BATON ROUGE, La. – Central Arkansas softball wrapped up the Tiger Classic with games four and five of the weekend on Sunday, narrowly dropping the morning game against Charlotte before stumbling against Southeastern Louisiana.
Game One: Central Arkansas – 6, Charlotte – 7
Charlotte jumped out of the gates, taking advantage of some early struggles by the Bears to take an early 4-0 lead after the first inning. But credit to Central Arkansas, the lineup came out for the second inning raring to go, determined to get back into the game.
Kaitlyn Graham got things started with a walk, battling through a 2-2 count to get the free base.
Renee Christian knocked a single to move Graham to second, and the pair advanced to scoring position on a wild pitch. Then with two outs,
Emma Veach punched a double down the right field line, scoring both baserunners. After
Autumn Vessier walked,
Kylie Griffin shot a single through the 3-4 hole, allowing a pinch-running
Carmen Uribe to sprint home and cut the deficit to one.
The Bears kept things going in the third inning. After sitting down the Niners in order,
Lilly Hood found a two-out single to keep the order moving. Christian punched her second hit of the day to follow up Hood, and an error allowed the pair to move to second and third.
LJ Smith finished the job by smashing one up the middle, scoring the runners for a 5-4 Central Arkansas lead.
Charlotte answered in the fourth, scoring three runs to retake a 7-5 lead. The Bears went right back to work in the bottom half of the frame, as Vessier opened it up with a double. Griffin laid down a perfect sacrifice bunt, and a bad throw allowed Vessier to score from second. But that would be the last run scored by either side, despite a baserunner in the seventh for Central Arkansas.
Game Two: Central Arkansas – 0, Southeastern Louisiana – 5
Central Arkansas struggled to get anything going in the second game against Southeastern Louisiana. After defeating the Lions the first time around, the Bears just couldn't find a comfort in the box, mustering just two hits.
Defensively, the Bears tried to work through the tough day at the plate, but the Lions were able to pick up runs in the second, fifth and seventh innings to put Central Arkansas in a bad spot. The Bears did have baserunners in four different innings, but couldn't find ways to move them around.
Central Arkansas will be back in the state of Louisiana next weekend, playing five more games in the Ragin' Cajun Invitational. There, the Bears will face Sam Houston, Northern Illinois, Ole Miss, and Louisiana-Lafayette.
