SUGAR LAND, Texas _ The second-seeded University of Central Arkansas Bears scored three times in the top of the 10th inning to survive an elimination game Saturday in the Southland Conference Tournament, beating No. 3 seed Southeastern Louisiana 6-3 at Constellation Field.

The victory earned the Bears (32-26) their fourth trip to the SLC championship game since 2013 where they faced fifth-seeded McNeese State for the title later Saturday.

The Bears worked out of several jams throughout the game to hold the Lions off the board in their fifth meeting of the season and second in two days. Junior right hander Conner Williams pitched 4 1/3 innings of scoreless relief for the Bears, allowing three hits and striking out three. Once UCA got the lead in the top of the 10th, they turned to staff ace Cody Davenport to finish it off.

Davenport, the school record holder for strikeouts, victories and innings pitch, tossed a complete-game shutout in the Bears' tournament opener on Wednesday, throwing 127 pitches. He looked fresh Saturday, setting down the Lions in order with a pair of strikeouts and a fly ball to center field to earn his first career save in his 61st career appearance.

"That was an incredible game,' said UCA head coach Allen Gum. "They worked out of some pickles and we worked out of a couple of jams. We just kept plugging along and then we just got a break. Their right fielder made a great throw and it was just Jay (Anderson) coming in there hard, adding to the lead there.

"And it was good to see Davenport come in there and close that thing out. He wanted it. He said if we got the lead, he wanted the ball. We gave it to him and he looked good. He looked just as sharp as he did the other night. We needed him right then, no doubt about it.

"We just held together. We had a couple of spots in the game where we could have panicked a little bit. And we pulled things together. We picked ourselves right back up. And these guys just keep doing what they've done all year. They just kind of hang in there and they find a way.' 

The Lions struck first with a run in the second inning off Moyer, but the Bears answered with a single run in both the third and fourth innings. Shortstop Christian Brasher led off with a double to right field, went to third on a sacrifice bunt by Nathaniel Sagdahl and scored on Jay Anderson's RBI base hit to tie it. Beau Orlando had a single in the top of the fourth and scored on a double down the right-field line by designated hitter Tanner Wiley to give the Bears a 2-1 lead.

Moyer worked through several jams until the bottom of the fifth when the Lions got a two-run home run from first baseman Kyle Schimpf, good for a 3-2 lead. Conner Williams replaced Moyer and got a one-pitch third out. Moyer struck out six andd walked six and allowed four hits in 4 2/3 innings.

The Bears loaded the bases in the seventh inning against SLU closer Jared Biddy but got just one run out of it. Wiley led off with a single and moved to third on a throwing error on Kolby Johnson's ground ball. After a walk to Cole Fiori, Nathaniel Sagdahl tied it with a ground out that brought in Wiley to make it 3-3.

The Lions put their first two batters on base in the bottom of the eighth on a base hit and a fielder's choice that did not produce an out. But Williams gets a pop-up to Orlando at third, a strike out and a fly ball to Josh Ragan in center for the third out. The Bears get Johnson all the way to third base in the top of the ninth but Biddy records two strikeouts to end the threat.

In the 10th,  Anderson led off with a single up the middle. Josh Ragan's sacrifice bunt moved him to second before Smith's single to right field scored him ahead of the throw from SLU's right fielder. Orlando reached on a fielder's choice and Wiley added his fourth hit of the game, a single through the left side. Kolby Johnson walked to load the bases and Cole Fiori hit a two-run single to right center for the 6-3 lead.

UCA and SLU played five times this season, with three games going to extra innings. The Bears finished 3-2 against the Lions.