Baseball
Bears pound Eastern Kentucky 8-3 behind two home runs
Jake Jones deals five scoreless innings as the Bears took Game 2 from EKU.
CONWAY, Ark. — Jake Jones didn’t give Eastern Kentucky much to work with.
The redshirt sophomore right-hander took the mound Saturday at Bear Stadium and delivered five clean innings, allowing just two hits and no runs, as Central Arkansas (21-18, 9-8 ASUN) rolled past the Colonels, 8-3, to take Game 2 of the three-game series.
Jones picked up his third win of the year, and closer Hunter Alexander locked things down in relief, earning his eighth save of the season with 2⅔ hitless, scoreless innings to finish it off.
Bears build their lead in layers
The Bears didn’t put up a crooked number early, but they chipped away one inning at a time.
Jagger Schattle drew a walk in the fourth and eventually crossed home on a Jack Runsick ground out, putting UCA ahead 1-0.
Mark Ross added to that lead in the fifth with a solo shot down the left field line, making it 2-0.
Then Runsick came through in a big way in the sixth, launching a two-run homer that scored Keaton Laidley and stretched the margin to 4-0.
Ross was the best hitter on the field Saturday. He finished 3-for-4 with two doubles, a home run, and two runs scored. Runsick added two hits and a game-high three RBIs.
Eastern Kentucky (10-29, 4-13) got on the board in the seventh when Longo homered and Benson drove in another run with a single to make it 4-2.
But the Bears answered with three runs in the bottom half. Zane Denton doubled and later scored on a Zeb Allen single. Schattle then plated two more with a single of his own, pushing the lead to 7-2.
Both clubs scored once in the eighth. EKU got an unearned run after a fielding error, while Ross doubled and Allen knocked him in for the third time that day to set the final score at 8-3.
Allen was a handful on the bases, swiping three bags among UCA’s four stolen bases on the afternoon. He also went 2-for-4 with two RBIs.
Silas Cowgill handled the bridge between Jones and Alexander, tossing 1⅓ innings in the seventh before Alexander slammed the door the rest of the way.
UCA finished with 11 hits and four stolen bases, while EKU managed nine hits but left too many runners stranded to keep pace.
Series finale set for Sunday
The Bears’ll look to close out the series with a sweep when they host Eastern Kentucky again Sunday at 1 p.m. at Bear Stadium.
The game can be streamed on ESPN+ and heard on The Bear 91.3.
