BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (March 16, 2025) – The University of North Alabama baseball team split their final day doubleheader against Central Arkansas on Sunday afternoon, hosted by UAB at Young Memorial Field in Birmingham, Ala.
The Lions dropped their first game 6-3 before returning with a win in dramatic fashion in game two, 7-6. North Alabama finished the day with a 2-1 series win over the Bears, their first ASUN opening series win in Division I history.
Game 1 - Central Arkansas 6, North Alabama 3
Central Arkansas got off to a hot start and did not look back. Left-handed pitcher Tripp Patterson started on the mound for the opening game of the day.
He hit the lead off batter while the next doubled down the left field line, scoring the lead off runner. A single put the Bears on the corners before a stolen base put both in scoring position. The next batter homered, making it 4-0 to end the inning.
The Lions answered with an opening double from designated hitter Zak Majer. Next batter up hit a heater to shortstop, which grazed Majer calling for runners interference and an automatic out. Catcher Matthew Delgado walked the next at-bat before Petey Craska doubled to right field to score Ryker Billingsley for the lone score of the inning.
North Alabama made quick work of the second inning with a strikeout from Patterson. A fly out grabbed the second out before Delgado caught a Bear trying to steal second.
UCA added one in the top of the third after a throwing error which advanced a runner to second. The next Bear doubled down the left field line adding a run to the lead, 5-1.
The Lions own third baseman Ryan West got the team going in the bottom of the fourth with a scorcher down the third base line. Leighton Jenkins elected to do the same, moving West to second. Maker pulled the ball between the first baseman and the line allowing West to get home for the next Lion run.
A top of the fifth inning single to left field took Patterson off of the mound and put another freshman left-handed pitcher Reese Young on the rubber. A first batter strikeout and a successful pick-off that turned into a run down led to two quick outs. Young retired the batter as he watched the third strike.
In a hitters count in the bottom of the sixth, right fielder Alex Wade homered over the right field wall as the wind pushed the ball to clear. The Bears decided to change pitchers and got two straight outs, making it 5-3.
Central Arkansas added another run in the top of the seventh, finishing off the game 6-3.
Both teams had 10 hits in the contest. Young faced 20 batters and struck out five of them allowing only three hits in five innings of work.
Billingsley and Majer both had two hits in the first game. Billingsley, West and Wade all scored one run.
Pitchers of Record
W – Jacob Pannell (2-0)
L – Tripp Patterson (1-2)
S – Aden Velasquez (1)
Game 2 - North Alabama 7, Central Arkansas 6
Head Coach Jad Prachniack elected to stay with the exact same lineup— outside of pitcher— from game one to game two in this one, which proved to be beneficial.
The first inning was quiet in this one as the righty, Anthony Pingeton went three-up and three-down. However, UCA did the same in the bottom of the first.
Like last game, the Bears struck first with a couple singles to get on the base path. Another two singles scored the first two runners to give the Bears a 2-0 lead at the end of the second.
The Bears splashed again with a triple in the top of the third, but Pingeton worked his defense into a double play and struck out the last batter swinging to leave the batter stranded.
The bottom of the fourth saw the Lions roar, and roar loudly. Billingsley singled to start the inning then stole second. Delgado streaked one to shortstop which advanced Billingsley to sit on third. Craska singled to first base which get through to the outfield and scored the runner.
Craska scored on the next batter as left fielder Nash Rippen bombed one to right center that the center fielder could not bring in which led to a triple for the transfer junior. Captain Jonathan Lane put one in the gap between the left infield as the shortstop tried to wrangle but could not make the play which scored Rippen. West stepped in again and doubled to right center in a 2-2 count which scored Lane. The Lions finished off the inning with four runs and forced a pitcher swap for the Bears.
UCA was not going away quietly, as a single and then bunt put a pair on base. A fielding error on a chopper to the pitcher filled the bases. Junior lefty Gavin Oswald stepped to the mound. A sacrifice fly next at bat scored one before a ground out and a three pitch strikeout finalized the inning.
A Lane double to left field opened the bottom of the sixth. Wade grounded out to shortstop which sat Lane on third. Two walks loaded the bases before a Lion looked at a third strike leaving the runners stranded.
A walk and double for UCA put runners in scoring position in the seventh. After a pop up out, Kyle Lewis checked in for Oswald. Another sacrifice fly scored a single runner.
Lewis, with two runners in scoring position in a tie game, battled with the Bear batter. A ball, four straight foul balls and another ball made it a 2-2 count.
Then, the umpire waves it off, signaling a strikeout for the batter. The reason, a pitch clock violation but on the batter for taking more than the allotted time. Lewis got out of a pinch and is rewarded with a strikeout.
Delgado started the bottom of the seventh with a single and Craska got hit by pitch for two on the bases. The Bears switched pitchers again and secured a fly out on the next batter. Lane dribbled one to third who saw Delgado making a trip to home and got the tag to keep the Lions from scoring.
A wild pitch put both runners in scoring position and a West single up the middle notched him two RBIs as both scored, now up 6-4 with an inning left.
The theatrics did not go away as the lead off batter singled in the top of the ninth. A single from next batter that scooted out into right field trickled under the glove for an error scoring the runner and putting the batter all the way on third.
Freshman Luke Davenport stepped in to close out the game. Another sac fly to left field scored the tying run on third base. A ground out and a strikeout from Davenport gave the Lions an opportunity to win in the ninth. However, the Lions only could secure one hit as the game headed to extras.
Central Arkansas opened extra innings with a ground out. A walk for the next batter put him on first before he advanced to scoring position on a wild pitch.
A ground to Jenkins at shortstop secured the second out but the go-ahead run sat on third now. The Lions intentionally walked the next batter before UCA put in a lefty pinch hitter. The defense in a shift, expecting the pull, saw a heater sent to Lane at second which he handled cleanly finalizing the top of the 10th.
An opening batter out started the bottom of the 10th for UNA. Wade secured a double that kept pulling down the left field line.
Up to bat, the ninth hole hitter Leighton Jenkins. He saw a first ball in the opening pitch. Then he swung at the next. Then he swung at the next. The count now sat 1-2 while the winning run was dead across at second.
Then, near deja vú hit. Another strike came screeching through, but this time Jenkins sent it soaring which burnt the center fielder, just like the ending of game one and Craska. Jenkins ended it with a walk-off double scoring Wade and winning 7-6.
The Lions tied their most hits in a game this season with 13 from the first game of the series. They also tied for most RBIs in a game with seven from the Saint Louis win.
They recorded the most doubles with four in a game and their first triple of the year. The seven runs are the second most for the year.
West tied Alex Wilson with three RBIs in a game for the most this season.
Since North Alabama joined the ASUN joined the ASUN in the 2019 for baseball, this is the first opening conference series win for the Lions. UNA is now 5-13 on the year after the two wins this weekend.
Pitchers of Record
W – Luke Davenport (1-0)
L – Jackson Schwank (0-1)
S – N/A
"Our guys were resilient all weekend," said head coach Prachniak. "(We) found a way to win a back and forth series. (We) had some setbacks during the double header today, but guys kept pressing forward and staying focused on the next opportunity."
COMING UP NEXT
The Lions get the midweek off as they head to Richmond, Ky. to play against Eastern Kentucky on March 21 with the first pitch starting at 7 p.m. This will be the second ASUN series of the season.
For more information on North Alabama Athletics, visit www.roarlions.com and follow UNA Athletics on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
