CONWAY, Ark. _ Sophomore first baseman Matt Anderson hit a one-out shot to the right-field corner in the 10th inning to score catcher Charles Deckard from first base and give the University of Central Arkansas Bears a 6-5 victory over league-leading McNeese State on Thursday night at Bear Stadium.

    The Bears (19-15, 8-8) got a complete-game victory from senior right hander Bryce Biggerstaff, who sat the Cowboys down in order in the top of the 10th to set up the walk-off victory. Biggerstaff struck out five and walked two, throwing 116 pitches in an extra-inning game that lasted only 2:42. 

    The Bears, coming off a 2-1 series loss on the road at Nicholls State last weekend, pounded out 10 hits against four McNeese pitchers, with Steven O'Bryant (2-4) pitching the final 1 2/3 innings and taking the loss. UCA, which left 11 runners on base, got two hits each from Doug Votolato, Carson Dowdle and Scott Zimmerle. Dowdle also made an outstanding catch in right field in the first inning, flipping over the wall in foul territory on the second batter of the game.

    UCA scored first with a pair of runs in the second inning as Nate Ferrell and Joey Pinney opened with consecutive singles and moved up on Justin Treece's sacrifice bunt. Zimmerle then singled to right center to score both runners.

    The Bears made it 3-0 in the third on Chris Townsend's RBI single the brought in Votolato. But the Cowboys (20-16, 10-6), who entered in a three-way tie for first in the Southland Conference, tied it with three runs in the fourth _ including a two-run home run by Lucas Quary _ and went ahead with two more in the fifth.

    UCA answered in the bottom of the inning when Dowdle had an RBI single up the middle and Ferrell's fielder's choice scored the second run to make it 5-5. The Bears threatened twice more, leaving the the bases loaded in the eighth inning and two on in the ninth. Biggerstaff also worked himself out of a two-on, one-out jam in the ninth, getting consecutive fly balls to end the threat.

    Game 2 of the series is set for 6 p.m. Thursday.