LOUISVILLE, Ky. – When it rains, it pours for the Central Arkansas softball team. Battling precipitation early and gusty conditions later in the game, the Bears scored run after run en route to a 13-0 shutout to sweep Bellarmine.
 
Central Arkansas stays in first place in the ASUN with the win, improving to 31-8 with a 14-1 ASUN record. Nine Bears reached base safely, with eight recording hits against the Knights. In the circle, Jordan Johnson tossed a no-hitter, the first of her season and the fifth of her career. The senior pitcher struck out ten across five innings, the fourth game of the year with ten-plus Ks this season.
 
It didn't take long for runs to start adding up, with Tremere Harris opening the game with a walk and Madi Young singling to move Harris to third. After Madi Young stole second, Mary Kate Brown drove in Harris to tally the first run. Morgan Nelson scored Young on her at bat, opening a quick 2-0 lead for the Bears.
 
Johnson came out with bad intentions, striking out the first two batters and setting a tone for the rest of the game. The Kansas native struck out two in each inning, pulling the string on off-speed pitches and making batters look lost all morning.
 
Jaylee Engelkes felt a familiar swing to lead off the second, crushing a no-doubter beyond the wall in left center to make it a 3-0 lead. Central Arkansas put runners in scoring position later in the inning, but stranded a pair before adding anymore to the advantage.
 
The avalanche of scoring unleashed in the third, with the first three batters reaching base. Colleen Bare put a single down that got away from the infield, allowing Brown and Nelson to score to stretch the lead to a handful. Morgan Curley walked and then ran, getting on base and following it up with her first steal of the year. Harris clocked a double to the right center wall to score Bare and Curley, her 12^th and 13^th RBI. Griffin reached by getting hit by a pitch, and moved to scoring position on a wild pitch. Brown drove in the duo to score the fifth and sixth runs of the inning, pushing the lead to nine runs in just the third frame.
 
Fortune continued to smile on the Bears in the fourth, despite the Knights switching pitchers. The first three batters reached safely again, with a Curley double scoring Bare for the tenth run of the game. It marked the sixth game of the season that the Bears have scored double-digit runs. But the offense wasn't done yet, Jenna Wildeman hit a sacrifice fly to add another, with a wild pitch and a groundout adding two more before the end of the fourth.
 
The offensive explosion had a little bit of everything, as the Bears racked up 12 hits, three for extra bases, eight walks, three steals, a hit by pitch and a sacrifice fly. Central Arkansas put 21 batters on base, a season-high. Johnson reached 20 career shutouts with the no-hitter on Sunday, just the second Central Arkansas pitcher to reach the milestone.
 
Next on the schedule is a midweek against the Memphis Tigers. The Bears and Tigers will resume last month's suspended game in the second inning before playing the second game. First pitch is set for 4 p.m. at Farris Field.