OXFORD, Ala. – The Central Arkansas softball team ended its run in the ASUN Championship on Friday, after playing three games over the last couple of days. On Thursday, the Bears dropped a contest to North Florida, but rebounded against North Alabama to set up a quarterfinal with Eastern Kentucky. But the Colonels were able to find enough runs to send the Bears home.
 
Central Arkansas finishes its Tournament appearance with a 26-27-1 after going 2-2 in the ASUN Championship. Kylie Griffin hit .537 across the four games, ending her junior season going 7-for-13. Julia Petty threw 16.1 innings over the course of the three days, emptying the tank for her team.
 
Game One: Central Arkansas – 3, North Florida – 6
North Florida jumped out quickly in the bottom of the first inning, putting the first two runners on base with a single and a walk. A double scored the pair, and a double two batters later had the Ospreys up 3-0 after the first.
 
But the Bears went right to work in pursuit of some runs, as Gracie St. Hilaire and McKayla Betts both reaching safely. An error by UNF allowed the pair to get into scoring position, and a single to center by Bailie Runner scored St. Hilaire. Renee Christian walked when the batting order turned over, loading the bases, and a wild pitch allowed Betts to score, trimming the lead to just a single run.
 
Central Arkansas scored the tying run in the fourth inning, after Runner singled to get aboard. Back-to-back sacrifice bunts moved her to third, and a Kylie Griffin hit plated the run. But after battling to the seventh inning, a three-run homer by the Ospreys sent the Bears to the elimination side of the bracket, making every game a must-win.
 
Game Two: Central Arkansas – 5, North Alabama – 1
The Bears had to face a North Alabama team that had already beaten Austin Peay and fallen to FGCU to set up the meeting between the Bears and Lions. And each of the last two seasons, Central Arkansas had been the bringer of doom, ending North Alabama's ASUN Championship runs.
 
But before this one could really get off the ground on Thursday night, lightning halted the game in the top of the third inning, forcing the teams to pick up the rest of the game Friday morning. And after giving up a lead-off triple to the Lions, the Bears shut down the next three batters, leaving the game scoreless after the threat.
 
Central Arkansas scored the first run of the game in the bottom of the fourth. Morgan Nelson singled to center field, and Tallulah Pascucci was entered as a pinch runner. A sacrifice bunt by Emma Veach moved Pascucci to second, and the speedster stole third on the next at bat, and a bad throw allowed her to go home, capitalizing on the error.
 
North Alabama tied the game with back-to-back doubles in the fifth inning, but the Bears went right back to work in the home half of the frame. Renee Christian bashed a triple to left field, a ridiculous feat that saw the ball nearly clear the 225 foot fence at Choccolocco Park. A single from Kylie Griffin gave the Bears the lead back, and after the Lions changed pitchers, two-straight hits by Tremere Harris and Lilly Hood scored two more runs. Morgan Nelson hit a sacrifice fly to left field to score Hood, and the Bears were up 5-1 after the fifth.
 
That score would hold through the final two innings, with the Bears allowing one runner in each of the sixth and seventh, before flyouts and a groundout to Griffin ended the game.
 
Game Three: Central Arkansas – 3, Eastern Kentucky – 9
Facing the regular season champs in their fourth game of the Championship, the Bears came out with some energy against the Colonels. Kylie Griffin opened the game with a double, and Lilly Hood drove her in two batters later with a single to left center, and just like that, Central Arkansas seemed to be carrying the momentum left from the North Alabama game.
 
But EKU responded quickly, pairing a couple of hits in the bottom of the first to strike right back with a run of its own. The Bears, who seemed to be running on fumes over the final innings of the game, couldn't keep up with the Colonels. Three runs in each of the second and third innings put the Bears back big midway through the game, fighting to stay alive.
 
The Bears mustered a run in the sixth inning, as Renee Christian tripled down the right field line to get on board, and Tremere Harris bringing her home with a sacrifice fly, but the Bears were unable to turn it into a rally. Likewise, in the seventh, a walk and a groundout into an RBI opportunity for Bailie Runner, who punched a single to score a run, but down six with two outs, the Bears couldn't find a run to stay alive.