Bears Drop Rubber Match to North Alabama 11-1

CONWAY, Ark. – Central Arkansas began Sunday looking to win its three-game series against North Alabama, but those hopes didn’t turn into reality.

North Alabama defeated the Bears 3-1 to secure the conference series victory and conclude the Bears’ ASUN regular season play.

The Bears (17-24, 8-7 ASUN) fell behind early and couldn’t quite pick up the runs necessary to overcome the deficit, despite outhitting the Lions. North Alabama took advantage of a couple of early baserunners in the first inning, hitting an RBI double and a sacrifice fly to take an early 2-0 lead. Central Arkansas responded in the bottom of the frame, with Kylie Griffin circling the bases on a single, a stolen base and a groundout. Tremere Harris brought her home on a sacrifice bunt, putting Central Arkansas in the scoring column.

Both teams struggled to get runners on base over the middle innings of the game, but the home team was able to put at least one runner on in each inning except for the fifth. Yet offense was largely nonexistent, as both pitchers kept hitters guessing. Julia Petty struck out four batters and scattered five hits across her seven innings. But in the seventh, back-to-back extra base hits allowed the Lions to tack on one more run, putting the Bears back two.

Central Arkansas now hits the road for two weeks, playing ASUN series in Nashville against Lipscomb and at Kennesaw State the weekend after. First pitch against the Bison is on Saturday at 2 p.m.