HATTIESBURG, Miss. _ The University of Central Arkansas Bears saw their late rally fall short Sunday in an 8-6 loss at Southern Miss in the series finale at Pete Taylor Park.

The Bears (3-4) scored twice in the seventh inning and again in the eighth but could not quite come all the way back from an 8-3 deficit. UCA out-hit Southern Miss 12-10 with senior catcher Beau Orlando going 3 for 3 and junior right fielder Connor Emmet going 3 for 4. Senior first baseman Coby Potvin had a team-high three runs batted in and sophomore designated hitter Hunter Hicks added two more.

The Bears fell behind 3-0 after two innings but tied it with a three-run third. Emmet led off the inning with a walk and Rylan Meek singled up the middle, moving Emmet to third. Orlando drew another walk to load the bases before HIcks doubled to right field for two runs. Potvin added a sacrifice fly that scored Orlando to tie it at 3-3.

But the Golden Eagles (6-1) put up three more runs in the bottom of the inning to take the lead for good. Two more in the fifth made it 8-3 before UCA found some offense in the seventh inning. Meek and Orlando had consecutive base hits to start the inning and Hicks was hit by a pitch to load the bases with one out. Potvin then singled to center to score two and close the gap to 8-5.

In the top of the eighth, Emmet doubled to the left-field corner, went to third on a wild pitch and scored UCA's sixth run on Orlando's infield single to shortstop. The Bears, facing USM's Tyler Spring in the ninth, went in order with a pair of ground outs and a strikeout.

UCA used six pitchers, with reliever Tyler Cleveland taking the loss. Junior Logan Gilbertson was effective, pitching the final two innings and allowing just one hit and striking out two.

UCA has a rematch with Memphis at 4 p.m. Tuesday in Memphis after beating the Tigers 5-3 last Tuesday at Bear Stadium. UCA returns home next weekend, hosting SIU-Edwardsville beginning at 6 p.m. Friday.