Allen Gum was going to send Chris Townsend from third base himself, but he never got the chance Tuesday night.
As soon as UALR catcher Cameron Knight corralled a pitch in the dirt and threw to first base, Townsend took off for home in the top of the ninth inning.
First baseman Nik Gifford's throw home hit a bat near the plate, but Townsend's jump was so good it didn't matter as he scored the deciding run in Central Arkansas' 7-6 victory at Dickey-Stephens Park in North Little Rock.
"He already had it in his mind that he was going for it," said Gum, UCA's coach. "He had a good jump, but he timed it perfectly."
Townsend's run finished a back-and-forth game in which the Bears (26-23) led 2-0 after the first inning and 3-2 after the second but fell behind after the Trojans (24-26) scored four runs in the fifth inning.
UCA tied the game in the eighth when William Hancock doubled to center field, moved to third on a ground out and scored on Tyler Langley's sacrifice fly.
In the ninth, Townsend singled to right, stole second base and moved to third on a fly out.
When Anderson struck out on a ball in the dirt, Townsend took off for home and Gifford's throw was short, allowing the run to score and UCA to win the three-game season series as both teams prepare for regular-season finales this weekend.
UALR Coach Chris Curry said he was disappointed in the result, but not about the final play. He was more upset about five walks and a hit by pitch -- four of UCA's runs reached base by walk or hit by pitch -- and Gifford getting picked off at second base with two outs in the seventh inning.
"Inexcusable," Curry said. "I wish we would have put ourselves in a better position to win the game instead of shooting ourselves in the foot."
The strong top of UALR's lineup put it in position to win Tuesday.
The Trojans trailed 5-2 in the fifth when Hunter Owens and Ty Gunter singled and Hayden Martin drove in one with a sacrifice fly.
Ryan Scott struck out, but Dalton Thomas doubled to left field to score another run, then Gifford drove a pitch into the right-field bullpen for his seventh home run to put the Trojans up 6-5.
Right-hander Riley Echols came on in the sixth inning and held UALR scoreless on one hit over the final three innings as UCA completed a late comeback.
It gave the Bears a victory that means nothing to its Southland Conference standing, but gives Gum a good feeling heading into a weekend home series against Southeastern Louisiana that begins Thursday. UCA needs to hold its eight-place in the Southland standings to qualify for the conference tournament.
"You always want to carry momentum in," Gum said. "Winning a close game, I think that's very important putting us in position heading into the weekend."
ARKANSAS STATE 8,
NO. 6 OLE MISS 6
Arkansas State (25-26) added three insurance runs late and took a nonconference victory over No. 6 Ole Miss (39-14) at Tomlinson Stadium in Jonesboro. Ty White’s two-run triple scored Dalton Lovell to make it 6-4. Joe Schrimpt followed with a double to score White. Arkansas State added a run in the eighth on Lovell’s RBI single.
ASU starter Zach Haake (1-0) picked up the victory after throwing two shutout innings. Tanner Kirby earned his second save after allowing 2 unearned runs on 2 hits with 5 strikeouts over 2 2/3 innings.
White and Lovell each went 4 for 5 with 2 RBI and 2 runs to lead ASU.
Sports on 05/18/2016