SUGAR LAND, Texas _ Junior Connor Gilmore did his usual work on the mound and the sixth-seeded University of Central Arkansas Bears scored just enough runs to hold off the No. 3 Nicholls Colonels 7-6 in first-round action in the 2015 Southland Conference Baseball Tournament on Wednesday morning at Constellation Field.

    UCA (28-22) got eight strong innings from its ace, who improved to 8-3 by allowing 10 hits and three earned runs. After allowing the first two runners to reach base in the ninth, Gilmore gave way to junior Bo Stitch, who eventually squelched a furious Nicholls rally with a ground out to first base to end it and send the Bears into the second round.

    UCA will face No. 7 seed Houston Baptist _ a 5-1 winner over No. 2 Northwestern State _ at 4 p.m. Thursday. 

    The Colonels (34-18-1) overcame a season-high five errors to make it a game, scoring four times in the bottom of the ninth inning. But the Bears, who has lost 2 of 3 games to the Colonels during the regular season at Bear Stadium, had staked themselves to a big enough lead, 7-2, by scoring two runs in both the eighth and ninth innings.

    "The big thing was we had the 7-2 (lead), said UCA head coach Allen Gum, who led the Bears to the SLC title in 2013 and to a runnerup finish a year ago. "And Gilmore just did an outstanding job, just a phenomonal job today. He came out and he just controlled the game. They found some holes and some things happened late, but what we did early helped us at the end and we just held tight and held on long enough for the win.'



    Junior center fielder Tyler Langley led off the game with a sharp single to left field and eventually scored on catcher Travis Hull's ground out. The Colonels matched the run in the bottom of the second and it stayed knotted at 1-1 until UCA struck again in the fourth when the Colonels committed four of their errors. However, UCA managed only a single run despite the miscues, with third baseman Brad Dillenberger reaching and scoring on separate errors.
    
    "We did make some baserunning mistakes but there are going to be mistakes,' said Gum. "We just have to keep moving, don't let it slow us down. That's what our guys did, they didn't let it get them down. They kept playing hard, and as a result of that, some good things happened.

    "We know if we play good fundamental baseball and do the little things right, the game will usually take care of itself.  That's all we can do. And ask our pitchers to give us a chance to win, and Gilmore no doubt did that for us today.'

    The Bears pushed the lead to 3-1 in the sixth when freshman right fielder Ty Tice had an infield single and scored on junior shortstop Logan Preston's triple into the right-field corner. Preston finished 2 for 4 with a triple and double. Nicholls, which out-hit UCA 13-11, cut the deficit to 3-2 in the seventh inning, ironically on a UCA throwing error.

    UCA looked like it put the game out of reach in the eighth with a pair of runs. Preston's RBI double to left center scored the first and senior left fielder Wesley Hoover was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded to make it 5-2.

    In the ninth, Dillenberger had a base hit and Tice followed with a triple down the left-field line for the sixth run. He scored on a wild pitch by Nicholls reliever Robbie Petty to push the lead to 7-2. Things got interesting in the bottom of the ninth as the first two reached against Gilmore and he gave way to Stitch. The Colonels strung together five hits and used a UCA error to plate four runs. Stitch finally got Seth Stevens to ground out to Matt Anderson at first base to end it.

    Gilmore, who tossed a two-hit shutout as a freshman in the last game UCA played at Constellation field in the 2013 championship game, beat Nicholls for the second time this season. The first was a 7-0 shutout back on  April 10 in Conway. 

    "Felt like I was back at home,' said Gilmore, a junior right hander from Little Rock Catholic. "Yeah, you come out here and you get goose bumps, but at the same time, if you let nerves and fans and scouts behind the plate get to you, you're not going to do well. I just try to not let them get in my head, just go out there and throw strikes and compete.'



    Gilmore credited the early lead for much of that confidence.

    "Throw strikes and give my team the best chance to win,' Gilmore said of his pre-game approach. "And we came out swinging. When those guys are hitting the baseball like that, they give me motivation on the mound. That's so important, especially to a pitcher. You go out there and get confidence left and right. Base hits, triples, that's just phenomenal. When those guys are doing that, it just feeds the defense. All the double plays we made, huge...'

    Gum, in his fifth season at UCA, was also able to save his bullpen, using just the two pitchers. Nicholls used four, with All-SLC starter Grant Borne (6-5) taking the loss. 
    
    "It was big because now we have a lot of arms left,' he said. "It's really hot here and to use just two guys today was really, really important.' 

    Dillenberger, Tice, Preston and Langley all had two hits for the Bears, with Tice scoring three times and Dillenberger twice. Nicholls catcher Alex Tucker went 3 for 4 for the Colonels, who will play the NSU-HBU loser at 9 a.m. Thursday.