NORTH LITTLE ROCK-Senior Chris Townsend scored an unconventional go-ahead run in the top of the ninth inning to give the University of Central Arkansas Bears a 7-6 victory over the Little Rock Trojans on Tuesday night in front of a crowd of 1,163 fans at Dickey-Stephens Park.
 The victory, coupled with their 6-1 win on April 13 in Conway, gave the Bears (25-25) a 2-1 series victory for the season.
Townsend, a second baseman from Batesville, Miss., singled down the right-field line to lead off the ninth.
After he stole second base, Brandon Montalvo’s fly ball to center moved him to third.
Jarrid Garcia relieved on the mound for Little Rock and struck out Matt Anderson.
However, the ball got away from Trojans’ catcher Cameron Knight and when he threw to first to complete the out, Townsend snuck home with the game-winning run.
UCA had tied the game at 6-6 in the eighth when pinch hitter William Hancock led off with a double and Ty Tice moved him to third before Tyler Langley’s sacrifice fly tied it.
UCA junior righthander Riley Echols (3-2) got the victory, pitching the final three innings for the Bears, allowing just one hit and striking out two.
Echols retired the Trojans (25-24) in order in the bottom of the ninth to preserve the victory.
Langley and Montalvo had two hits each for the Bears, while Anderson had three runs batted in.
Five UCA pitchers allowed 10 hits, but held Little Rock’s Ryan Scott to just one hit. Scott entered the game No. 2 in the nation in hitting with a .437 average.
UCA grabbed an early 2-0 lead in the top of the 1st inning when senior Langley led off with a double, went to third on Brooks Balisterri’s sacrifice bunt and scored on Townsend’s ground out.
Anderson followed with an RBI double to score Montalvo, who had walked. The Trojans quickly tied it in the bottom of the frame on Nik Gifford’s sacrifice fly and a a throwing error by the Bears.
In the top of the second, Langley doubled again and scored when Balisterri grounded out to shortstop for a 3-2 lead.
Facing Little Rock reliever Dylan Slayton, the Bears struck again in the top of the fourth. Balisterri’s RBI single to left brought in Hunter Strong, who was hit by a pitch,  for a 4-2 advantage.
The lead reached 5-2 in the top of the fifth when Montalvo tripled to the left-field corner and came in to score when Anderson grounded out to short.
The Trojans exploded for four runs on five hits in the bottom of the fifth, including a two-run home run by Gifford and an RBI double by Dalton Thomas, to give Little Rock its first lead of the game at 6-5.
But UCA’s Connor McClain and Echols combined to shut out the Trojans for the final four innings.
McClain pitched a perfect seventh inning and Echols did the rest.
The Bears return to Bear Stadium this weekend for the final series of the regular season, hosting Southeastern Louisiana.
The series is set for 6 p.m. Thursday and Friday and 1 p.m. Saturday. Senior Day activities will be prior to the Saturday game.