LOUISVILLE, Ky. _ Junior Jesse Barker continued his streak of high-quality starts and the University of Central Arkansas' bats came alive Friday in a 10-2 victory over the Bellarmine Knights in the opening game of their ASUN series at Knights Field.

Barker, a righ thander from Benton, went the distance, his third straight game to go 9.0 innings, and struck out 11 batters for the second consecutive game in improving to 6-2 on the season. The only runs for the Knights (11-31, 6-13) came on one swing, a two-run home run by shortstop Brett Pfaadt in the third inning.

Barker controlled the Bellarmine lineup the remainder of the day, picking up his final strikeout to end the eighth inning and working around an error and a base hit in the ninth to close it out.

UCA sophomore shortstop Reid Bowman led the hit parade (12 hits) with a pair of home runs in consecutive at-bats. Senior right fielder Kolby Johnson and junior center fielder Drew Sturgeon added solo shots of their own as the Bears hit four homers for the first time since they had five against Illinois State on March 5. Johnson hit his team-leading 11th, tied for the fourth-best single-season total in school history.

Bowman finished 3 for 3 with 3 runs batted in and two runs scored. Sturgeon finished 2 for 3 with 2 runs and two RBI, while sophomore second baseman Tanner Leonard was 2 for 4 with 2 RBI on a two-run single in the ninth inning. Freshman left fielder Kade Seldomridge walked three times and scored three runs.

Three consecutive singles and a wild pitch gave the Bears a 1-0 lead in the first inning. They made it a 3-0 lead in the second on Sturgeon's sacrifice fly and Mason King's RBI infield single. The Knights closed it to 3-2 with the home run in the third but never got any closer.

UCA got two runs in both the fourth (Bowman's two-run homer) and sixth innings (Bowman and Sturgeon homers), and added another in the seventh (Johnson's leadoff homer). 

Bellarmine starter Drew Buhr took the loss, going 5.1 innings and allowing seven runs on eight hits while striking out seven.

UCA improved to 5-2 against Bellarmine, all in the past two seasons.

Game 2 of the series is set for 1 p.m. (CT) Saturday.