April 23, 2011
Final Stats
CONWAY, Ark. - Preston Beck went 2-for-5 with a double, a home run and three RBI to lead UT Arlington past Central Arkansas, 8-4, Saturday afternoon at Bear Stadium.
The victory improved the Mavericks' record in Southland Conference series finales to 6-1.
"I thought today was really important and showed our resiliency," UTA coach Darin Thomas said. "We went out and laid an egg in the second game yesterday but came back out today and won a game we needed to win."
The Mavericks scored seven runs in the first inning and received a gutsy start from Collin Reynolds to top the Bears.
The Mavericks struck for a big inning in the second, scoring five times in the frame. Jordan Vaughn ignited the attack when he launched a two-run home run over the left-field wall. Nick Orr later added an RBI single before Beck blasted a two-run double.
UT Arlington (23-18, 12-9) added two more runs in the third on Philip Incaviglia's two-run single. The Mavs had a chance to tack on more, but Beck's flyball with the bases loaded and two outs died close to the warning track.
After that, the Central Arkansas bullpen shut down the Mavericks offense - holding them scoreless over the next 4.0 innings before Beck led off the eighth with a home run just inside the right-field foul pole.
Central Arkansas (19-21, 9-12) scratched across three runs against UTA starter Collin Reynolds, but the big right-hander did an excellent job limiting damage through the first five innings.
"Collin did an unbelievable job for us today, especially considering that he came out of the bullpen yesterday," Thomas said. "For him to come out and get us into the sixth was huge. He got into some trouble but was able to limit them to one every time. That was the biggest reason we were able to win."
He retired left with two on and two out in the sixth, handing the ball over to reliever Brody Walker. After walking the first man he faced, Walker got a groundout to leave the bases loaded.
Reynolds gave up the three runs on seven hits, leaving seven Bears runners on base. He walked four, hit a batter and struck out three in picking up his third win of the season.
John Beck entered with runners on the corners and one out in the seventh and escaped the inning allowing just one inherited runner to score on a fielder's choice. He posted scoreless frames in the eighth and ninth to record his first career save.
UT Arlington continues its eight-game roadtrip on Tuesday afternoon when it plays at Houston Baptist at 3 p.m.
