CONWAY, Ark. – Central Arkansas rallied for three runs with two outs in the ninth inning Friday, wiping out a masterful pitching performance by Southeastern Louisiana sophomore
Mac Sceroler as the Lions fell, 3-2, in Southland Conference action at Bear Stadium.
Southeastern (36-17, 22-7 Southland) rode the right arm of Sceroler through the first eight innings.
Leading, 2-0, heading to the bottom of the ninth, Sceroler surrendered a leadoff single to Bear right fielder Michael Haun. It was just the third hit off the the right-hander from Denham Springs, Louisiana.
Right-hander
Kade Granier, who had allowed just one run in 32 innings this season, came on to retire the next two batters before the Bears rallied.
Second baseman Chris Townsend, Central Arkansas' leading hitter, kept the inning alive with a single up the middle.
Left fielder Brandon Montalvo, the Bears' cleanup hitter, put Central Arkansas (27-25, 15-14 Southland) on the board with an RBI single. Designated hitter Matt Anderson followed with a third-straight hit, doubling to left-center field to plate the tying and winning runs.
Reliever Connor McClain (2-1) earned the win after working a scoreless ninth in relief. Granier (4-1) suffered his first loss of the season, allowing a pair of runs on three hits in 0.2 innings of relief.
Neither starter received a decision. Bear starter Ty Tice allowed a pair of runs on eight hits and three walks in eight innings of work. He fanned seven.
Sceroler, who did not allow a base runner until the fourth or a hit until the fifth, fanned six and did not walk a batter in his eight-plus innings of work.
The Lions dropped their second-straight Southland series and have lost four of their last five games rolling into the regular-season finale.
Senior left-hander
Domenick Carlini (6-1, 1.98) is slated to get the starting nod in Saturday's 1 p.m. series finale.
The game can be heard in the Hammond area on KSLU 90.9 FM, online and through the TuneIn Radio app (search for KSLU). Fans can also keep up with the series finale through live statistics or by following SLUathletics on Twitter. Links for audio, video and stats are available on the baseball schedule page at www.LionSports.net.
For chance to share the regular season title, and grab the No. 1 overall seed in the upcoming Southland Conference Baseball Tournament, the Lions must win Saturday and Sam Houston State (36-19, 23-6 Southland) must drop its series finale to Houston Baptist.
Central Arkansas 3, Southeastern 2 (May 20, 2016 at Conway, Ark.)
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Southeastern........... 001 001 000 - 2 9 0 (36-17, 22-7 SLC)
Central Arkansas.... 000 000 003 - 3 6 3 (27-25, 15-14 SLC)
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Pitchers: Southeastern - Sceroler, Mac; Granier, Kade (9) and Roberson, Sam. Central Arkansas - Tice, Ty; McClain, Connor (9) and McCarty, Justin; Hancock, William.
Win-McClain, Connor (2-1) Loss-Granier, Kade (4-1) T-2:27 A-304
Sceroler, M. faced 1 batter in the 9th.
