CONWAY, Ark. _ Shortstop Butch Rea's sacrifice fly in the sixth inning proved to be the winning run as the University of Central Arkansas Bears beat Eastern Illinois 6-5 on Sunday to complete the four-game sweep at Bear Stadium.

    The Bears (5-3) have now won five consecutive games.

    Rea's fly ball to right scored Logan Preston, who had knocked in the fifth run with a double to left center. Catcher Justin McCarty led off the inning by getting hit by a pitch and pinch hitter Matt Anderson scored him with a triple off the fence in right center.

    The Panthers (0-8) scored single runs in both the seventh and eighth innings but UCA closer Jacob Murray came on in the ninth and earned his third save in as many days. UCA senior right hander Derek Beier earned the win with 2.1 innings of relief, striking out four and allowing one earned run.
    
    EIU took an early 1-0 lead in the top of the first off UCA starter Chris Durham but the Bears answered with two runs in the bottom of the inning. Ty Tice walked and Brandon Montalvo was hit by a pitch. Freshman first baseman Hunter Strong then got a standup triple down the right-field line to score both runners for a 2-1 lead.

    UCA made it 3-0 in the third on McCarty's RBI single to center that brought in Montalvo, who had a two-out base hit to right field. The Panthers tied the game with two runs in the fifth inning, putting up four hits and leaving two on base. For the game, EIU out-hit UCA 11-7.

    Preston, a senior third baseman, went 2 for 4 with an RBI and a run scored to improve his season batting average to .448. Strong, a freshman from Sheridan, Ark., went 1 for 2 with 2 RBI and Montalvo scored twice.

    Dane Toppel went 2 for 3 and scored 3 times for EIU, whle Cale Henneman was 2 for 5 with 3 RBI.

    UCA travels to Norman, Okla., on Tuesday to face the Oklahoma Sooners at 4 p.m., then to Cape Girardeau, Mo., for a weekend series against Southeast Missouri.