CLARKSVILLE, Tenn. _ The University of Central Arkansas Bears answered a big inning by Austin Peay with one of their own on Saturday and it resulted in an 11-7 victory over the league leaders at Raymond C. Hand Park.
With the victory and a Bellarmine loss on Saturday, the Bears (19-28, 12-14) earned a spot in the 2025 ASUN Championship tournament which begins on May 20 in DeLand, Fla. UCA has four conference games remaining but is assured of being either the third or fourth seed from the ASUN Gold Division.
The Governors (39-12) dinged UCA with a 7-run inning on Friday in the series opener and won 9-2. On Saturday, they put up five in the fourth to overcome UCA's 4-2 lead. But this time, the Bears exploded for five runs in the seventh, and then added two more for good measure in the ninth. UCA finished with 13 hits and held one of the top offensive teams in the nation to just eight.
APSU entered the game with a 24-4 record at home, and a 22-3 ASUN mark.
The win, UCA' first over APSU this season, was made possible by a huge relief outing by senior
Perry Titlow, who entered with the bases loaded in the fourth inning and got a ground ball to get out of the mess. He went the rest of the way, tossing 5.1 innings, allowing just 1 hit and 0 runs.
The Bears jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the first, then added a fourth run in the second.
Keon Moseni,
Tanner Leonard and
Zeb Allen opened the game with back-to-back-to-back singles. Nate Negre's sacrifice fly scored Moseni and
Preston Curtis followed with a bunt single to bring in Leonard. Allen then scored on a throw to second on a stolen base attempt.
In the second catcher
Gavin Alveti scored on a squeeze bunt by Leonard after he reached on a walk and advanced on Moseni's base hit.
The Governors, who swept the Bears in Conway in the first series this season, got two runs in the third and took the lead with five runs on five hits in the fourth. But with Titlow shutting them down from there, UCA scored the final seven runs of the game to win going away.
UCA scored five times with just two hits. Leonard had a bases-loaded walk and Allen was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded as well. A fielder's choice by Negre brought in Moseni and
Jagger Schattle followed with a two-run single up the middle.
Allen led off the ninth with his team-leading ninth home run of the season before Negre doubled and came around to score the final run on a passed ball. Titlow set the Governors down in order in the bottom of the inning for his third victory over the season.
Moseni finished with 3 hits, while Leonard, Allen, Negre and Schattle knocked in two runs each.
The series finale is set for noon Sunday.
