Central Arkansas 7, Bellarmine 4

ASUN

CENTRAL ARKANSAS 7, BELLARMINE 4

The University of Central Arkansas (14-22, 5-11 ASUN) used a four-run second inning to take control of Friday's series opener, then withstood a rally from Bellarmine (6-31, 5-11) to claim a victory at Bear Stadium in Conway.

Already ahead 1-0 after the first inning, UCA extended its lead in the second. A walk, a single and a hit batter loaded the bases with no outs, then Tanner Leonard walked to score Bryce Cermenelli for a 2-0 lead. AJ Mendolia then reached on a fielder's choice, which allowed Zeb Allen to score to make it 3-0. Mendolia and Mason King scored on Drew Sturgeon's two-out double down the right-field line to push the lead to 5-0.

Bellarmine got an RBI single from Will Aubel in the third inning, a solo home run from Luke Scales in the fourth and a two-run single from Reed Blaszczyk in the fifth to close the gap to 5-4, but UCA used a sacrifice bunt from pinch hitter Jake Trabbie and an RBI single from Cermenelli in the seventh inning to provide the final margin.

Cerminelli