CONWAY, Ark. – The Central Arkansas softball team is back in Louisiana for the second weekend of the season, playing in Louisiana-Lafayette's Ragin' Cajun Invitational. While in Louisiana, the Bears will play five games, two on Friday, two on Saturday and one on Sunday.
The Bears (1-4) will kick the weekend off with a 9 a.m. game against Sam Houston State, followed immediately with a showdown with Northern Illinois at 11:30 a.m. Saturday sees the Bears play Ole Miss at 2 p.m., then the hosting Ragin' Cajuns at 7. Sunday's slate is a single game against Northern Illinois at 10:30 a.m.
Central Arkansas played five games at LSU last week, winning the season opener against Southeastern Louisiana before struggling to generate offense the rest of the weekend. The 5-2 win over the Lions produced 11 hits from seven Bears, including two hits each from newcomers
LJ Smith and
Autumn Vessier. Vessier hit .333 over the weekend, picking up two doubles while posting a team-best .455 on base percentage.
The Bears and Bearkats are no strangers, having played 26 times in program history as Southland foes. With a near-even series of 14-12 in favor of the Bears, Central Arkansas claimed the last three games in 2021 before leaving for the ASUN. This season, Sam Houston opened the year 3-3, with wins over New Mexico, Bryant and Tulsa. Brodie Quinlan leads the team with a .450 average, while four of the five pitchers that have seen action have less than a 2.00 ERA.
Northern Illinois will be a new foe for the Bears, and the Huskies started their season 2-3 last week. NIU had wins over Montana and Colgate, and losses to Grand Canyon and Wichita State. Two Huskies produced seven hits over the first five games, in Jenna Turner (.500 avg.) and Madison Mathews (.412 avg.). Of the team's 38 hits, only nine were for extra bases, giving the Huskies a .391 slugging percentage as a team.
Central Arkansas has beaten Ole Miss twice in the nine meetings, winning two of the first three matchups in the early 2010's. Last time the teams played was the 2021 season, leaving a four-year gap since the last meeting. This season's Rebels team opened its season 4-1, winning games over No. 25 Clemson, Wisconsin, Missouri State and Kansas. Taylor Malvin started her season hitting .700 in ten at bats, one of three Rebels to bat over .500 in opening weekend.
The hosting Ragin' Cajuns host for the second weekend in a row, welcoming teams to Lafayette after a 3-2 showing in their first tournament. Louisiana-Lafayette dropped its first two games to Seton Hall and Texas before rebounding for wins over Seton Hall, George Mason and Longwood, winning the three games a combined 26-2. Like Ole Miss, ULL also has a .700 hitter in Kayla Falterman. The senior outfielder put together an .800 on base percentage, and slugged .900 on the weekend. Two of the three pitchers that have logged nine-plus innings have a sub-1.00 ERA.
All games will have live stats available online. All game times are subject to change due to previous games and weather.
