FORT COLLINS, Colo. – Unable to overcome an early funk at the plate, the Central Arkansas softball team ends its season with a third-place finish at the National Invitational Softball Championship after a 1-0 loss to UNLV Wednesday afternoon. The Bears finished the 2022 season with 37 wins, just a single victory from tying the program's record.
Despite allowing just one run, the Bears just couldn't find the right pitches at the plate to even things up. Central Arkansas only struck out twice all game, compared to seven Ks at the plate for the Rebels, but infield bounces and fly balls simply would not go in favor of the Purple and Gray.
The game remained scoreless through the first half of the game, as each team struggled to put runners on. Both squads got on base in the first, with
Tremere Harris drawing a walk for the Bears, but defense ruled the game from start to finish, and neither side would really threaten through the first three innings.
Kristen Whitehouse was literally inches from notching a run for the Bears in the third inning, launching a fly ball into center field that had the distance to get out of the park, but was robbed by the Rebel center fielder.
Everything changed in the fourth, as UNLV put the first, and eventually only, run on the board with a solo home run to start the visitor's half of the inning.
Mary Kate Brown walked in the home half of the frame to establish a runner with two outs, but the batters behind her were unable to bring in a tying run.
Both teams settled into defensive lockdowns after the fourth, with both teams stymying any and all offense put forth. Central Arkansas held fast until the seventh, in desperate need of any kind of offense to keep both spirits and the season alive. Harris reached on an error to lead things off, bringing a potential game-winning run to the plate. Brown sacrifice bunted her over to second, putting a runner in scoring position with one out.
Jaylee Engelkes almost ended the game with a towering shot to left center that was also plucked down just before exiting the field, and the Rebels were able to bring it in quickly enough to hold Harris at third. Engelkes' shot represented the best chance the Bears would see in the seventh, as UNLV held on for the one-run win.
Central Arkansas ends its season with another third-place finish, after claiming the bronze at the ASUN Championship in early May. Though the season has ended, it was filled with moments that will last a lifetime and an extremely solid core on deck for the next few seasons. Finishing with a top-30 team batting average and a top-10 defense and a host of quality returners, the Bears will be in a great position to build off of the 2022 campaign.
