LAKE CHARLES, La. – Another day, another pair of wins for the Central Arkansas softball team, who moved to 4-0 on the year on Saturday. After claiming the rematch with UAB in the first game of the day, the Bears went on to win a nail-biter against the host team McNeese, claiming a 2-0 win over the Cowgirls.
 
GAME 1: UCA – 4, UAB – 1
Starting off slow again, the Bears gave up an unearned run in the first inning, trailing early but keeping it a one-run game. But the offense wouldn't come easily, needing four innings to record a hit before Mary Kate Brown got on base with an infield single, but she would be stranded where she stood.
 
Finally, some offense came in the sixth, with four-straight singles scoring an equalizer. Kylie Griffin battled through the first at bat of the inning to get on board, circling the lineup back to the top, where the top of the order worked her around to home and loaded the bases. A couple of batters later, Morgan Nelson rocked a double that would score Jenna Wildeman and Tremere Harris, giving the Bears a 3-1 lead. Then, with two outs, Brown would scamper home on a wild pitch, scoring what would be the final run of the game.
 
Kayla Beaver picked up her second win of the year, striking out seven while allowing six hits and one unearned run.
 
GAME 2: UCA – 2, McNeese – 1
Keeping along with the theme of the weekend, the Bears trailed early in another game, surrendering a run to the Cowgirls in the second inning. After some uneventful innings at the plate for Central Arkansas, the bats finally got going in the fourth.
 
Staring down two outs as the middle of the order came around, Morgan Nelson got things going with a five-pitch walk, scoring on the next at bat thanks to a pinch-hit double by Erin Michael, who moved up to third as the defense tried to keep the run of the board. It marked Michael's first collegiate hit in Purple and Gray, tying the game with a clutch extra base hit. Next up, Colleen Bare singled to center field, driving Michael home to take the lead.
 
In the home half of the inning, the Bears made a pitching change, opting to change course and give the Cowgirl lineup a new thrower to get acquainted with, sending Kayla Beaver out to replace Jordan Johnson, who had allowed just three hits through three innings. After getting warmed back up, Beaver allowed just one hit and two base-runners, shutting down the Cowgirls and recording her first save of the year. Beaver's four strikeout appearance gave her 26 Ks in three outings over the weekend, an average of nearly nine strikeouts per appearance.
 
The Bears won't be back in Arkansas very long, as the team returns to Louisiana for the next weekend, taking part in LSU's Tiger Classic. There, Central Arkansas will play five games, with two against Ohio, one against Utah, and two against the SEC hosts. Play will start next Friday, with first pitch against Ohio at 12 p.m.