CONWAY, Ark. _ The University of Central Arkansas Bears completed a huge comeback Saturday and earned an 11-10 walk-off victory over the first-place Jacksonville Dolphins in their ASUN series finale at Bear Stadium.
UCA, trailing 9-1 after four innings, put up six runs in the fifth inning to get back into the game, then added three more in the seventh to take a 10-9 lead. After Jacksonville (13-14, 7-2) tied it with a run in the eighth, UCA won it in the bottom of the ninth.
Facing Jacksonville closer Isaac Williams,
Jagger Schattle led off the ninth with a four-pitch walk and
Preston Curtis pinch ran for him.
Zeb Allen put down a sacrifice bunt to move Curtis to second base, and he then advanced to third on a wild pitch.
Junior catcher
Casey Shipley worked a 2-2 count before sending a sacrifice fly to center field to score Curtis with the game winner.
UCA, which finished with 10 hits, got home runs from Schattle, right fielder
Kade Seldomridge and center fielder
Drew Sturgeon, the latter a grand slam in the six-run fifth inning. The homer was Sturgeon's fifth of the season, while Seldomridge hit his second and Schattle his first as a Bear, a two-run shot that gave the Bears their first lead in the seventh.
Sophomore right-hander
Gavin Alveti was big out of the bullpen, tossing 5 innings and allowing just 3 hits and 1 run while striking out 3 and walking 1.
Mason Griffin finished it off over the final three innings for his team-high fifth victory.Â
Seldomridge was 3 for 5 with an RBI and two runs scored. Sturgeon went 2 for 4 with a season-high five RBI.
A.J. Mendolia scored two runs and had two RBI, while Allen had a pair of hits.
The win was UCA's first over Jacksonville in two conference series over the past two seasons, and was the Dolphins' second conference loss of the season.
The Bears are on the road for their next four games, beginning Tuesday night at Mississippi State in Starkville, Miss. UCA then heads to Fort Myers, Fla., for an ASUN series against Florida Gulf Coast next weekend.
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