The Bears won two and lost two at the Michelle Short Memorial Classic on Feb. 23-25 at the Farris Fields Complex.

On day one, the Bears (4-10) fell short to the Purdue Boilermakers (7-5) 4-3 in extra innings.

Purdue scored its second-base runner, junior infielder Tyrina Jones, on a UCA throwing error. The game-winner came after sophomore infielder Sage Scarmardo recorded a hit. 

Sophomore outfielder Khloe Banks stole third and then scored on junior infielder Jade Moy’s RBI single. Sophomore outfielder Jordyn Ramos’ diving catch decided the game.

On day two, the Bears played two games. The first game was against the South Dakota State Jackrabbits (8-7) and for the second, the Bears faced the Southern Illinois Salukis (7-4). 

The Jackrabbits scored eight straight runs to win 8-1, but the Bears won the next game against the Salukis 11-2, as sophomore outfielder Gracie St. Hilaire’s triple to right cleared the bases and the Bears run rule the Salukis.

To wrap up day three, the Bears bounced back against the Jackrabbits, scoring six consecutive runs after sophomore designated hitter Collen Bare was walked with bases loaded in the fifth inning, giving the Bears the lead and winning 6-4. 

This is the Bears’ first home game of the season after playing 10 straight away games to start the season. 

“Being home is great,” coach Jenny Parsons said. “We can sleep in our own bed and set our own time schedules; it’s really important. It’s easier to play in familiar territory than it is to go on the road and play at different places.“ 

Despite a rough schedule and a slow start to the season, injuries have been a big problem as freshmen and new transfers step in.

“I’ve lost count,” Parsons said about how many people have played shortstop this year. “Maddie Connolly-Hojas got thrown out there this weekend. Lilly Hood played some shortstop, and then we went with Kylie Griffin for one game, but that was too much confusion in our defense.”  

Other than the shortstop position, Parsons gave praise to other players on the team. 

“Renee Christian had a great weekend playing left field as a freshman, then the pitching staff, Bailie [Runner] and Julia [Petty] pitched really well the last couple of games,” Parsons said. 

The Bears will have a two-day rest before the next game on Wednesday. 

“We’re gonna take off tomorrow, we play Wednesday against [Louisiana] Tech so we’ll try to practice on Tuesday and watch a lot of film, and just prepare every day.” 

The Bears will play the next 10 games at home, starting with the Louisiana Tech Bulldogs (9-2) on Feb. 28.

The Bears will host the Adam Brown Memorial Shamrock Classic from March 1 to March 3.

UCA will play the Chattanooga Mocs at 4 p.m. on March 1 and 1:30 p.m. on March 2.

UCA then plays the Saint Francis Red Flash at 4:30 p.m. on March 2 and at 1:30 p.m. on March 3.