Bears rally to win Game One, tie Game Two at EKU

RICHMOND, Ky. — Sunday didn’t start easy for Central Arkansas softball. The Bears trailed Eastern Kentucky through most of Game One and watched the clock run out in Game Two. But when the day was done, UCA had picked up a big win and made a little history on the road.

The Bears went 1-1-1 on the weekend at Eastern Kentucky University, finishing the regular season series 3-1-1 against the Colonels. The results moved UCA to 29-17-1 overall and 11-5-1 in ASUN Conference play. Sunday’s tie was just the second in program history.

Game One: Bears chip away, then break through

Eastern Kentucky came out swinging in the opener. A second-inning home run gave EKU an early lead, and the Bears couldn’t cash in despite having the bases loaded in that same frame. UCA stayed scoreless for the first three innings while leaving runners on base.

Addie Graham finally got the Bears on the board with an RBI single in the fourth inning, tying the game. But EKU answered with a five-run bottom half of the inning, pushing the lead to 6-1 and putting UCA in a tough spot.

The Bears didn’t fold. Back-to-back walks to open the fifth forced a pitching change from EKU, and UCA took advantage. Kaitlyn Graham singled a run home, and LJ Smith followed with a run-scoring double. Just like that, the Bears had cut the gap to three.

In the sixth, UCA kept coming. Renee Christian led off with a single, Trinity Brandon added another hit, and Emma Robertson drew a walk to load the bases.

Graham then sliced a two-run single through the right side, pulling the Bears within one. The rally stalled, though, setting up a deciding seventh inning.

Christian reached on an error to start the UCA seventh. Brandon moved her into scoring position with a single. With two outs and the season series hanging in the balance, Robertson crushed a 1-2 pitch over the center-field wall for a two-run homer, giving the Bears an 8-6 lead.

EKU loaded the bases in the bottom half with two singles and a walk but freshman pitcher Jaleigh White got the final out as the batter dribbled one right back to her. She tossed it to first to end the game.

White hadn’t pitched in six weeks after returning from injury. The win was her first in ASUN play and her fourth of the season. Graham went 3-for-4 with three RBIs to lead UCA at the plate, while Brandon scored three times and added two hits.

Game Two: Robertson homers again, but tie ends series

Addie Graham set the tone early in the finale, connecting on her fifth home run of the season in the first inning to give the Bears a quick 1-0 lead.

Neither team scored again until the fourth, when Graham singled and Smith doubled to put two runners in scoring position.

Pinch runner Sydney Kildow came in, and Lilly Hood drilled a single through the 5-6 hole to score both runners, pushing the lead to 3-0. EKU got one back in the bottom of the fourth to trim the gap.

The score stayed 3-1 through the fifth and sixth innings. In the seventh, Addie Graham opened with a double to right center.

Two batters later, Robertson cleared the roof of the hitting facility beyond centerfield for another home run — her second of the day — stretching the lead to 5-1.

But EKU wasn’t finished.

The Colonels rallied for four runs in the bottom of the seventh to tie the score 5-5. With the drop-dead time limit reached before the inning could be completed, the game ended in a tie.

UCA is back home for its final two series of the regular season, opening with a doubleheader against North Alabama on Saturday, April 25, at 1 p.m., with the series finale set for Sunday at 1 p.m. It’ll also be Alumni Weekend for the Bears.