BATON ROUGE, La. – The Central Arkansas softball team couldn't pull off the upset over No. 21 LSU Tuesday night, falling 9-1 against the SEC Tigers.
 
The Bears (25-16) had some chances offensively, but couldn't convert in a couple of key spots to hang with LSU. Kaitlyn Graham hit her third home run of the year to get the Bears on the scoreboard, but the Tigers capitalized on opportunities early and late to take the win.
 
LSU opened the first inning with three runs, jumping out early. Graham answered in the top of the second with her homer, a straight shot to center to get Central Arkansas back in the game. It marks the ninth game in the last 15 that the Bears have logged a home run, and made Graham the fourth Bear to hit at least three this season.
 
Central Arkansas would keep the game close for the first three innings. The Bears had a great opportunity to put some runs on the board in the fourth, loading the bases with zero outs. Trinity Brandon walked to open the frame, and Emma Robertson hit a towering double to right field that carried down the line, and Graham walked. But the Bears couldn't find a way to capitalize on the situation, getting no runs out of the inning.
 
LSU tallied two more runs in the bottom of the fourth, and closed out the game with a quality sixth inning. On the other side, the Bears continued to struggle making adjustments at the plate, recording just three hits on the day. Central Arkansas got its best chance in the late innings with a pair of walks in the top of the sixth, but once more, were unable to bring runners around.
 
The Bears now turn their attention back to ASUN action, hitting the road for the next two weekends. Central Arkansas plays this upcoming weekend at Bellarmine, then follows that series up at EKU the following weekend.