Starkville, Miss. –
Facing elimination yet again, the Central Arkansas Bears did what they have done so well over the past week and a half, staring the end of their season in the face and refusing to give in. The fourth-seeded Bears rode an outstanding performance from true freshman Connor Gilmore to a 3-0 win over the second-seeded South Alabama Jaguars, eliminating the Jags and surviving for a rematch against top-seeded Mississippi State.
Both teams scattered some hits over the first three innings of the game, but neither was able to get on the board until Central Arkansas (41-21) struck first in the bottom of the fourth. Left fielder Ethan Harris got the inning started with a double down the right field line, moving to third on a sacrifice bunt by second baseman Blake Marchal. Following an infield popup first baseman Scott Zimmerle slapped a single to left field to drive in Harris and give the Bears a 1-0 lead.
Neither team was able to round the bags again until Central Arkansas scratched out a pair of insurance runs the bottom of the eighth inning off of South Alabama (43-20) closer Kyle Bartsch. Harris again got things going for the Bears, singling to left field. Marchal laid down a bunt and just beat the throw to first giving the Bears runners at first and second with no outs and drawing South Alabama head coach Mark Calvi out of the dugout for a discussion. When all was said and done, Calvi was ejected and Marchal was still on first. A double steal, the Bears’ second of the day, moved the runners to second and third. Catcher Michael Marietta and Zimmerle gave the Bears some insurance lofting a pair of sacrifice flies to center field to extend the Central Arkansas lead to 3-0.
Just as he did in last Saturday’s Southland Conference Championship game, Gilmore came through for the Bears in a big way. The righty from Little Rock, Arkansas tossed a complete-game shutout, allowing just four hits while striking out two and walking one. He didn’t allow a runner to reach third base. Gilmore needed only 101 pitches to complete the game, improving to 5-0 on the season while lowering his ERA to 0.59 on the season. This comes on the heels of a two hit shutout in the SLC championship game and extends Gilmore’s scoreless innings streak to 19 innings, a period in which he has allowed just six hits. When asked if he expected to be throwing an elimination game at an NCAA regional prior to the season, Gilmore replied, “Not at all. But coach asked me to come in and make an impact, and I feel like I did that. My feet are lightly touching the ground right now, it’s incredible.”
Jaime Dennis (2-1) took the loss for South Alabama, allowing a run on six hits in 4.2 innings. Dennis struck out five Central Arkansas batters. Jordan Patterson, who spent most of the game as the Jaguars’ designated hitter, held the Bears scoreless in two innings of work, issuing two walks and striking out three. Dylan Stamey struck out the only batter he faced in the seventh inning, recording one strikeout. Bartsch worked one inning, allowing a pair of runs on two hits and striking out one.
Central Arkansas head coach Allen Gum had nothing but praise for Gilmore, saying, “He’s come such a long way, he’s matured throughout the year and he understands the process. He pitches to his defense and puts the pressure on them. I’ve always believed that good things come to those who work hard and Connor’s definitely worked hard.” When asked what it’s like to see a player from the Central Arkansas region succeed at Central Arkansas, Gum answered, “It’s huge. Our plan was to start in the central part of the state and build out from there. It’s big for our program, and for our university. There’re good players there and when they buy into the system, they can be very successful.”
The win gave the Bears a chance at a rematch with host Mississippi State, who defeated Central Arkansas by a score 5-3 on Friday night. The Bears and Bulldogs will face off at 7:05 tonight.
