DELAND, Fla. – ASUN CHAMPIONS, HOW DOES THAT SOUND? After falling in the first game of the ASUN Championships, the No. 1 seed Central Arkansas Bears gutted out five-straight wins to claim the ASUN's automatic berth into the NCAA Tournament, with the last two on Saturday against the No. 5 seed North Alabama Lions. After battling through a four-hour rain delay in game one, the Bears dominated the rematch to claim their second conference tournament title in program history, and the first as members of the ASUN.
 
The five-game run lifted the Bears to 44-10 on the year, with the Championship streak being completed in 52 hours, including a four-hour rain delay. Central Arkansas's run saw the Bears outscore their opponents 19-6, with two games in extra innings and one run-rule. But neither game on Saturday went short or long, two seven inning games in which the Bears outscored the Lions 9-1 to avenge the opening game loss.
 
On the day, Madi Young hit 4-for-5 with a pair of doubles, reaching base seven out of eight times. Kayla Beaver and Jordan Johnson combined for a 0.50 ERA, allowing just the one run across 14.0 innings.
 
Game One: Central Arkansas – 3, North Alabama – 1
Starting in the heat and sun of midday Florida, game one of the day opened with two baserunners for the Bears, with a single by Kylie Griffin and a walk from Madi Young. The duo advanced to scoring position, but the Lions were able to get out of the threat before allowing a run to cross. With Jordan Johnson in the circle, the bottom of the first went three up, three down, requiring just seven pitches to get through the opening frame.
 
Jaylee Engelkes led off the second inning and opened the scoring with a moonshot to right field. It marked the third homer of the tournament for the senior, who tallied seven RBI with her round trippers. North Alabama answered in the third inning, piecing together a single and two walks before taking advantage of a wild pitch to knot the score at 1-1.
 
The next couple of innings went by without incident, save for a sprinkle of rain in the fifth inning, until the top of the sixth rolled around for the Bears. McKayla Betts got on with a one-out single, and moved to second when Morgan Curley walked. It was then that the game was halted due to a torrential downpour, with the Florida weather rearing its head to slow the momentum of Central Arkansas. Rain turned to lightning, resulting in a four-hour delay with a conference championship on the line.
 
Upon resumption of the game, Jenna Wildeman replaced Betts on a fielder's choice. Tremere Harris brought the top of the order back around, and the left fielder punched one to the second baseman, who let it slip past her to let Josie Willingham score to take the lead.
 
After fending off the bottom of the sixth, the Bears came back to the plate in the seventh with a chance to add to the lead. And up to the plate with two outs, Morgan Nelson located and detonated with a 2-2 count, tying the Central Arkansas single season record with her 12^th bomb of the year to stretch the lead to two.
 
Kayla Beaver came in to record the save, needing just eight pitches to clinch the first victory of the day and give the Bears one more chance to complete the run. Johnson won her 20^th game of the season, reaching 20 wins for the first time in her storied career.
 
Game Two: Central Arkansas – 6, North Alabama – 0
Rolling with the momentum from her fourth save of the season, Kayla Beaver opened up the winner-take-all, final game of the ASUN Championship throwing absolute flame. The redshirt junior lasered six straight strikes past UNA batters, sitting the first three Lions down in order. On offense, the Bears did not suffer the same fate, scoring with two outs. Madi Young hit a double to left field, and the ensuing throw sailed into foul territory of right field, so Young did what anyone would do, kept going around and scored the opening run of the game.
 
Mary Kate Brown, who hit a team-best .412 over the six games of the tournament, came to the plate after Young's wild sequence. On a 23-game streak reaching base dating back to March, the redshirt junior saw two pitches go by before lining up the third and catapulting it out to right center, crushing it beyond the wall to put up another quick run.
 
The Bears struck again in the third inning, having allowed just one baserunner through three for the Lions. Tremere Harris got on with a single through the left side, reaching second on a wild pitch. Kylie Griffin walked on four-straight pitches, and Young followed that up with a double to left center, scoring Harris to widen the gap to three. A wild pitch scored Griffin, Mary Kate Brown walked, and a passed ball then scored Young. By the time North Alabama got out of it, three runs had scored to push the lead to five.
 
One more run crossed home for Central Arkansas, with Morgan Nelson establishing herself on base with a walk. Colleen Bare came in to pinch run for Nelson, advancing to second on a wild pitch. Jaylee Engelkes came back to the plate and squeaked one under the legs of the first baseman, catching the right fielder off guard as well. Engelkes, who had only hit home runs to that point, sprinted around first and reached second before the defense could recover, which was plenty of time for Bare to score from second.
 
North Alabama had no answer for Beaver, eight-straight to end the game. The seventh inning in particular, Beaver needed literally three pitches to end things, with all three hitters swinging on pitch number one. It marked Beaver's tenth shutout of the season, just the second ten-shutout season in program history by a Bear pitcher. The Jackson, Tenn., native tossed just 64 pitches in the complete game shutout, averaging fewer than ten pitches per inning.
 
Central Arkansas's championship was the first in ASUN history in which a number one seed lost its first game and climbed all the way back from the loser's bracket. It also marked the first time since 2013 that a team has forced the winner-take-all game. The Bears played six games in three days, hitting .269 with 43 hits and five home runs. The pitching tandem of Beaver and Johnson combined for a 0.78 ERA, allowing just six runs all tournament, holding opponent hitters to a .173 average.
 
Up next for the Bears is a decision from the selection committee. With the automatic bid firmly in place, the team now just waits to hear its name in tomorrow's selection show to learn which regional it earns a spot in for the road to Oklahoma City. The NCAA Selection Show is at 6:00 p.m. CT on Sunday on ESPN2.