LAKE CHARLES, La.. _  The University of Central Arkansas Bears wasted a late-inning comeback in Saturday's opener, then gave up a late-inning burst to McNeese State in dropping both ends of a Southland Conference doubleheader at Joe Miller Ballpark.

The Bears (7-8, 1-2) rallied from a 4-1 deficit with a four-run ninth inning in Game 1 but gave up a solo home run in the 11th inning to drop the opener 6-5. The Cowboys (4-11, 2-1) scored four runs in the bottom of the eighth inning on Dustin Duhon's grand slam to win 8-3 and take the series.

In UCA's big ninth inning, Justin McCarty started the rally with a base hit down the line and went to third on Josh Somdecerff's double to left field. Senior Rigo Aguilar then followed with a three-run home run to tie the game at 4-4, his seventh career home run at UCA. Coby Potvin then gave the Bears a 5-4 lead with an RBI triple to the right-center gap that scored Hunter Strong.

The Cowboys got one back in the bottom of the inning to send it to extra innings, then won it in the 11th on Shane Selman's solo blast. Somdecerff had two of UCA's seven hits, while Aguilar had three of UCA's five RBIs. Tanner Wiley went 6 2/3 innings, allowing just five hits and two earned runs. Mark Moyer (2-2) pitched the final two innings and took the loss.

In the second game, UCA grabbed a 2-0 lead in the second inning on T.J. Black's RBI single and an error that allowed Brett D'Amico to score. After McNeese went up 4-2 after four innings, the Bears got one back in the fifth on Strong's triple and Tyler Smith's sacrifice fly. Duhon then put the game out of reach with his grand slam in the eighth inning.

The Bears had just five hits against a pair of McNeese pitchers. UCA starter Will Brand took the loss, allowing four runs in 3 1/3 innings while striking out three.  

The Bears return to Conway to host their next six games, beginning with a two-game series with Southeast Missouri at 6 p.m. Tuesday and 3 p.m. Wednesday, followed by an SLC series with Incarnate Word this weekend.