JONESBORO, Ark. (3/14/23) – Central Arkansas scored five unanswered runs in the seventh and eighth innings to erase the Arkansas State baseball team’s 4-2 lead, as the Red Wolves fell 7-4 to the Bears Tuesday at Tomlinson Stadium-Kell Field.

A-State (7-8) scored the game’s first three runs before UCA (8-8) clawed back within one and plated the final five runs for the come-from-behind win.

Chase Armstrong shined in the start, fanning four batters and allowing just three hits in four shutout frames. The freshman right-hander has not allowed a walk in 9 1/3 innings to 13 punchouts. A-State used five relievers, striking out eight and walking four. Bryce Schares allowed one run in 1 1/3 innings, followed by Jacob Conover’s scoreless ninth.

Cross Jumper accounted for two of A-State’s six hits, doubling and scoring a run. Brandon Hager homered for the first time this season and drove in two runs.

UCA tallied nine hits, including two-hit performances from Mason King, AJ Mendolia and Kade Seldomridge. Mendolia drove in a game-high three runs, while Seldomridge homered and scored twice.

A-State pushed across three runs in the first two frames, with Hager grounding out to short to plate Wil French in the first. Cason Campbell hit a sac fly to left in the second to score Jumper, then an RBI triple by French drove in Daedrick Cail to give the Scarlet and Black a 3-0 lead after two.

The Bears scored a run each in the fifth and sixth innings, with Seldomridge greeting Brian Veniard with a leadoff homer and Mendolia singling home Kolby Johnson to cut the lead to 3-2.

Hager’s leadoff homer in the sixth expanded the Red Wolves’ lead back out to 4-2, but the hosts could not tack on any insurance runs as Kody Darcy was thrown out at the plate and Jumper was stranded at third.

A pair of two-out, two-run singles by Johnson and Mendolia gave the in-state visitors the lead at 6-4, then a sacrifice fly by Tanner Leonard in the eighth scored Connor Flagg. Seldomridge advanced to third on the flyout, caught on a dive by Blake Burris, but was thrown out at the plate by French to end the frame.

UCA reliever Tate Busey struck out all three batters he faced in the ninth to earn his second save of the year.

NEXT UP

A-State begins Sun Belt Conference play with a three-game series at Louisiana beginning Friday. First pitch against the Cajuns at Tigue Moore Field is slated for 6 p.m. Friday, 2 p.m. Saturday and 1 p.m. Sunday. All three games will be broadcasted on on ESPN+, with the radio broadcasts carried on The Ticket Radio Network stations 95.3, 96.9 and 970 AM in Jonesboro, as well as online at 953theticket.com.

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