Box Score SUGAR LAND, Texas – Peyton McLemore embraced his first career start in the most high-pressure situation in his college career and was magnificent for the most part.
 
But a five-run, fifth inning by the home team Central Arkansas Bears was a tad too much for the No. 1 seeded McNeese Cowboys to overcome against a Bears' pitching staff that was handicapping the Cowboys bats to just five hits in the game, for a 5-3 upset victory.
 
The loss dropped the Cowboys (37-19) into Friday's loser's bracket where they'll face Houston Baptist at noon in an elimination game. A win will advance McNeese into a rematch with UCA at 7 p.m. McNeese will have to beat the Bears twice to advance to Saturday's 6 p.m. championship game.
 
Friday's game will be the first meeting of the season between McNeese and Houston Baptist.
 
If McLemore (1-1) felt any jitters about making his first collegiate start in the tournament, it never showed. He struck out the side in the first inning and held UCA to just two hits through four innings.
 
"I had butterflies for about 30 seconds before the game," said McLemore, "but once I toed the rubber it's all gone. My job is to go out there and win games."
 
"I was really proud in what we did," said head coach Justin Hill. "With (No. 2 starting pitcher) Rhett (Deaton) not available and P-Mac (McLemore) coming in there with an emergency start for his first collegiate start, I thought he threw the ball really well.
 
"That game was a game of inches. We lined out a couple of times and Ricky had a chance to almost tie the game up with one swing. There were so many small plays in there. Whether it was a good ball game or not, it was a tight ball game."
 
McNeese and UCA struggled at the plate with three combined hits through four and a half innings but that was in large part due to some stellar defensive plays that kept the hits off the board.
 
But in the fifth inning, UCA got the offense going and it led to five runs, all it would need to nab the victory. A lead-off single from Dusty Wright started things off. That was followed by a one-out walk to Michael Haun to put runners at first and second. After a foul out behind home plate for the second out, UCA scored the game's first run on a single by Jansen McCurdy to score Wright to make it 1-0. A balk and two more singles followed to put the Bears up 3-0 before McLemore was relieved for Aidan Anderson.
 
"I told myself, 'if I can get through five, that's what I wanted'," said McLemore who allowed four earned runs on six hits with four strike outs in the longest outing of his McNeese career.
 
A wild pitch by Anderson and a single scored two more runs to make it a 5-0 game before the Cowboys were able to close out the frame.
 
McNeese came back in the top of the sixth with its first and only offensive inning of the game.
 
Will Fox led things off with a single to center field. Robbie Podorsky followed with a single then Dustin Duhon walked to load the bases with no outs.
 
Ricky Ramirez, Jr. followed with a blast to right field that appeared to be heading over the wall, but a brisk wind blowing in from that area kept the ball into play and was caught at the warning track. However Fox scored on the play to put the Cowboys on the board and cutting the lead to 5-1.
 
"I understood what the wind was doing," said Ramirez who is the Cowboys' right fielder. "Off the bat, I thought I had a chance. That may have been the hardest ball I've hit all year to the pull side. It just hung up in that wind."
 
Matt Gallier punched through a single through the left side to score Podorsky to make it 5-2 then after a pitching change, Shane Selman hit a two-out single to right-center field to cut the gap to 5-3 before UCA's new pitcher got Austin Nelson to fly out to right field.
 
The Cowboys were unable to return the bat magic in the final three innings as Bears' reliever Brandon Hagerla retired the final 10 batters he faced to pick up his second save of the season.
 
"Credit their arm," said Hill. "I thought he was throwing the ball really well. We were putting some swings on it. He kind of had us held down for the first five innings. They got the five (runs) then we came back with three. It's just one of those things. It's tournament baseball,"
 
UCA starter Mark Moyer (7-3) was just as impressive as McLemore until he ran out of gas in the sixth inning. He finished with 5 1/3 innings pitched and allowed three runs on four hits with six strikeouts. He held the Cowboys to one hit until the sixth inning.
 
"They kind of punched us in the mouth early," said Ramirez, Jr. "He was making really good pitches. He was tough on us. I tip my cap to him.
 
McNeese will be the visiting team in Friday's noon game against HBU after a coin toss made the decision.