LAKE CHARLES, La. – Opening day of the 2023 softball season was good for the Central Arkansas Bears, picking up two wins in as many tries on Friday. Each game saw a Bear reach a career milestone, with some of the all-time numbers coming up fast for this season's veterans.
 
GAME 1: UCA – 6, UAB – 3
The first inning of the year did not go according to plan, with Central Arkansas going three up and three down to kick things off. Conversely, UAB scored the first run of thegame, taking an early 1-0 lead on a tag-up after a foul ball was caught for out number two. Madi Young was the first Bear on base in the second, earning her first walk in Purple and Gray, and quickly adding a stolen base to her name. Getting moved over to third, Jaylee Engelkes knotted the score after driving in Young on a sacrifice fly.
 
Holding serve in the bottom of the second, the third inning would ultimately be the deciding factor in game one, as the Bears put together five runs in the frame. Colleen Bare opened things up with a walk, advancing to second on Kylie Griffin's single. A couple of batters later, Tremere Harris would give the Bears the lead on a single that put Bare past home plate.
 
Mary Kate Brown added to the lead with a single that scored two runs, quickly adding to the lead and giving Central Arkansas a three-run lead. With the two RBI, Brown crossed the 100 RBI threshold, becoming the eighth player in school history to cross the triple digit mark.
 
Not done scoring there, Young doubled to score Brown, and then was scored herself on the next at bat, courtesy of a double by Morgan Nelson. Suddenly, as quickly as the game started, Central Arkansas found itself ahead 6-1 in just the third inning.
 
From there, Jordan Johnson would give up just two runs in the fourth, but otherwise would allow zero Blazers to get into scoring position. She would finish the game with eight strikeouts while giving up three runs, walking just two batters.
 
GAME 2: UCA – 2, Idaho State – 0
Scoring would be a little harder to come by in game two, despite the Bears having ten hits on the day. Four players would record multiple hits in the win over the Bengals, but Central Arkansas left ten runners on base, thankfully not needing but one to tame Idaho State.
 
Kayla Beaver came in wheeling and dealing, striking out five batters in the first two innings, allowing a single in the second, but otherwise keeping Idaho State guessing. In the top of the third, the Bears finally were able to piece together the winning runs. Kylie Griffin led off reaching on an error, moving to second on the play. She would move to third on the next at bat, with Jenna Wildeman slapping an infield single to get runners on the corners with nobody out. Reading the situation perfectly, Wildeman promptly stole second, eliminating the double-play opportunity, but also reaching a historic milestone of her own. The first swipe of her season gave her 100 steals in her career, just the second Bear to ever reach the 100-steal mark. She now sits just three away from being the all-time leader in steals at Central Arkansas, with a minimum of 52 games left on the schedule.
 
With two runners aboard, Tremere Harris doubled to left center, bringing both runners around and putting the Bears on top for good. Despite stealing third, Idaho State was able to stop the bleeding from getting out of control, limiting the Bears to just the two runs in the frame.
 
With the lead in hand, it was all about the 6-1 stud in the circle from that point on; three-straight Bengals struck out swinging in the bottom half of the third, and seven more after that would come to the plate and get nothing before the end. Beaver finished the game with a career-high 15 Ks, with 14 swinging, becoming just the ninth Bear in school history to ring up 15 batters in a single game, and the first since 2014. Additionally, the Jackson, Tenn., native earned her 13^th career shutout, moving into a tie for fourth all-time at Central Arkansas.
 
The Bears will play two more games at the Cowgirl Classic, playing UAB again on Saturday at 3 p.m., followed by an 8 p.m. showdown with the hosting McNeese Cowgirls.