Feb. 19, 2011

Box Score

CONWAY, Ark. - Central Arkansas defeated Southern Illinois University Edwardsville 14-4 Saturday in the second game of a three-game baseball series at Bear Stadium on the UCA campus.

Central Arkansas, 2-0, scored six times in the bottom if the sixth inning to break open a scoreless game. The Bears never trailed.

UCA catcher Michael Pair led off the inning with a home run off Cougar reliever Luke Ingersoll to put the Bears up 1-0. Right fielder Greg Noble capped the inning with a grand slam against reliever Tony Schaeffer to make it 6-0 UCA. Ingersoll (0-1) took the loss, surrendering five runs in just one third of an inning.

The Cougars, 0-2, answered in their next at-bat, plating four runs on three hits. Back to back two-run doubles by Devin Caldwell and Zach Hawkins drew the Cougars within two at 6-4.

"Caldwell and (Zach) Hawkins hit the ball well," SIUE Head Coach Gary Collins said. "Overall I didn't think it was a great hitting day, but that wasn't our problem."

The Cougars managed just four hits against four UCA pitchers. Caldwell and Zach Hawkins were each 1 for 3 with the two RBIs.Caldwell has a team-high four RBIs in his first two games as a Cougar. Zach Hawkins has three in the first two games.

UCA came back with four runs in each of the next two innings for the final margin.

Spencer Patton started for the Cougars, 1-1. Patton struck out eight hitters and walked just one in his five innings of work. UCA starter Clint Green tossed six scoreless innings for the Bears. He struck out one and walked one.

"One walk, one hit, eight strikeouts, yeah he looked good," Collins said of his senior right-hander. "They never really hit the ball hard off of him."

Starter Clint Green, 1-0, earned the win for Central Arkansas, pitching six shutout innings. He, too, allowed just a single hit. Green struck out one.

The Cougars will try to salvage a win from the series with a 1:00 finale Sunday afternoon. Senior lefty Kyle Dodson will make the start for SIUE.