CONWAY, Ark. _ The University of Central Arkansas Bears hit two home runs and two triples on a windy Sunday afternoon and downed the Texas State Bobcats 13-7 at Bear Stadium.
The victory gave the Bears the series victory 2-1 over the league-leading Bobcats, and improved their record to 16-17 overall and 6-9 in Southland Conference play.
The Bears never trailed after scoring three runs in the bottom of the first inning off Texas State starter Colton Turner, who came into the game undefeated at 5-0. Jonathan Davis and Bryan Willson had home runs for the Bears, while Jonathan Houston and Logan Moon added triples as the UCA outhit the Bobcats 14-11. The Bears had a combined 29 hits in Saturday’s and Sunday’s victories.
The Bears staked junior lefthander Dustin Ward to a 5-0 lead after three innings. Houston’s RBI triple started the scoring in the first and Willson added a sacrifice fly. Moon then tripled down the right-field line for a 3-0 lead. After the Bobcats scored one run in the third, UCA came back with two more in the bottom of the inning when Willson hit a two-run home run to left center.
The Bobcats (20-11, 11-4) got two back quickly in the top of the fourth inning with back-to-back home runs from Andrew Stumph and Cory Falvey to make it 5-3. In the bottom of the fourth, the Bears used the long ball again as Davis, a freshman center fielder, hit a three-run shot to left field, his third of the season, pushing the UCA lead to 8-3.
Texas State answered with three runs in the top of the fifth inning, including Casey Kalenkosky’s two-run home run to left field, to close it to 8-6. A pair of pinch hitters added to the Bears’ lead in the bottom of the fifth as Ethan Harris singled and scored on Greg Noble’s double to left center. UCA got another run in the sixth on Willson’s RBI single that scored Davis.
Willson finished 2 for 4 with 4 RBI. Davis had another big game, following up Saturday’s 4-for-6 effort by going 3 for 5 with 3 RBI and 3 runs scored on Sunday. Sophomore catcher Travis Snider added a career-high 3 hits and scored a pair of runs.
Ward went 6.1 innings to improve to 4-3 on the year. He struck out 5 and allowed 6 runs on 8 hits. Senior Evan Cox turned in his second solid relief effort in as many days, pitching 2.2 scoreless innings for his first save. He struck out three consecutive batters over the seventh and eighth innings.
UCA plays at Nicholls State in Thibodaux, La., next weekend.
