CONWAY, Ark. – The Central Arkansas softball team gets set for its ASUN Championship opener on Thursday. With Wednesday's games cycling through, the Bears are slated to play the No. 4 seeded Jacksonville Dolphins at 11 a.m. CT.
The Bears (34-18-1, 16-6-1 ASUN) wrapped up the regular season going 7-2-1 over the final ten games, and 13-3-1 since starting ASUN play 3-3. Central Arkansas also hasn't lost back-to-back ASUN games since opening weekend of conference play, dropping the one and only series at North Alabama to start the ASUN slate.
Most recently, the Bears closed out the regular season with a sweep over Lipscomb, dominating the three games to the tune of 24-3. With the great finish, along with the rest of the regular season, the Bears picked up six all-conference nods, including three First Team All-ASUN honors.
Trinity Brandon,
Addie Graham and
Emma Robertson were all first teamers,
Kaitlyn Graham was on the second team, and
Bailie Runner was on the league's third team, with
Emory Bowlin receiving all-freshman honors.
The Bears have had some success in the ASUN Championship in prior years; everyone remembers the historic run in 2023, when the Bears won five games in 52 hours to clinch the second-ever NCAA Regional appearance in program history. But since then, and now with no players remaining that saw the field during that run, the Bears have their own story to write. Central Arkansas has been a top-three seed in every ASUN Championship from start to finish in the ASUN era, but last year, the Bears saw an earlier exit than anticipated. The Bears, bolstered by a program record-setting offense, will look to do more damage this year.
First up, Jacksonville. An ASUN Graphite team, the Dolphins (33-19, 16-8 ASUN) and Bears haven't met since an April series at JU, a sweep for the Bears that saw a couple of shutout wins. But this year's teams are different. Jacksonville started its ASUN Championship defeating No. 5 FGCU to advance to tomorrow's showdown, winning a 6-2 final with a pair of homers leading the way.
Jacksonville's numbers suggest a well-rounded offense, with one of the best hitters in the conference in Sarah Beth Brake. The Troy transfer led the team with a .404 batting average, 14 doubles and 13 home runs, combining average and power for one of the league's scariest bats. The Dolphins also sport the ASUN Freshman of the Year in Jaida Thomas, who hit .366 with ten doubles, seven triples and four homers. In the circle, the Dolphins are led by Jacy Harrelson. With a 2.31 ERA, the sophomore righty tossed 13 complete games in the regular season, striking out 122 batters in 179 innings of work.
Central Arkansas and Jacksonville are set for an 11 a.m. CT start on Thursday, playing at UNF Softball Complex. The game will be streamed on ESPN+, with live stats available online.
