CONWAY, Ark. - Saturday afternoon (Feb. 27) saw Western Illinois softball (7-4) complete its three-day stay at the Michelle Short Memorial Collegiate Classic. Matched up against the host team, Central Arkansas, the Leathernecks fell 9-1 in five innings.

Several runs by UCA occurred in the second frame, beginning with a pair of RBI singles. The Bears then connected on a 2 RBI hit to right field before doubling for one more run to end the period with a total of five.

Abrianna Gracia gave WIU its first hit on a right-field single in the top of the fourth. However, the UCA offense took over to pile up four more scores in that same inning. Sydney Hollings singled down the left-field line in the fifth - running in Ashley Minyard for WIU's sole RBI. After the Bears' batter took over once more, the contest closed early due to the run-ahead rule.

Gracia and Hollings ended with one hit each for Western. On the defensive side, Gracia, Bella Alvarez, and Meghan Henson contributed three putouts apiece.

The Leathernecks have an 11-day break from competition until they visit Valparaiso on March 10. This will be the second meeting of the year between the two after the latter took a 3-1 win in WIU's season opener at the 2021 DePaul Dome Tournament.