HAMMOND, LA – The University of Central Arkansas Bears knocked off the league leader Saturday and, in the process, earned a berth in the Southland Conference Tournament with a hard-fought 10-9 victory over the Southeastern Louisiana Lions at Pat Kenelly Diamond.
The Bears (24-20, 14-12) broke their own five-game losing streak and handed the Lions (37-15, 21-5) their first conference loss in the past 13 games. The victory sealed the Bears’ fourth consecutive berth in the SLC Tournament, which will be played May 20-23 at Constellation Field in Sugar Land, Texas.
Ironically, the last time the tournament was played in Sugar Land, the Bears beat the Lions in the championship game to take their first SLC title.
“That felt good today,’ said UCA head coach Allen Gum. “Our guys just held together. I think the difference today, you could see it in their eyes, they expected to win today. And that’s a big difference. We put together a couple of big innings and that’s what we needed. We got a couple of breaks and found a hole here and there.
“We finally got a big double play, and we’ve been missing that. And that helped us hold on at the end. That’s our mindset, we have to charge. If we make mistakes, we have to do it aggressively. Southeastern is a very aggressive and tough team, they’re going to come at you. You just to have to roll around in the durt with them for nine innings, then let the dust settle and see what happens.’
The Bears fell behind 5-1 after two innings Saturday but battled back by scoring a combined nine runs in the third and fourth innings. A three-run third inning got it back to 5-4, then UCA piled up six runs in the fourth inning, chasing SLU ace Jake Johnson (9-2) after just 3 2/3 innings, his shortest league start of the season.
The Lions, the defending SLC champions, made it interesting with two runs in the fourth and seventh innings, but junior Bo Stitch came on and held the Lions scoreless for the final three innings for his team-high third save.
The double play came in the top of the ninth after SLU’s Julien Service singled on a ball that glanced off of Stitch’s glove. Chris Eades then grounded into a 6-4-3 double play. After Ryan Byers singled past shortstop Logan Preston, Stitch got the SLC’s leading hitter Jacob Seward to line out to Tyler Langley in center for the final out.
Langley finished 3 for 6 with 2 RBI and 2 runs scored from his leadoff spot. Freshman right fielder Ty Tice went 3 for 4 with 2 RBI, while junior catcher Travis Hull hit his first home run of the season, had 2 RBI and scored 3 times.
Freshman lefthander Chris Durham came out of the UCA bullpen in the second inning and pitched 4 1/3 innings to earn his first victory. SLU had 17 hits but only three for extra bases. Eades finished 3 for 5 and Kevin Carr had 3 RBI for the Lions.
The series finale is set for 1 p.m. Sunday.
(Courtesy: UCA Sports Information)
The Bears (24-20, 14-12) broke their own five-game losing streak and handed the Lions (37-15, 21-5) their first conference loss in the past 13 games. The victory sealed the Bears’ fourth consecutive berth in the SLC Tournament, which will be played May 20-23 at Constellation Field in Sugar Land, Texas.
Ironically, the last time the tournament was played in Sugar Land, the Bears beat the Lions in the championship game to take their first SLC title.
“That felt good today,’ said UCA head coach Allen Gum. “Our guys just held together. I think the difference today, you could see it in their eyes, they expected to win today. And that’s a big difference. We put together a couple of big innings and that’s what we needed. We got a couple of breaks and found a hole here and there.
“We finally got a big double play, and we’ve been missing that. And that helped us hold on at the end. That’s our mindset, we have to charge. If we make mistakes, we have to do it aggressively. Southeastern is a very aggressive and tough team, they’re going to come at you. You just to have to roll around in the durt with them for nine innings, then let the dust settle and see what happens.’
The Bears fell behind 5-1 after two innings Saturday but battled back by scoring a combined nine runs in the third and fourth innings. A three-run third inning got it back to 5-4, then UCA piled up six runs in the fourth inning, chasing SLU ace Jake Johnson (9-2) after just 3 2/3 innings, his shortest league start of the season.
The Lions, the defending SLC champions, made it interesting with two runs in the fourth and seventh innings, but junior Bo Stitch came on and held the Lions scoreless for the final three innings for his team-high third save.
The double play came in the top of the ninth after SLU’s Julien Service singled on a ball that glanced off of Stitch’s glove. Chris Eades then grounded into a 6-4-3 double play. After Ryan Byers singled past shortstop Logan Preston, Stitch got the SLC’s leading hitter Jacob Seward to line out to Tyler Langley in center for the final out.
Langley finished 3 for 6 with 2 RBI and 2 runs scored from his leadoff spot. Freshman right fielder Ty Tice went 3 for 4 with 2 RBI, while junior catcher Travis Hull hit his first home run of the season, had 2 RBI and scored 3 times.
Freshman lefthander Chris Durham came out of the UCA bullpen in the second inning and pitched 4 1/3 innings to earn his first victory. SLU had 17 hits but only three for extra bases. Eades finished 3 for 5 and Kevin Carr had 3 RBI for the Lions.
The series finale is set for 1 p.m. Sunday.
(Courtesy: UCA Sports Information)