Bears complete baseball sweep of Privateers
UCA Sports
Steve East, Associate Athletic Director for Media Relations
NEW ORLEANS, La. – Junior righthander Cody Davenport carried a no-hitter into the seventh inning Sunday to lead the University of Central Arkansas to a 5-3 victory over the New Orleans Privateers to complete the Southland Conference sweep at Maestri Field.
Davenport (2-1) settled for a complete-game four-hitter, striking out seven and and walking two in the fourth complete game of his career. The Bears made the most of their six hits, with seniors Rigo Aguilar and Josh Somdecerff coming up with two RBI each, including Somdeceff’s second home run in as many days, a two-run shot in the fifth inning that gave UCA a 5-1 lead.
The series sweep was UCA’s second consecutive after going 3-0 against Incarnate Word last weekend at Bear Stadium.
The Bears (15-9, 7-2) broke out with three runs in the fourth inning, starting with junior left fielder Hunter Strong reaching on an error and advancing to second on another miscue and to third on a wild pitch. Somdecerff was hit by a pitch and Tyler Smith walked before designated hitter Colby LeBlacn singled in Strong. Aguilar then doubled down the right-field line to make it 3-0.
After UNO scored once in the bottom of the fourth without the benefit of a hit, UCA added two more in the fifth on Somdecerff’s two-run shot to left field that scored Strong, who had reached base on anpther error. The Privateers (9-15, 2-7) finally got their first hit with two outs in the seventh when Beau Bratton blooped one to center field. Davenport worked around that with a ground ball to end the inning.
UCA’s six hits were spread among the top six batters in the lineup, with Strong and Somdecerff scoring two runs apiece. Cody Ducote had two of UNO’s four hits, including a solo home run in the eighth inning.
The game, with a combined 10 hits, took just 2 hours and 10 minutes. Davenport finished with just 114 pitches. UNO used four pitchers, with starter Kyle Arjona (2-2) taking the loss.
The Bears are scheduled to host Wichita State at 6 p.m. Tuesday, weather permitting. UCA, in second place in the standings, returns to SLC action on Thursday, hosting Northwestern State at Bear Stadium in a three-game series moved up because of Easter Sunday.