CONWAY, Ark. _ The UAPB Golden Lions had 16 hits on Tuesday night to down the University of Central Arkansas Bears 14-9 in a non-conference slugfest at Bears Stadium.

    The Golden Lions (15-12) won their fourth straight game of the season and just their second game in 17 tries against the Bears. UAPB jumped out to a 6-0 lead through 2 1/2 innings before UCA answered with three home runs in the bottom of the third inning to tie it.

    But the Golden Lions put up six more in the fourth and added two runs in the fifth to push the lead to 14-8. The Bears added a run in the eighth but could get no closer as they broke a three-game winning streak.

    In the third inning, the Bears got their first hit of the game off UAPB starter Jerimiah Figueroa, a home run from shortstop Logan Preston. Center fielder Tyler Langley started the six-run inning by reaching on a throwing error. He stole second, advanced to third on a passed ball and scored on Wesley Hoover's ground out.

    Preston followed with his team-high sixth home run, a two-out, two-run shot that closed the gap to 6-3. First baseman Joey Pinney followed with his first career home run and, after Hayden Steele was hit by a pitch, Braxton Phillips added another two-run shot to tie the game and get the Bears back in it.

    Pinney, a sophomore from North Little Rock, added a two-run double in the fourth. Pinney finished 2 for 5 with 3 RBI, while Preston was 1 for 3 with 3 RBI. UCA scored nine runs on just seven hits.

    UAPB reliever Humberto Medina earned the victory with 1 1/3 innings of relief. The top seven batters for the Golden Lions all had multiple hits, including a pair of home runs by catcher Gabriel Munoz. UCA junior reliever Bo Stitch (4-3) took the loss. Freshman Chris Durham pitched a solid 4 2/3 innings of scoreless relief, retiring the final 12 batters of the game for the Bears.

    UCA returns to Southland Conference action at home this weekend, hosting the Nicholls Colonels beginning at 6 p.m. Friday.