Central Arkansas Defeats A&M-Corpus Christi 3-1 in Baseball Tournament
Southland Conference
Box Score (PDF) | Photos | Replay | Highlights | Interviews | Tournament Central
CONWAY, Ark. – The No. 6 seeded Central Arkansas Bears silenced the bats of No. 3 seed Texas A&M-Corpus Christi to complete the third upset of the day with a 3-1 win in the 2014 Southland Conference Baseball Tournament at Bear Stadium in Conway, Ark.
UCA starting pitcher Bryce Biggerstaff, a third-team all-conference selection, pitched his fourth consecutive complete game to lead the Bears on the hill. The senior right-hander controlled the Islanders’ offensive attack for most of the night, holding the Bears to just one run on six hits and two walks while striking out three hitters.
The Bears scored single runs in the fourth, fifth and seventh to give Biggerstaff all the support he needed to secure the win. Senior center fielder Doug Votolato knocked in the Bears runs with singles in the fifth and seventh inning as he went 4-for-5 from the plate with two RBI. The first-team all-conference pick also had two stolen bases on the night.
Biggerstaff’s bid for a shutout ended in the eighth inning when the Islanders scored off a Brandon Tierney double, scoring Zack Gibson. At the plate, the Islanders were led by second baseman Cody Stephens, who went 2-for-4.
Biggerstaff moved to 7-5 on the year with the win while Islanders’ starter Matt Danton fell to 7-4. Danton pitched a solid six innings and struck out five Bears; however, he surrendered three runs on 10 hits in the process. Both starting pitchers threw over 100 pitchers with Biggerstaff reaching 127 and Danton topping out at 101.
The Bears advance to meet No. 7 McNeese State Thursday at 7 p.m., while A&M-Corpus Christi faces No. 2 Nicholls in an elimination battle Thursday at noon.
Postgame Quotes…
Central Arkansas Head Coach Allen Gum
On playing at home…
“It was a great win and a great crowd. There were people down both sides. It was exciting. It was fun and it was loud and a great environment. I was glad we were able to perform well in front of the home crowd.”
On the Biggerstaff’s pitching…
“He is a work horse. He has been a great teammate. He wants the ball. He doesn’t want to give it up and he wants to go after it. There was no way we were going to pry it out of hands tonight in that last inning. That is what he does. He gives us great starts and complete game after complete game. He has been a bulldog for us the whole year.”
Central Arkansas Pitcher Bryce Biggerstaff
On tossing a complete game…
“In the tournament, you can play four games in a row, so you are definitely going to need everybody in the whole bullpen. Saving the bullpen, even just for one day, helps.”
Texas A&M-Corpus Christi Head Coach Scott Malone
On Central Arkansas’ Biggerstaff…
“He threw 127 pitches. He pitched like a Friday night guy. That is what a number one starter does. He kept us off balance early. We could not get anything going. I thought we had a great last three innings against him; we backed him in the corner and put pressure on him. But if you are going to win the postseason, you have to be good for nine innings, and we just couldn’t get going against him. Hopefully we will be better tomorrow.