CONWAY, Ark. – Closing out the Michelle Short Memorial Collegiate Classic, the Central Arkansas softball team split its two games on Day Two, falling to Omaha in the morning before capping off the tournament with a win over Pine Bluff.
Game one of the day for the Bears was a pitchers' duel for the most part, as Central Arkansas dropped a 1-0 contest to the Mavericks. Then in game two, the flood gates opened as the lineup immediately, with eight runs crossing the plate in the first inning against Pine Bluff, including four hits of multiple RBI as the Bears went through an order and a half before the Lions could produce three outs.
Game One: Central Arkansas – 0, Omaha 1
Fresh off of a perfect game on Sunday,
Jordan Johnson was almost that efficient early on against the Mavericks. Allowing a first-inning hit, Johnson proceeded to retire the next 10 batters in order. Though the offense wasn't able to produce anything to give her a cushion to work with, the junior pitcher kept finding ways to get batters out.
Finally, in the fourth inning, Omaha's Jamie White made contact and lifted one out over the fence at Farris Field, providing the only score of the game. The Bears would threaten in the next inning, putting runners in scoring position, Central Arkansas just couldn't get the right hit on the right pitch to drive anything in.
Again in the sixth inning, a combination from the top of the order loaded the bases with
Tremere Harris,
Mary Kate Brown and a pinch-running
Megan Crownover. From there, an infield fly and a tag at the plate ended the threat.
Game Two: Central Arkansas – 15, Pine Bluff – 0
Making her first collegiate start,
Jorde Chartrand fanned the first six batters, eventually finishing the five-inning game with nine strikeouts while only allowing two hits. The two-hit shutout marked the second game of the weekend in which the Bears blanked their opponent.
As quiet as Chartrand kept the Pine Bluff bats, Central Arkansas' bats were that much more alive, particularly in the bottom of the first. After reaching first,
Jenna Wildeman did was she usually does, stealing second before another Bear really had a good look at another pitch. From there, she took advantage of a fielding error to score the game's first run as Harris advanced to second. Finding the bases loaded after a couple of walks,
Kristen Whitehouse's at bat produced another run, scoring Harris.
Kylie Griffin launched a standup double to left center to score two more to make it 4-0, driving in Brown and Engelkes.
Erin Blackburn's single scorched through the middle to score another two runs, and the scoring was finally capped by
Morgan Nelson, who crushed her first home run of the season to make it 8-0 with one out.
After the first, the Bears continued to add runs to the lead, putting three through in the second on five hits, two more in the third, and two final runs in the fourth to take a 15-0 lead over the Golden Lions. Defensively, the Bears stayed locked in, allowing just two hits while committing zero errors. Chartrand induced a groundout and a lineout in the top of the fifth before putting the game away with a final strikeout, taking her first collegiate win.
Central Arkansas remains at home for its next outing, hosting the Adam Brown Shamrock Classic next weekend.
