CONWAY, Ark. – The Central Arkansas softball team wrapped up its third series sweep of the year, defeating Florida Gulf Coast 4-3 on Saturday.
Jordan Johnson kept the Eagles scoreless for six innings before the visitors made a game of it in the seventh, but the Bears held strong and secured the win.
Saturday's victory improved the Bears to 27-8 on the year and 10-1 in ASUN play. The lineup added eight more hits, including
Colleen Bare's fourth double and
Mary Kate Brown's second home run of the season.
It was a pitcher's duel for the first two innings, with both sides failing to move runners and score runs. Johnson struck out two batters in each of the first two innings, collecting five Ks by the middle of the third inning. By that point, the bats finally started going, as the order made it back around to the top.
Tremere Harris led off with a single, and was moved to second on a sacrifice bunt.
Madi Young, who was spectacular all series, moved Harris to third with a sharply hit single past the pitcher, putting runners on the corners with one out.
Young stole second to get into scoring position, and
Morgan Nelson walked, loading the bases and putting the Eagles in a tough situation. Brown drove in the first run of the game with a sacrifice fly to left field, deep enough to give Harris time to scamper home. Bare added another to the ledger with a double to the wall, scoring Young.
Jenna Wildeman got on base in the fourth, reaching on a fielding error to get things rolling. A couple of pitches later, the speedster was off to the races, stealing second. A batter later, Wildeman would take third, sprinting and beating the throw to move 60 feet closer to scoring. Griffin scored the junior outfielder on the next at bat, zipping a single past the second baseman to drive in the run for a 3-0 lead.
In the fifth inning, Florida Gulf Coast moved a pair of runners into scoring position, pairing hits to put batters at second and third with one out. But Johnson, always calm and collected, induced a pop up and a groundout to end the threat, needing just five pitches to record the last two outs of the frame.
Central Arkansas responded in kind in the home half of the inning, as Brown came to the plate with one out. Battling to a full count, the junior found a pitch she liked and crushed it, sending her second home run of the season deep to straight center.
The Eagles, desperate to find some sort of answer, finally made a game of it in the seventh. Three straight hits by the visitors, two singles and a double, to break through and plate a run.
Kayla Beaver would come in for the save, but not before FGCU added two more on an RBI single, cutting the lead to just one. Settling in, Beaver struck out the final batter on three straight pitches, earning her second save of the season.
Up next for the Bears is one of the biggest games in college athletics' history in the state of Arkansas, as the Razorbacks make the return trip to Conway on Tuesday. With both teams in the top-20 of the NCAA's RPI, it certainly is setting up to be an instant classic. First pitch against Arkansas is set for 6 p.m. on Tuesday.
