CONWAY, Ark. (3/28/23) – A five-run eighth inning broke a 5-all tie and lifted the Arkansas State baseball team past in-state foe Central Arkansas 10-7 Tuesday night at Bear Stadium.
A-State (8-14) scored five in the fifth and then five in the eighth, totaling eight hits but taking advantage of 12 walks and three errors by UCA (11-13). The Bears scored two runs in the bottom of the ninth and had the tying run at the plate, but could not complete the comeback.
Cross Jumper reached base four times, going 2-for-3 with a pair of walks and two runs scored, while Kody Darcy and Daedrick Cail drove in two runs apiece. Jake Henry Williams entered in the third inning in right field and reached base three times with two runs scored.
Hunter Draper pitched a pair of scoreless innings in the start before giving way to four A-State relievers. Arlon Butts (2-1) finished out the final 2 1/3 innings, striking out two in his team-leading 10th appearance.
UCA struck first in the third on an RBI groundout and again in the fourth on a leadoff homer by Kolby Johnson, but A-State answered with five runs on just two hits in the top of the fifth to take a 5-2 lead.
Darcy singled home Williams to put the Scarlet and Black on the board, then scored behind Brandon Hager on a two-out, two-run double by Cail to make it 3-2. Three straight walks followed to push Cail home, with Jumper later scoring on a wild pitch.
The hosts knotted it at 5-all with a sixth-inning three-run blast by Connor Flagg, but Brian Veniard ended the frame with a strikeout.
A-State sent nine to the plate in the top of the eighth, scoring five runs on three hits, sparked by Williams' leadoff single. The sophomore outfielder came around to score when Darcy doubled down the left-field line before an RBI single by Jumper scored Hager. Hunter Thomas then drove in Darcy with an RBI groundout, followed by two more runs by Jumper and Jared Toler when an error allowed Allen Grier to reach and advance to third.
UCA rallied for two runs in the ninth, with Johnson driving in Reid Bowman with a single. Evan Hafley grounded out to the pitcher to score Drew Sturgeon from third before Butts ended the Bears' hopes with a groundout.
Mason Griffin (2-2) took the loss for the Bears, tossing 2 1/3 innings with a team-high four strikeouts.
NEXT UP
Arkansas State continues its five-game road swing with a three-game Sun Belt Confernece series at Texas State, beginning Friday at Bobcat Ballpark in San Marcos, Texas. First pitch against the Bobcats is slated for 6 p.m. on ESPN+, with Saturday and Sunday slated for start times of 2:30 p.m. and Noon, respectively.
The radio broadcast of all three contests can be heard on The Ticket Radio Network stations 95.3, 96.9 and 970 AM in Jonesboro, as well as online at 953theticket.com.
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