Central Arkansas split a doubleheader against the University of Louisiana at Monroe on Sunday at Lou St. Amant Field, taking the first game 6-4 before falling 10-2 in the second contest.
In the opening game, Central Arkansas (2-1) recorded three home runs and collected 13 hits. The Bears took an early lead in the third inning when Nate Negre singled, advanced on a balk, and scored on Mark Ross’s double. Parker Gwyn added an RBI single to put Central Arkansas up 2-0. ULM tied it in the fourth with a sacrifice fly from Jackson Landry and an RBI groundout by Jake Griffith.
The Bears regained control in the seventh as Keon Moseni singled and Zeb Allen hit a two-run home run to right field. Jayden Sloan followed with a solo homer, giving Central Arkansas a 5-2 advantage. ULM narrowed the gap with a sacrifice fly in the eighth, but Allen’s second home run of the day extended Central Arkansas’ lead in the ninth.
Freshman Caide White started for Central Arkansas, pitching 5 2/3 innings with five strikeouts while allowing four hits and three earned runs. Silas Cowgill provided relief over 2 1/3 innings, conceding one run on one hit and striking out one batter without issuing any walks. Jake Jones closed out the game with one inning pitched, surrendering one hit but no runs.
Zeb Allen led offensively with two home runs, three RBIs, and two runs scored. Jayden Sloan contributed a home run and a double while driving in one run.
In game two of the doubleheader, ULM (2-2) responded with a strong offensive showing that included three home runs. After Parker Gwyn tripled and scored on Moseni’s single to tie it at 1-1 in the second inning, ULM answered with three runs in their half of the frame for a 4-1 lead.
Central Arkansas managed another run in the third as Jayden Sloan singled and later scored on Jack Runsick’s groundout to cut into ULM’s lead. However, after leaving bases loaded in the fifth inning, Central Arkansas could not capitalize further.
ULM broke open the game in the sixth when Sutton Lewis hit a three-run homer as part of a four-run inning. Dayne Wray added a two-run shot in the seventh to make it 10-2.
The Bears finished with 11 hits but stranded 12 runners throughout game two. Four pitchers appeared for Central Arkansas: Patrick Fernandez started and went 4 2/3 innings; Jacob Pannell allowed three earned runs over two-thirds of an inning; Tobin Cantrill also pitched two-thirds of an inning giving up three earned runs; Luke Lorence finished with 1 1/3 scoreless innings.
Keon Moseni had three hits and drove in one run for Central Arkansas during game two while Parker Gwyn contributed two hits including a triple.
Central Arkansas will return to action by hosting Northwestern State University at Bear Stadium on Friday, February 20 at 4 p.m.
