ASUN
Central Arkansas 9, Bellarmine 3
After trailing 3-1 through four innings, Central Arkansas starter Cade Fenton and reliever Caden Brown combined to shut out Bellarmine over the final five innings and help the Bears clinch a series victory Saturday at Knights Field in Louisville, Ky.
Reid Bowman led off the fifth with a single and Tanner Leonard followed with a walk. Although Bellarmine (11-32, 6-14 ASUN) got the first out from there, RBI singles by Mason King and Trey Harris tied the game at 3-3 before Noah Argenta was hit by a pitch, scoring King to give UCA (18-24, 9-11) the lead.
The Knights managed three hits the rest of the way, and although they loaded the bases in the bottom of the eighth down 4-3, the Bears blew things open with a five-run ninth -- capped by King's two-run double.
SUN BELT
Southern Mississippi 4, Arkansas State 1
Arkansas State managed just five hits Saturday and could not dig out of an early hole at Pete Taylor Park in Hattiesburg, Miss.
Southern Mississippi (27-15, 13-7 Sun Belt Conference) jumped out to a 2-0 lead on Christopher Sargent's two-run single in the first inning before Dustin Dickerson's solo home run in the third made it 3-0. The Red Wolves countered with Brandon Hager's 427-foot solo shot to dead center in the fourth -- one of three times Hager reached base, extending his on-base streak to 30 games.
But ASU (15-24, 5-13) couldn't get to Billy Oldham (4-2) any further as the Golden Eagles starter struck out seven over seven innings. Kyler Carmack (4-2) allowed 4 runs on 5 hits over 6 innings for the Red Wolves.