CONWAY, Ark. – On the road to play perhaps the biggest road game of the season, the Central Arkansas softball team is off to Fayetteville to take on No. 6 Arkansas on Monday. With a 6 p.m. first pitch, the Bears will try to knock off a top-six opponent for the first time in school history.
 
Central Arkansas (13-5) split four games over the weekend in the Adam Brown Memorial Shamrock Classic, winning a pair of shutouts on Friday before losing both games Saturday by a single run. Kayla Beaver and Jordan Johnson were excellent all weekend, giving up a total of three runs while striking out 43 batters across four games. They had a combined 0.47 ERA in 30.0 innings of work, but the offense struggled to give the duo run support.
 
Beaver and Johnson have been workhorses this season, ranking numbers one and two in the conference in strikeouts with 89 and 57, respectively. The duo has helped the Bears hold a team ERA of 1.37, one of the top-20 in the nation. With five shutouts this season, the two pitchers have obliterated lineups, including an immaculate inning from Beaver in the sixth inning against Omaha over the weekend.
 
But the Bears have had a tough time against Power 5 opponents this season, starting the year 1-3 in such games, with the lone win coming against Utah. And that's not to say that the Bears haven't been in those games, only one of the three losses have been by more than one run, but the offense has had a difficult time moving runners across home plate.
 
Last year's games against Arkansas reflect those early results from this year, both games were within two runs, but the Razorbacks were able to get out early in the first game, and score late in the second. In Fayetteville last season, the Bears were able to plate the first two runs of the game, with an RBI single by Mary Kate Brown in the third and a sprint home on an error by Kylie Griffin in the fourth. But late runs by the Razorbacks kept the No. 5 team in the country unbeaten in the series.
 
Again a top-ten team in the country this year, Arkansas has raced out to a 19-3 record, only losing to nationally ranked teams Florida State, Duke and Arizona. This last weekend of play saw the Razorbacks go 6-0 in the Wooo Pig Classic, outscoring their opponents 51-7.

Reagan Johnson leads the team at the plate, batting .427 with 32 hits and a team-high 11 stolen bases. As a team, Arkansas bats .292 across its roster, with four fulltime hitters above .300. In the circle, the Razorbacks have three pitchers with more than 35.0 innings pitched, and all three have ERAs under 2.35, led by Robyn Herron's 0.93. The pitching corps also features National Pitcher of the Week Chenise Delce, who holds a 1.53 ERA, with 59 strikeouts this season in 11 appearances.

Arkansas has run-ruled seven teams this season, and been to extra innings once, playing 11 innings against Drake. The Razorbacks are also 11-1 at home, the only loss coming at the hands of the No. 19 Arizona Wildcats.
 
Monday's game has a first pitch time of 6 p.m. at Bogle Park in Fayetteville, Ark. The game's broadcast will be on SECN+, with live stats available here.