CONWAY, Ark. – Softball season is upon us, with the 2025 season starting tomorrow. The Bears will be in Baton Rouge, Louisiana to play in No. 9/10 LSU's Tiger Classic. There, Central Arkansas will play Southeastern Louisiana twice, the Tigers twice, and Charlotte once. Game times on Friday are at 1:30 and 7 p.m., 4 p.m. on Saturday, and 10 a.m. and 12:30 p.m. on Sunday.
The Bears hope to return to the ASUN Championship, a title they won two years ago, and it starts with this trip to LSU. Playing a nationally ranked Tigers squad, along with two other top-50 RPI teams in Southeastern Louisiana and Charlotte will force the Bears into tough situations early.
Luckily, the Bears bring back some important pieces from last season, notably senior infielders
Kylie Griffin and
Madi Young. Griffin, last season's ASUN Defensive Player of the Year, was the lone Preseason All-Conference nod for the Bears. Griffin led the Bears on the defensive side of the ball, helping the Bears put together the best fielding percentage in ASUN games. Griffin's posted a .982 fielding percentage overall, and in conference, she was even better, logging 58 assists and 24 putouts without a single error. Young, who missed last season with an injury, was the 2023 ASUN Defensive Player of the Year, and her presence at shortstop was sorely missed. Last time Young was on the field, she was a highlight reel on both sides of the ball, with perhaps the best range of any ASUN shortstop and a pop at the plate that moves the lineup.
Budding sophomore
Renee Christian will also be a crucial piece this season. Her ability on both sides of the ball will be key, and her speed and athleticism will headline a roster built on quick-twitch athletes. Also returning to the field are pitchers
Bailie Runner and
Julia Petty, who combined for 317.1 innings of work last season. They totaled 170 strikeouts and were responsible for all 26 of the team's wins in the circle.
The Bears will start the Tiger Classic with Southeastern Louisiana, a team that won 47 games and the Southland Championship last year. The Lions then went to the Tuscaloosa Regional, where they eliminated Clemson before falling to Alabama.
Southeastern brings back four starts from last year's squad, with three being named to the Preseason All-Southland Team. The transfers should also play a significant role, with transfer pitchers Britney Lewinski from Syracuse and Hallie Burns from Ole Miss joining the team this season.
LSU also brings back just four starters from last season's squad, a group that went 44-17 and reached the Super Regionals against Stanford. After run-ruling Stanford in game one, LSU was held to zero runs in games two and three, bowing out in six innings in game three. The Tigers added three impact transfers, one from Oklahoma, one from McNeese, and one from Ole Miss.
The Bears have won one game against LSU, downing the Tigers in 2022 in what was, at the time, the highest-ranked win in program history. The 3-2 win came down to the seventh inning, Central Arkansas finding an RBI double to take the lead late, then holding on in the bottom of the inning to snag a win on the road.
Charlotte, out of the American Athletic Conference, started last season with a win over No. 4 Florida State, and would go on to win 39 games and reach the Athens regional after winning the AAC Conference Tournament.
The Miners welcome first-year head coach Courtney Breault from Clemson, who helped guide the Tigers to back-to-back Super Regionals. Similar to the other teams, Charlotte brings back six total players, only one full-time starter.
The Bears will play five games at LSU, two on Friday (1:30 and 6:30 p.m.), one on Saturday (4 p.m.) and two on Sunday (10 a.m. and 12:30 p.m.) Only games against LSU will be televised on SECN+, but all games will have live stats available.
