CONWAY, Ark. – Central Arkansas softball closes the regular season with a home series against North Alabama this weekend. The Bears and Lions will face off at 5 p.m. on Friday before a doubleheader at 11 a.m. on Saturday. Senior day recognitions will take place after game two on Saturday, following the close of the series.
The Bears (25-25, 13-7 ASUN) look to close the regular season above .500 and lock up a Day Two seed in the ASUN Championships next week. Central Arkansas currently sits in second place in the ASUN Gold Division, and with seeding set by RPI, could lock up a top-four seed to avoid the single-elimination games next week.
Last time out, the Bears took two of three at Austin Peay, including a dominant game three in which
Bailie Runner shutout the Govs with a five-inning run rule win. She was also the winning pitcher in game one, and earned herself the ASUN Pitcher of the Week award after tossing 12.0 innings of one-run softball, allowing just five hits in two games.
Central Arkansas has won every regular season ending series since 2021, but will face a different challenge with North Alabama. The Bears swept the Lions in Florence earlier this season, but North Alabama is always a challenge, regardless of the final score. Last season's series saw the Lions take two of three in Conway, before being swept this season.
The three seniors that will play their final games in Conway are
Julia Petty,
Madi Young and
Kylie Griffin. Petty, who transferred in from Northwest Florida State, has 60 wins in the circle in her career, and will always be remembered for her gutsy play in the ASUN Championship last season, fighting through injuries to help the Bears reach a third-consecutive ASUN Quarterfinal.
Young, who came in from Butler Community College, was the ASUN Defensive Player of the Year and a First Team All-ASUN shortstop in 2023. In five years of college softball, she has amassed over 300 hits, including over 100 in two years at Central Arkansas. Her ability on both sides of the ball has created countless highlights and helped the Bears to a 2023 ASUN Championship.
Griffin is the lone four-year Bear in the trio of seniors. Starting pretty much from day one, the Greenbrier native has been a mainstay on the ASUN's postseason lists. After being named to the All-Freshman team in 2022, she has two-consecutive First Team All-ASUN nods, and has done so with elite production on both sides of the ball. In her four years, she has 248 hits and over 300 assists at third base, with a fielding percentage of .985, the highest in program history for a player with at even 100 assists.
North Alabama (30-17, 10-11 ASUN) has also locked in a spot in the ASUN Championships, but needs some help to avoid the single-elimination rounds. The Lions got zero help last weekend, falling to EKU in the final two games of the series.
The Lions will continue to rely on their top three hitters, all of whom bat over .350. Hailey Jones leads the trio with an average of .389. The senior has a team-best 63 hits, and has only six strikeouts in over 160 at bats. Laura Leigh Wheeler and Briley Dover also both hit north of .350, and are tied for second on the team with seven home runs each. The UNA pitching staff, who has run six deep in ASUN games, features a group of pitchers that holds a 3.71 ERA in conference games, holding batters to a .253 average.
All three games this weekend will be streamed on ESPN+, with first pitch on Friday at 5 p.m. and Saturday's doubleheader set for 11 a.m. Live stats will also be available online. The Bears will celebrate the graduation of five Bears before Friday's game, then celebrate the three seniors after the doubleheader on Saturday.
