CONWAY, Ark. – Wrapping up their portion of the Adam Brown Memorial Shamrock Classic, the Bears dropped both games on Saturday, struggling to find hits in critical moments against South Dakota and Iowa. Both games saw low-scoring, high-stakes outcomes that left the Central Arkansas softball team sitting at 13-5 after the weekend's four games.
 
Game One: Central Arkansas – 0, South Dakota – 1
Facing the Coyotes for the second time this weekend, both teams came out prepared for the opposing lineup, putting away the first three in the lineup in order. The Bears threatened in the second, starting with a Morgan Nelson single to get on base with one out. A couple of batters later, Josie Willingham sprinted down the line, forcing an errant throw by the Coyotes; Nelson was able to get to third on the play. But a groundout on the next at bat halted the potential scoring play for the Bears, keeping the score even at zeroes.
 
Nelson reaching third would be the last time a runner would touch third until the sixth inning, and again, it was Central Arkansas getting within a base of scoring. Madi Young opened the inning with an infield single, moving to second on the next at bat via a groundout. Two batters later, a wild pitch would move the transfer shortstop to third, but she would get stranded there before scoring.
 
South Dakota plated the lone run of the game to open the seventh, catching one pitch just right to send it over the fence for a home run, which the Bears were unable to answer in the home half of the frame.
 
Game Two: Central Arkansas – 1, Iowa – 2
Another low-scoring affair that saw Central Arkansas struggle to convert with runners, the final game of the tournament for Central Arkansas started like the South Dakota game, neither team had much success moving runners early in the game. The first two innings saw a combined two baserunners, one for each team. But this time, it was the Bears who had to fight to keep runners scoring from third; back-to-back doubles in the third inning put two runners in scoring position for the Hawkeyes, but Jordan Johnson was able to get a big strikeout to end the inning without a scratch.
 
Central Arkansas responded in the fourth, putting four baserunners on, either by singles or fielder's choices, resulting in on first and third with two outs. But the Bears, who left nine runners stranded against the Hawkeyes, couldn't seal the deal, grounding out to stay scoreless.
 
Iowa finally broke the stalemate in the fifth, bunting aboard on its first at bat of the frame and working the runner around with a pair of groundouts. A single to left center would drive home the run, putting the Big 10 opponent on top with precious few outs to spare.
 
And it would take every last one to tie the game, down to the final out of the seventh inning, McKayla Betts stood at third base after a single, sacrifice bunt and a flyout moved the freshman around to prime scoring position. Back at the top of the order, Jenna Wildeman laid down a slap that the second baseman couldn't get away cleanly, pulling the first baseman off her mark, which allowed Betts to scamper home and even the score.
 
The Bears would fight through an eighth inning, with Kayla Beaver striking out the final batter of the frame on a terrifically placed pitch on an 0-2 count, but the offense continued to struggle, going out in order to send the game to a ninth, where the Hawkeyes would score a run to claim the victory.
 
Having played four games in two days, the Bears will get a whole day off on Sunday before playing again; Central Arkansas will head to Northwest Arkansas to take on the Razorbacks on Monday, playing at 6 p.m. in Bogle Park.