CONWAY, Ark. – The Central Arkansas softball team dropped a heartbreaker against Purdue, falling 4-3 in extra innings to start the Michelle Short Memorial Classic.
The loss drops the Bears to 2-9 on the young season, but was sprinkled with some solid building blocks as Central Arkansas continues its home stand. Five Bears recorded hits on the day, and the lineup added four walks against the Boilermakers.
Bailie Runner and the defense held firm for the first two innings before allowing the first run of the game to cross in the third. With one out, a runner on first advanced to third on a couple of heads up baserunning opportunities, and was driven in on a single through the left side. An error later in the inning gave up the second run of the frame, but the Bears recovered to get the third out and stop the damage.
Central Arkansas needed until the home half of the fourth inning to strike back, as
Renee Christian opened the inning with a first-pitch double. Two batters later,
Morgan Nelson connected on a ball and sent it into center field, allowing Christian to sprint home to get the Bears on the board. Central Arkansas continued the offense in the fifth inning after
Colleen Bare hit a double to left field to get in scoring position with two outs. A fielding error by Purdue on
Kylie Griffin's at bat gave Bare enough time to get home, tying the game.
Defenses shored up after the fifth, and both teams went down in four or fewer batters in the sixth and seventh, sending the Bears to their second extra innings game of the season. In the eighth, an errant throw by the Bears allowed the placed runner on second to score, and a couple of plays later, another run was driven home on a fielder's choice.
Down to its final three outs, Central Arkansas was near the top of its lineup for the comeback bid. The international tiebreaker put Christian on second, and
Tremere Harris at the plate to start the home half of the inning. Harris walked on four-straight pitches, and Nelson followed in five pitches, loading the bases with no outs.
Emma Veach hit a sacrifice fly to bring the Bears within one, but two batters later, with two outs, a diving catch into the fence in deep right field ended the game.
The Bears play two games on Saturday, facing South Dakota State at 11 a.m., and Southern Illinois at 4 p.m. Both games will be streamed on ESPN+.
