Bears claim series sweep over Bellarmine Knights in Louisville

LOUISVILLE, Ky. — The Central Arkansas Bears didn’t wait long to make their mark at Knights Field on Sunday.

Powered by a pair of home runs and a pitching staff that racked up 14 strikeouts, UCA walked away with a 6-3 win over Bellarmine to complete their second straight ASUN series sweep.

The Bears moved to 26-19 on the season and 13-8 in conference play. The Knights fell to 17-26 overall and 9-12 in ASUN action.

It’s the third straight ASUN series win for UCA, a stretch that’s putting the program in a strong spot as the regular season winds down.

It wasn’t a smooth start for the Bears. Bellarmine came out swinging in the bottom of the first inning.

Landon Akers doubled to left center and crossed the plate on AJ Swader’s double down the right-field line.

Eli Watson then laced a double to right field, scoring Swader and just like that the Knights had a 2-0 lead before UCA had recorded a single run.

The Bears responded two innings later in a big way. Zane Denton drew a walk to set the table and then Zeb Allen — the ASUN’s home run leader — sent a two-run shot to right field to tie the game at 2-2. That blast was Allen’s 17th of the season, a new UCA single-season home run record.

Keaton Laidley kept the momentum going in the fourth inning, connecting on a solo home run to right field that gave Central Arkansas its first lead of the afternoon at 3-2.

UCA’s lineup was starting to find its rhythm.

Bellarmine answered in the sixth when Swader launched his own home run to right field, knotting the score at 3-3 and setting up a tense finish.

The game remained tied heading into the late innings.

Bears pull away in final frames

UCA reclaimed the lead in the eighth inning without needing a big hit.

Allen singled, swiped second base, moved to third on a wild pitch and then scored on a second wild pitch to push the Bears back in front at 4-3. Allen’s hustle on the base paths proved to be the go-ahead moment of the game.

The ninth inning locked up the result. Jack Runsick reached on a Bellarmine error, advanced to third on a wild pitch and scored on yet another wild pitch to make it 5-3.

Keon Moseni, who entered as a pinch runner for Casey Shipley, came around to score on Zane Denton’s single to right field, capping the scoring at 6-3.

On the mound, Jacob Pannell was steady through the first 5 1/3 innings. He gave up three earned runs and five hits, walked one and struck out seven while throwing 76 pitches.

Hunter Alexander then took the ball in relief and was nearly untouchable the rest of the way. He tossed 3 2/3 innings, surrendering just one hit and striking out seven more to close out the Knights. Alexander picked up the win, improving his season record to 5-1.

The Bears are now set to shift their attention to a road trip to Clarksville, Tennessee, where they’ll take on Austin Peay State University on Friday, May 1, at 6 p.m.