LAWRENCE, Kan. – Splitting a pair of games on Friday, the softball Bears were a tale of two halves on day one of the Jayhawk Invitational, dropping a first game to South Dakota State before taking it out on Big 12 opponent Kansas.
 
The split moves Central Arkansas to 15-6 on the year, rebounding from the morning loss to a dominant effort in the night cap. Against the Jayhawks, the Bears set season-highs scoring 13 runs on 15 hits, including five players with multiple hits.
 
Game 1: UCA – 0, South Dakota State – 3
The first game of the day started as a pitcher's duel, and was for most of the morning. Jordan Johnson went back and forth with the Jackrabbits' Tori Kniesche, each holding the other lineup to no more than a single baserunner per inning.
 
But the damage done in the sixth inning proved to be all that was needed, with two home runs by South Dakota State giving the Jackrabbits a 3-0 lead. The Bears tried to recover in the seventh, putting two baserunners on in the top half of the frame. But a strikeout on the fifth batter of the inning left Central Arkansas without a run for just the third time this year.
 
Johnson struck out nine in the loss, walking just one and giving up six hits.
 
Game 2: UCA – 13, Kansas – 0
Desperately needing to find a rhythm at the plate, the Bears unleashed a torrent of offense against the Jayhawks. Literally from first pitch, Tremere Harris led off with a single down the line, quickly followed by a single from Kylie Griffin and a walk from Madi Young, loading the bases before the Jayhawk defense could even think about recording an out. Mary Kate Brown opened the floodgates on the next at bat, raking a single to left field to put Harris and Griffin home for a quick 2-0 lead.
 
Morgan Nelson reloaded the bases with a single of her own, marking five-straight batters aboard without an out. A couple batters later, now finally with an out, Josie Willingham put home another run, forcing an error from the infield to score Young. Colleen Bare dropped in another single, and in the blink of an eye, it was 4-0 before Kansas even had a chance to bat.
 
The Bears continued to roll in the second, putting two of the first three hitters on base on a single from Young and a walk from Brown. Nelson, tied for team-lead with two homers on the season entering the game, absolutely tanked one to center field, driving in three more runs to make it a seven-run game. It also moved Nelson into a tie for team-lead in RBI, now with 10 on the year.
 
Runs continued to cross home, with the Kansas defense unable to slow down the Bears. Getting on base early in the inning, Harris, Griffin and Young loaded the bases again, unrelenting in pressuring the Kansas pitching. Reaching on an error, Brown put a ball in play that allowed another pair of runs to score, putting Central Arkansas over the threshold of an eight-run lead before the end of the fifth, setting up a run-rule win.
 
But the onslaught continued, with back-to-back RBI singles from Harris and Griffin driving in the tail end of the order to plate three more scores in the fourth. The 12-0 lead after four innings surpassed the largest lead of the season, eclipsing the 11-1 win over Mississippi Valley State.
 
Just for good measure, Nelson put up a third hit of the day in the fifth, rocking a double to right center. Friday's night game marked Nelson's first three-hit game of the season, and her fourth multi-hit contest. Jaylee Engelkes drove her in on the next at bat, sending a grounder through the left side to put the final run of the game home on the 15^th hit of the game.
 
Kansas was the third Power Five opponent to fall to the Bears this season, and Kayla Beaver's fourth shutout. The redshirt junior struck out five in five innings, allowing just one hit while walking zero.
 
Central Arkansas is on deck for two more games on Saturday, facing No. 8 Stanford at 12:30 before closing the day with a 3 p.m. game against Kansas.