Central Arkansas fell 8-4 to the North Alabama Lions on Friday in Game 2 of their ASUN baseball series at Bear Stadium, as the Lions’ offense surged late to secure their second straight win in Conway.

The matchup was tightly contested early, with both squads trading blows. North Alabama’s Petey Craska opened the scoring with a two-run home run off UCA starter Charlie Christensen in the first inning-his first of two homers on the day.

Christensen rebounded from the early setback, striking out the next five batters he faced and keeping the Bears in the game.

Senior right fielder Preston Curtis responded immediately for the Bears, launching a solo home run to lead off the second inning.

Freshman catcher Carter Alexander followed with an RBI single, scoring Noah Goodshield after a walk, knotting the game at 2-2.

The teams remained deadlocked through four innings, with UCA’s Jagger Schattle driving in Curtis with a single up the middle to tie it at 3-3.

However, the Lions’ bats proved relentless. North Alabama outscored Central Arkansas 5-1 over the final five innings, tallying 14 hits on the night.

Craska’s second home run and a steady stream of hits from the Lions’ lineup proved too much for the Bears’ bullpen, with senior Perry Titlow taking the loss in relief. UNA reliever Gavin Oswald picked up the win.

Despite the loss, Curtis delivered a standout performance, finishing 3-for-4 with two home runs, two RBIs, and three runs scored. The senior now sits tied with Zeb Allen for the team lead in home runs at nine apiece.

Curtis’s power surge has been a bright spot for the Bears during the series; just a day earlier, he went 2-for-3 with five RBIs and a run scored.

Goodshield and shortstop Nate Negre each added two hits for UCA, but the Bears’ offense managed just six hits overall against the Lions’ pitching staff.

The Bears added their final run in the ninth inning on Curtis’s second blast of the night, but the deficit was too large to overcome.

Looking ahead, Central Arkansas will celebrate Senior Day before Saturday’s series finale at 1 p.m.

The program will honor departing student-athletes Tanner Leonard, Jackson Schwank, Clayton Coats, Jake Trabbie, Perry Titlow, Bryce Cermenelli, and Connor Johnson for their contributions to UCA baseball.

With the ASUN Championship tournament looming, the Bears are aiming to regroup and finish the regular season strong.

The postseason field is set, with Central Arkansas entering as the fourth seed from the Gold Division, and North Alabama locking up the third seed.

The Bears will face defending champion Stetson in the opening round, while the Lions take on Jacksonville.

As the regular season concludes, all eyes are on the seniors and the team’s response after a tough series.

“We’ve battled all year, and I’m proud of how our guys keep fighting,” coach Nick Harlan said earlier in the season. “We’ll honor our seniors and look to build momentum for the tournament.”

CONWAY, Ark. — Central Arkansas rallied from a 7-1 deficit with three home runs over the final three innings but still came up short in an 8-5 loss to the Austin Peay Governors on Friday night in ASUN action at Bear Stadium.

The Bears (6-13, 1-3) scored first in the first inning on a sacrifice fly by Nathan Negree that brought home Zeb Allen.

The Governors (16-7, 3-1) scored the next seven runs to back the pitching of starter Cody Airington, who went 6.2 innings, allowing six hits and striking out eight.

The Bears finally got to him in the seventh inning when Preston Curtis led off with a single to left center and Sam Reynolds followed with his team-leading sixth home run, a two-run shot to left center.

Four pitches later first baseman Jagger Schattle hit his first of the season, a solo home run to right field to close the gap to 7-4.

After Austin Peay padded its lead in the top of the ninth with a single run, UCA got its third homer of the night from sophomore center fielder Zeb Allen to make it a three-run margin.

APSU closer Kaleb Applebey pitched the final 2.1 innings and got a strikeout to end the game.

Reynolds finished 3 for 4 with 2 RBI while Allen was 2 for 3 with 1 RBI and 2 runs scored.

UCA closer Hunter Alexander made his first start of the season and went 6.0 innings, allowing four runs and striking out six.

Jackson Schwank and Perry Titlow combined to hold the Governors to one run over the final three innings.

