CONWAY, Ark. – Back on the road for another ASUN series, the Central Arkansas softball team heads to Nashville, Tennessee to face Lipscomb in a three-game series. The Bears and Bisons will face off in a 1 p.m. double-header on Saturday, then close out the series on Sunday at 1 p.m.
 
The Bears (19-11, 1-2 ASUN) gave No. 8/9 Arkansas an early scare on Tuesday, scoring a pair of runs in the first inning and forcing a pitching change before eventually bowing out against the nationally ranked Hogs. Before that, Central Arkansas opened ASUN play at North Alabama, taking the series finale last Sunday to salvage the series. Renee Christian had an excellent series, hitting .545 over three games. She was also responsible for eight of the 18 runs, crossing the plate five times herself and driving in three runs.
 
Now 30 games into the season, the Bears have marked themselves among the nation's leaders in several categories. Central Arkansas, as always, has been a quality defensive team, ranking second in the country in double plays turned, doubling up 22 times this season. On the offensive side of the ball, the Bears rank ninth in doubles (58), 11^th in walks (128) and 16^th in triples (10).
 
Since joining the ASUN, Central Arkansas is 11-1 against Lipscomb, with a ten-game winning streak since game three of the 2022 series. Last year, the offense rolled, outscoring the Bisons 24-11 over three games.
 
Lipscomb enters the weekend 7-20, currently on a three-game slide. The Bisons opened ASUN play last weekend, dropping two of tree games at Bellarmine. On Tuesday, the Bisons fell 10-5 against Eastern Illinois, getting outscored 7-1 after the first inning.
 
In the series against Bellarmine, the Bisons hit .340 as a team, led by Macyn Kirby's .667 on nine at bats. Ten Bisons registered hits in the series, but the team only had five extra base hits, four doubles and a home run, across the first three games of conference play. In the circle, Lipscomb pitchers only recorded two strikeouts all series, while walking 13 batters.
 
On the season, Kirby is batting a team-high .479, a number that ranks second in the ASUN and 32^nd in the country, but of her 35 hits, only two have been for extra bases. Lipscomb has done a good job stealing bases this season, with 43 in 27 games, and ten players have swiped a base this year.
 
First pitch against the Bisons is set for 1 p.m. on Saturday, the first game of a double header. The series will be completed on Sunday, also at 1 p.m. All three games will be streamed on ESPN+, with live stats available online.