CONWAY, Ark. – Tyler Davis nearly went the distance, making an early lead stand up as the Sam Houston Bearkats picked up a 3-2 win in the series opener at Central Arkansas on Thursday night at Bear Stadium.
 
Davis pushed his record to 4-1 on the season with his effort, helping the Kats snap a 7-game losing streak in Conway that dated back to 2015. He allowed just one hit thru 8.1 innings before the Bears (9-13, 6-7 SLC) put together a threat late in the game.
 
UCA put three straight batters on the bases to load the sacks with just one out in the ninth, but the Kats (9-13, 6-7 SLC) turned to Lance Lusk out of the pen and the righty coaxed a fly out of Ben Ayala before getting Kolby Johnson to strike out with the tying run on second base for his third save of the season.
 
The Kats were able to cash in and grab an early lead in the second inning on a 2-out RBI single by Vines.
 
Davis did his job in keeping the Bears off the board and got a couple more runs of help in the fourth. Two batters after Gavin Johnson led off the inning with a double, Vines picked up his second RBI on a ground ball. Mason Schulz then followed that up with a walk and worked his way around the bases, coming in to score and make it 3-0 on an RBI single by Anthony MacKenzie.
 
The Bearkats and Bears will square off in a pair of games on Friday, beginning at 1:00 p.m. at Bear Stadium. Dominic Robinson is scheduled to start Game 1, followed by Matt Dillard in Game 2.