Softball
Comeback falls short for UCA against Memphis in second home losss
Addie Graham, Madi Young and Lilly Hood all recorded multiple hits and walks, but other players struggle
CONWAY, Ark. — Despite fighting back in the late innings, Central Arkansas couldn’t hang on in extras, falling 7-6 to a gritty Memphis squad.
The loss moves the Bears to 8-11 on the year, and marks just the second home loss of the season.
Addie Graham, Madi Young and Lilly Hood all recorded multiple hits and walks, but hitters around them in the order struggled to find timely hits.
A strong wind made early pitching a bit of a struggle, as both sides gave up some early hits. After the Tigers tallied two in the top of the first, the Bears set out to get one back, and did so in the home half of the frame.
A double by Graham put a runner in scoring position with one out, and after moving to third, an infield single by Kaitlyn Graham scored the run.
Both teams added one in the third, with a single and advance by Young and a single from Hood keeping the margin 3-2 going to the fourth.
Memphis added three in the fifth, and the three multi-hit Bears combined to scrape one across to keep it within three. But going into the seventh, UCA still needed three, and hadn’t put a ton of back-to-back anything together.
Hood opened with a walk, getting on base without a threat of a putout. Michaela Mortimer punched a single up the middle to move Hood to third, and a fielder’s choice that retired Mortier at second allowed Hood to cross home.
Emma Veach took four-straight pitches to walk, moving Renee Christian to second. The sophomore outfielder reached third on a fielder’s choice, bringing the top of the order back up.
Kylie Griffin smacked one down the left field line, and the left fielder, who came in earlier as a defensive substitute, misplayed it, dropping what should have been the third out. In doing so, Christian and Autumn Vessier scored, tying the game at 6-6.
But in the eighth, Memphis added one more in the top half of the inning that the Bears weren’t able to recover from, going three up and three down in the home half of extras.
Addie Graham reached to improve her hitting streak to ten games, while Vessier and Mortimer both reached five games.
The Bears are back at home this weekend, hosting Omaha and Illinois State in the Milisa Moore/Shane Lamb Memorial Tournament. The Bears will play on Friday at 2:30 against Omaha for their first appearance.
