(Durant, Okla.) –  The Central Missouri Jennies softball team dropped its first six games of the season over the weekend in the South Central Shootout hosted by Southeastern Oklahoma in Durant, Okla. The Jennies fell to Texas Permian-Basin, 8-2, No. 3 Angelo State, 9-1 in five innings, Northeastern State, 8-7, Texas A&M International, 4-3, Abilene Christian, 5-4, and Southern Arkansas, 9-2.
      Freshman Brittany Martin led the Jennies on the weekend, going 7-of-14 at the plate with two doubles, a triple, three RBI and four runs scored. Freshman Braylyn Bivens went 9-of-22 with two doubles, four RBI, and two runs scored and sophomore Ashlea Bengtson went 7-of-18 with two doubles, three RBI, and three runs scored.
      In the first game, against Texas Permian-Basin, the Jennies never had a lead and was down 7-0 before plating two runs in the bottom of the fifth inning. Senior Kelli Kurka had a sacrifice fly with the bases loaded, and Bengtson singled to bring in the other.
      Against No. 3 Angelo State, the Jennies were down 7-0 again before Kurka hit a solo home run for UCM's lone score. With that home run Kurka is now the all-time home run hitter in Central Missouri history with 26.
      Central Missouri had its first lead of the weekend in the game against Northeastern State, going up 7-3 after the third inning. After that, the Jennies could not hold on to the lead as they allowed five runs in the final two innings. Bivens and Martin both went 3-of-4 in this game and Bengtson was 2-of-4. Between the three of them they hit in every run.
      In the game against Texas A&M-International, the score was tied at thee each heading into the seventh inning. In the bottom of the seventh, TAMIU had runners on first and second with two outs and got the winning hit. Bivens and junior Katie Groves both went 2-of-4 at the plate and junior Kasey Martin went 2-of-3. Bivens also scored twice in the game.
      The Jennies saw themselves in familiar ground, trailing after the third inning. The Jennies sent three runners across the plate in the fourth that brought them to within one and then gave one up in the bottom half. Going into the seventh inning, UCM needed two runs to tie the score but could not get the other run in.
      Bivens went 3-of-4 in that game with a RBI. Groves, Kurka, Brittany Martin, freshman Brittany Rozier and sophomore Brandi Campbell all had one hit.
      In the last game of the weekend, Central Missouri took a 1-0 lead after the top half of the first inning but never saw a lead or tie again. Southern Arkansas put up five in the bottom half and sailed to victory. Kurka and Brittany Martin both went 2-of-3 in the game. Kurka, Bengtson, and Rozier all collected one hit apiece.
      The Jennies will return to the diamond this weekend when they travel to Joplin, Mo. to participate in the Border Battle. They are scheduled to play Wisconsin-Parkside and Drury on Saturday and Drury and Cameron on Sunday.