Game 2 of the series is scheduled for 4 p.m.

Information from UCA Sports is included in this story.

FLORENCE, Ala. — Central Arkansas thrashed North Alabama across two games of a doubleheader on Friday, picking up a series win before sunset.

Game one saw the Bears do their work early to coast to the finish line, and game two had some slight dramatics before a big late inning helped the Bears pull away.

The doubleheader dominance improves UCA to 13-17 on the year and brings the squad back to .500 ball in conference play, now 2-2 in ASUN games. Kylie Griffin batted .600 across the two games, putting down six hits and scoring four times.

Game One: UCA 8, North Alabama 3

By the numbers, North Alabama came into the weekend with the best pitching staff in the ASUN, ranking sixth in the nation with a 1.83 ERA.

If not for an error in the first, the Bears would have doubled that immediately. Griffin opened the game with a single past the pitcher and a stolen base, establishing herself on second quickly.

Madi Young reached on an error and made it to second, allowing Griffin to scamper over to third. Addie Graham punched a single up the middle, and just like that, the Bears were up 2-0.

Lilly Hood knocked a double to put herself and Graham in scoring position, and a Kaitlyn Graham fielder’s choice gave the runner from third time to sprint home for a three-run lead.

UNA answered with back-to-back doubles to start the second, getting on the board in a comeback effort. But two strikeouts from Bailie Runner put the Lions in a tough spot, and a fielder’s choice to Young cleaned up the inning.

The first three batters of the third got on board in the third inning, via a Hood single, a Graham double and an Emma Veach walk.

The damage continued after UNA made a pitching change, as LJ Smith welcomed the new kid to the circle with a two-RBI single up the middle.

After the Lions added another run in the bottom of the third, the Bears responded with two more in the top of the fourth, snuffing out any comeback attempt the Lions could muster.

Hood walked, Graham doubled, and Veach tagged a single up the middle to clear the bases, putting UCA up five.

Each team added one more run, one in the fifth for North Alabama, one in the seventh for the Bears, and the Lions couldn’t find an answer in the bottom half, giving UCA a big game one win.

Runner picked up the win, scattering eight hits while striking out seven. On the other side, the Bears tallied 12 hits and five walks, while only striking out four times.

Game Two: UCA 7, North Alabama 3

It was more of the same in game two. The Bears again took an early lead, starting with a Madi Young walk with one out.

Addie Graham singled, and Lilly Hood took a pitch off the shoulder to load the bases. Mya January walked a run in, and Kaitlyn Graham hit a sacrifice fly to make it 2-0 after the top of the first.

UNA answered with three unanswered runs, one in the first, and two in the third, taking their first lead of the weekend after ten innings of play.

But the lead was short-lived; Kylie Griffin got on base with two outs in the fourth, and stole second. Young punched one up the middle, and the speedy Griffin made it home to make it 3-3.

After scoreless fourth and fifth innings, UCA went back to work in the sixth. Still tied, Griffin singled up the middle, her third of four hits on the day.

Young doubled to move both into scoring position, and a fielder’s choice allowed Griffin to score, as the senior dodged the tag to make it in safely.

The Lions couldn’t retie the game in the sixth, and UCA poured it on in the seventh.

With two outs, North Alabama issued two walks to Emma Veach and Autumn Vessier, and Griffin hit a triple off the wall that careened past the outfielder in right field.

Now up 6-3, the Bears benefited from two more walks, one to Young and one to Addie Graham, whose fourth ball was a wild pitch that gave Griffin time to jet home.

Madge Layfield came in for the final four innings, picking up the win after tossing four scoreless.

She allowed four hits and walked three, but found her spots well enough for the defense behind her to clean up the Lions. Offensively, UCA tagged UNA pitchers for nine hits and drew eight walks, striking out just five times.

It marked the first time this season that a team has drawn more walks than strikeouts over two games against the Lions, with the Bears totaling 13 walks to just nine strikeouts.

The Bears and Lions will finish their series tomorrow at 1 p.m., with UCA looking for its first conference sweep of the season.

Information from UCA Sports is included in this story.