of back-to-back tournaments at Farris Field, the Michelle Short Memorial Classic. There, the Bears will face Arkansas-Pine Bluff, Nebraska-Omaha, Missouri-Kansas City and Saint Louis over the course of three days.
