CONWAY, Ark. – The McNeese State baseball team had another close game go against it Friday evening at Bear Stadium as the Cowboys were unable to keep a ninth inning rally going and dropped a 4-2 decision and the Southland Conference series to Central Arkansas at Bear Stadium.
Due to possible inclement weather in the area, Saturday's series finale has been pushed up to a 12:15 p.m. start time in Conway. The game can still be heard on Cajun Radio - 1470 AM and on CajunRadio.com. Fans can follow @McNeeseBaseball on Twitter for the latest news and updates.
The Pokes (31-23, 17-12 SLC) faced a four-run deficit as they entered into the final inning against the Bears but would not go down without a fight. The frame was led off by back-to-back singles from freshman
Joe Provenzano and senior
Connor Lloyd. On the next play, junior
Connor Crane juiced the bases on a hit-by-pitch.
Many conference games were postponed Friday evening due to thunderstorms throughout the Southern region. Following the second game of the weekend series between the Pokes and UCA, McNeese, who has already clinched a bid to the SLC Tournament, currently sits in fifth place. The top eight teams are eligible for the conference postseason.
Central Arkansas improved to 27-21 overall and 16-13 in conference play.
The loaded bags opened up an opportunity for junior
Lewis Guilbeau who knocked in a run on an RBI-hit to cut the lead to three runs. Next, sophomore
Matt Gallier spliced the lead in half on a sacrifice fly that drove in Lloyd from third.
However, there was simply no more time as McNeese failed to reach base on a ground out that ended the game and secured the league series for UCA.
Junior
Bryce Kingsley (3-6) was dealt the loss despite tossing six strong innings and gave up only four runs off of eight hits and a walk. He struck out five batters in the process.
Steven O'Bryant tossed the last two innings and shut down the UCA offense with no runs and just one hit surrendered.
The Cowboys fired off six hits in the ballgame and were led by Lloyd who batted 2-for-4 with a run scored. Guilbeau and Gallier each knocked in their 20
th RBIs on the seasons while Provenzano plated his 24 run this year. Senior
Andrew Guillotte stretched his reached base streak to 14 consecutive contests as he collected a league-high 75
th hit on the season.
Guillotte also inched closer to history Friday night as his 244
th career tied the program's all-time hitting mark held by Charlie Kingrey. Guillotte needs just one more hit to become the all-time leader and needs only one more stolen base to tie Jace Peterson for the program milestone.
Defensively, junior
Cameron Toole threw out his 26
th runner attempting to steal this season while O'Bryant picked off a runner at first base.
UCA took a two run lead following the first two inning of the ballgame. The Pokes were able to move a man into scoring position in the top of the third inning but left him stranded at second base on a swinging strikeout.
The Bears went up by three in the fifth frame and stretched their lead out to four runs following seven innings. Each of UCA's runs were scored on RBI-single hits.
Freshman starter Chris Durham (2-0) went the distance for the Bears as he tossed eight innings and allowed only two runs on five hits and one walk.
Central Arkansas 4, McNeese 2 (May 15, 2015 at Conway, Ark.)
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McNeese............. 000 000 002 - 2 6 0 (31-23, 17-12 SLC)
Central Arkansas.... 110 010 10X - 4 9 0 (27-21, 16-14 SLC)
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Pitchers: McNeese - Kingsley, Bryce; O'Bryant, Steven(7) and Toole, Cameron. Central Arkansas -
Durham, C.; Stitch, B.(9) and Hull, T..
Win-Durham, C.(2-0) Save-Stitch, B.(5) Loss-Kingsley, Bryce(3-6) T-2:00 A-375
Weather: cloudy, 85 degrees
Kingsley, B. faced 2 batters in the 7th.
Durham, C. faced 2 batters in the 9th.
