CONWAY, Ark. – After days of rescheduling, the Central Arkansas softball team will host the Michelle Short/Adam Brown Tournament with six games across Sunday and Monday. The Bears will welcome three teams to Conway, bringing in No. 13 Oklahoma State, SIUE and South Dakota State.
 
The Bears will open the weekend with SIUE at 10 a.m. on Sunday, then play South Dakota State at 3 p.m. Monday, the Bears will face Oklahoma State at noon before closing the tournament against South Dakota State at 2:30.
 
Central Arkansas (2-7) looks to build some momentum in front of home fans, but has a tough slate ahead, facing three teams that finished in the top 65 last season. This season, the Bears have held a long-standing tradition of starting slow on offense, batting just .202 as a team. Senior Kylie Griffin leads the team through nine games with a .333 average, and leads the squad with nine hits. Freshman Kaitlyn Graham has six hits of her own, and LJ Smith leads the team with five RBI.
 
The Cowgirls enter the weekend 5-4, but all four losses have come against high-powered teams in tournaments filled with world beaters. Through nine games, Oklahoma State is hitting .305, with two players already with double-digit hits. Karli Goodwin is hitting .481 with 13 hits, including four doubles, and leads the team with 20 total bases. Megan Delgadillo leads the team with 14 hits, and holds a .424 average and nine runs.
 
South Dakota State also comes to Conway with a 5-4 record, and has dropped four of their last five after starting 4-0. The Jackrabbits have 11 home runs through nine games, including three off the bat of Brooke Dumont. The senior catcher is hitting .455 and slugging 1.091, with eight of her ten hits going for extra bases. But pitching has been an issue for the Jackrabbits, allowing a 5.06 ERA while giving up 82 hits.
 
SIUE also comes in at 5-4, with four wins in their last five games. Last week, the Cougars split two games with Rutgers and took wins over Abilene Christian and East Texas A&M. As a team, SIUE hits .265 with 61 hits, 23 of which are for extra bases. Kaylynn Salyars leads the team with a .462 average, and has only struck out twice in 26 at bats.
 
Due to the schedule changes and other home games, the Michelle Short/Adam Brown Tournament will only have live stats available. For a complete schedule, visit the Tournament Page.