RICHMOND, Ky. — Central Arkansas (11-9, 1-2) suffered a narrow 6–5 defeat to Eastern Kentucky University (7-13, 2-1) on Sunday at Turkey Hughes Field at Earle Combs Stadium. The Bears tallied five stolen bases during the game, while Eastern Kentucky secured the win with a decisive four-run seventh inning.
Eastern Kentucky took an early lead, scoring one run in the second inning after Jackson Cauthron was hit by a pitch and later scored on Ricco Longo's single. The Colonels extended their lead to 2-0 in the third inning when Pedro Moreno doubled and scored on Jay Douglas's RBI single.
Central Arkansas responded in the fourth inning.
Landon Carter scored after
Parker Gwyn was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded, and
Zane Denton walked to bring in another run, tying the game at 2–2.
In the fifth inning, the Bears took the lead.
Jack Runsick scored from third on a wild pitch, and Carter added another run on Denton's sacrifice fly, making it 4–2.
Gwyn tripled in the sixth inning and scored on
Jayden Sloan's ground out, extending Central Arkansas's lead to 5–2.
Eastern Kentucky regained momentum in the seventh inning. Moreno's two-RBI triple and subsequent ground outs allowed both him and Jay Douglas to score, resulting in a four-run inning and a 6–5 lead.
In the 9th, the Bears had runners at second and third with one out, but couldn't get a runner home. The Bears left 10 runners on base and went 0-9 with runners in scoring position.
Patrick Fernandez started and had a strong outing for Central Arkansas, pitching 6 innings and allowing 4 earned runs on 6 hits with 6 strikeouts and 2 walks. Despite facing challenges, Fernandez managed to keep the game close by inducing 6 ground outs and 4 fly outs in his 97-pitch outing.
Hunter Alexander entered in relief, pitching 2 innings and giving up 2 earned runs on 2 hits, while striking out 2 and walking 2. Alexander's 48-pitch effort included securing 3 ground outs and 1 fly out, though he was tagged with the loss.
Parker Gwyn
- 1 run
- 1 double
- 1 triple
Landon Carter
- 2 runs
- 2 stolen bases
Patrick Fernandez
- 6 strikeouts
- 6 innings pitched
In their next game, Central Arkansas will travel to face Louisiana Tech at 6 p.m. CT Tuesday, March 17 in Ruston, Louisiana.
