CONWAY, Ark. – The Central Arkansas softball team broke out the brooms on Saturday, finishing off its first ASUN home sweep of the season after defeating Lipscomb in game three, winning 9-6 at Natalie Shock Stadium.
The win boosts Central Arkansas to 23-24 overall and 11-6 in ASUN games, clinching a spot in the ASUN Championship for the fourth-straight season. The lineup collected ten hits, including multi-hit games from
Kylie Griffin,
Madi Young and
Kaitlyn Graham.
Lipscomb scored first, just like in games one and two, putting down three hits to open the game and crossing home twice. But the Bears would waste no time getting those runs back, using three-straight hits and an RBI groundout to tie the game in the home half of the first. The Bears continued the offense in the second, combining two singles and a double to take a 3-2 lead and adding on with a sacrifice fly. A Graham double down the left field line scored two more, and after two innings, the Bears were up 6-2.
The Bisons scored on a sacrifice fly in the third to trim the lead, but otherwise, the Bears' pitching and defense limited the damage that Lipscomb could do after the first inning.
Emma Robertson put the lead back at four in the fifth with a sacrifice fly of her own, sending Graham home to make it 7-3. In the sixth inning,
Addie Graham got on board with a walk, and a double by Young allowed the speedy freshman to make it all the way home from first.
Kaitlyn Graham followed that up with a double of her own, sending Young home to make it 9-3.
But the Bisons weren't done fighting, putting together a pair of singles to get runners on before a home run cut the lead to just three.
Paityn Engemann came in to retire the last batter, and with four pitches, induced a groundout to short, and picked up her first save of the year.
Central Arkansas is on the road for the next series, heading up to Austin Peay for a three-game set next weekend. The Bears will play one game on each of Friday, Saturday and Sunday before returning home the following weekend to close the regular season.
