DeLAND, Fla. — Central Arkansas (31–25, 17–13 ASUN) secured a 6–4 postseason victory over Stetson (23–32, 13–16 ASUN) at Melching Field at Conrad Park on Tuesday night. The Bears tallied nine hits, including a home run, to advance in the ASUN postseason match-up.
Central Arkansas took an early lead in the first inning with
Parker Gwyn scoring on a ground out by
Keaton Laidley.
Zeb Allen followed by scoring on a
Mark Ross ground out, giving the Bears a 2–0 advantage.
In the fourth inning, Central Arkansas extended its lead with Gwyn's two-RBI single through the left side, bringing home
Jagger Schattle and
Jack Runsick. This gave the Bears a 4–0 lead through four innings.
Stetson responded in the fifth inning with two runs, cutting Central Arkansas's lead to 4–2. However, Laidley answered back in the bottom of the inning with a solo home run to right field, restoring a three-run lead at 5–2.
The sixth inning saw both teams adding single runs. Stetson scored on a sacrifice fly, while Central Arkansas's
Zane Denton doubled and later scored on Allen's sacrifice fly, maintaining a 6–3 lead for the Bears.
Stetson added another run in the eighth inning with an RBI single, narrowing the gap to 6–4. However, Central Arkansas held its ground in the final inning, securing a 6–4 victory over Stetson.
Denver Hamilton started on the mound for the Bears, pitching 6 innings, allowing 9 hits, 3 earned runs, and striking out 1 while issuing 2 walks. He threw a total of 98 pitches, with 61 of them being strikes. Hamilton's performance has now tied him for 10th nationally in wins. In relief,
Hunter Alexander pitched 3 innings, giving up 3 hits and 1 earned run, while striking out 4 without issuing any walks. Alexander's performance was efficient, with 33 strikes out of 48 pitches. With this game,
Hunter Alexander became the single season save leader at UCA and is now tied for 3rd in the nation for saves.
Parker Gwyn
- 2 RBIs
- 2 hits
- 1 run
Keaton Laidley
- 1 home run
- 2 RBIs
- 2 hits
Hunter Alexander
- 4 strikeouts
- 3 innings pitched
- 1 run allowed
Next up, the Bears will play FGCU in round 2 of the ASUN Championship Tournament tomorrow, May 20th at 5:00 p.m. CT in DeLand, Florida.
