BEAUMONT, Texas _ The University of Central Arkansas Bears rode a four-run fourth inning to overcome a 2-0 deficit and win Saturday's opener 5-2 over the Lamar Cardinals at Vincent-Beck Stadium.

Lamar held the Bears to just five hits in the nightcap and won 7-2. The Cardinals (10-3, 2-1) lead the Southland Conference series 2-1 with the finale set for 1 p.m. Sunday.

The Bears (6-8, 3-4) got a double by senior third baseman Beau Orlando and an RBI groundout by junior second baseman Benny Ayala to put up their first run of the game. Sophomore outfielder Kolby Johnson followed with a two-run double and freshman outfielder Drew Sturgeon followed with a sacrifice fly to give the Bears a 4-2 lead in the fourth inning.

UCA's redshirt freshman right hander Tyler Cleveland relieved starter Logan Gilbertson with the bases loaded and two outs in the bottom of the inning and recorded a big strikeout to end the threat. Gilbertson went 3.2 innings, allowing two runs and striking out four. Cleveland finished it off with 3.1 innings of one-hit baseball with five strikeouts.

The Bears turned a double play to end the seven-inning contest and give Cleveland his first victory. Orlando and Coby Potvin had two hits apiece and Johnson had two RBI.  UCA handed Lamar starter Zach Bravo his first loss of the season.

In the second game, Lamar put together 13 hits against a combination of four UCA pitchers, while four Lamar pitchers limited UCA to just five hits and struck out 10. 

The Bears struck first again with a single run in the first when Orlando drew a leadoff walk and eventually scored on Ayala's sacrifice fly. But Lamar responded quickly with three runs in the bottom of the inning and never trailed again. The Cardinals made it 4-1 in the third and 7-1 after adding three more runs in the fifth inning.

UCA got a run back in the ninth when Coby Potvin was hit by a pitch and pinch runner Connor Flagg scored on Johnson's RBI single to left field.  The Bears' five hits were spread among five players while the Cardinals had 11 of its 13 hits come from five players.

UCA starter Dillan Janak took the loss, allowing 6 runs in 4 innings of work. Brad Verel and Trent Gregson combined to hold the Cardinals scoreless over the final 3 2/3 innings.