ACU struggled this weekend in its three-game series versus Central Arkansas. The Lady Bears completed the sweep Saturday.
The Wildcats were shutout on Friday night’s doubleheader with scores of 7-0 and 8-0.
“The first two games our pitching did a good job keeping us in some good positions so we got some highlights from them,” head coach Abigail Farler said. “UCA just executed everything we’re trying to execute as far as being an aggressive team and their baserunning. Unfortunately we were on the losing side of a team trying to execute what we want to do”
UCA collected 31 hits and used several multiple run innings to sweep the Wildcats. The Bears are now 12-3 against the Wildcats with five wins in a row.
“We faced a really tough team,” Farler said. “We didn’t come out and compete well at all. Didn’t see enough fight out of our team and didn’t perform.”
However, on Friday, redshirt senior utility player Donelle Johnson secured four hits in two games vs the Bears.
“Donelle’s just coming back from a broken hand, so it was good to get her out in the outfield,” Farler said. “She showed us good signs of what she’s able to do for us. She’s an exciting player to watch.”
On Saturday, sophomore infielder Shaylee Alani hit her first home run of the year to right center in the second inning versus the Bears. She cut the Bears lead to 3-1 but the Wildcats were unable to build off her momentum in a 15-2 loss.
“Shaylee has the ability to make a big impact at the plate so it was good to see her get a long ball,” Farler said.
The Wildcats now stand 6-18 on the season and 2-4 in conference play.
“We have to learn,” Farler said. “We have to make sure we learn from every loss and make sure it helps us win down the road. If losing this series helps us learn and coach some games into the W column moving forward then it will be worth it for us. We have to be committed to learning.”
Next up for the Wildcats is a road trip to Hammond, Louisiana to face the Southeastern Louisiana Lions. Southeastern is currently 4-1 in the Southland.
“Moving forward we just need to come together and find a fight within each of us,” redshirt senior pitcher Samantha Bradley said. “Once we find that, we need to bring it to the team as a whole. We need to be aggressive and really attack whichever team we face. We can’t be timid, we have to find the fight within ourselves.”
