SOUTHLAND TOURNAMENT

UCA victory away from a shot at title

The University of Central Arkansas is a victory away from completing a long road to the championship game of the Southland Conference Tournament in Sugar Land, Texas.

Central Arkansas beat Texas A&M-Corpus Christi 8-1 on Friday morning and then beat Oral Roberts 6-5 later to stay alive in the tournament. It was UCA’s third consecutive victory over the past two days.

The seventh-seeded Bears (37-20) will play Oral Roberts (25-31), the No. 3 seed, at 9 a.m. today. A victory would send UCA to the title game at 5 p.m. today.

UCA was sent to the losers bracket after losing to Texas A&M-Corpus Christi 5-3 in the tournament opener Wednesday. The Bears beat Stephen F. Austin on Thursday before their two victories Friday.

Center fielder Jonathan Davis came through for the Bears in both games Friday. His grand slam highlighted an eight-run seventh inning against Texas A&M-Corpus Christi (33-24), and his two out single in the ninth against Oral Roberts scored Garrett Brown to give the Bears a victory.

“[Davis] had swung at two bad pitches, but he just kept fighting, kept working,” UCA Coach Allen Gum said of Davis’ game-winning single. “He just found a hole. That’s what we did today. We didn’t stop, we didn’t quit.”

Davis’ single was his only hit against Oral Roberts, but it came after UCA had to rally from a 4-0 deficit after four innings and then had to score in the ninth after the Golden Eagles tied the game in the eighth.

Oral Roberts took a 4-0 lead off starter Ethan McKinzie, but UCA pulled to within 4-3 with three unearend runs in the fifth. Ethan Harris doubled in Davis, who had reached on an error, Brown drove in Harris with a single, and Justin Treece’s single to center field scored Scott Zimmerle.

The Bears tied the game at 4-4 in the sixth inning when Michael Marietta’s single scored Harris, and they took a 5-4 lead on Forrestt Allday’s sacrifice fly that scored Brown in the seventh.

Relievers Connor McClain and Clint Green held Oral Roberts scoreless through the fifth, sixth and seventh innings until Nate Goro hit a two-out double in the eighth and scored on Joey Migliaccio’s single to tie it at 5-5.

Green worked a perfect ninth, then Brown led off the bottom of the ninth with a single and moved to second on Treece’s sacrifice bunt. Allday drew a walk with two outs before Davis’ game-winning hit.

Southland glance at Constellation Field Sugar Land, Texas

FRIDAY’S SCORES Central Arkansas 8, Texas A&M-Corpus Christi 1 Lamar 3, Sam Houston State 1 Central Arkansas 6, Oral Roberts 5 Lamar 7, Southeastern Louisiana 2

TODAY’S GAMES All times Central Cent. Arkansas vs. Oral Roberts, 9 a.m.

Lamar vs. SE Louisiana, 1 p.m.

UCA/ORU vs. Lamar/SE Louisiana, 5 p.m. (ESPN3)

Sports, Pages 25 on 05/25/2013

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