Roger Lenderman added two more home runs to his season total and the Bears extended their winning streak to seven games in a three-game sweep of Christian Brothers University in Memphis last weekend. UCA (9-8, 3-0) scored 25 runs and committed only two errors in the series.

“February was a month where we struggled and found out who we are,” coach Doug Clark said. “But this weekend we had a lot of guys break out and get off to a good start in conference play.”

UCA 9, Christian Brothers 7

It took 11 innings and three and a half hours for the Bears to overcome the Bucs in the first game of the series on Saturday.

UCA jumped out to an early lead in the top of the first when Lenderman homered to right center. CBU answered with three runs of its own in the bottom half of the inning against starter Zach Barnett. UCA brought a 6-4 lead into the bottom of the eighth inning when CBU third baseman John Hehn hit a two-run home run to center field, tying the game.

The game stayed tied until the top of the 11th inning when the Bears scored three unearned runs on hits by Barrett Ward, Dallas Black and Cody Graddy. The Bucs scored one run in the bottom of the eleventh, but UCA reliever Brian Blakenship struck out Mark McCleskey, who represented the tying run, to end the game.

Coach Clark was happy to win the first game of the series.

“To win an extra inning game on the road like that set the tempo for the weekend,” he said.

Blakenship (1-1) picked up the win for the Bears, throwing four innings and giving up only one run. Barrett Ward went 3-5 with a double; Jeff Mack, Graddy and Lenderman hit home runs in the victory.

UCA 8, Christian Brothers 2

A six-run third inning and a solid pitching performance by Jonathan Nichols catapulted the Bears to a win in the second game of Saturday’s doubleheader.

Doubles by Austin McKnight and Mack, as well as a triple by Ward and a homer by Todd Gossage in the third helped UCA to take control of the game early. The Bears added two more runs in the sixth inning when Dallas Black’s single up the middle scored Ward and Lenderman.

Eight runs was more than enough for Nichols, whose only two earned runs came off of a 2-run home run by Bucs right fielder Wes Hoover in the sixth inning. Nichols (3-0) picked up the win, pitching six innings and scattering six hits.

UCA 10, Christian Brothers 4

UCA ravaged through the CBU bullpen, forcing the Bucs (7-11, 0-3) to use seven different pitchers in Sunday’s series finale.

“It took us awhile to get going; their starter did a pretty good job until the sixth inning,” Clark said. “But once we got into their bullpen, we had a lot of guys swing the bat well.”

The Bears scored three in the first and CBU scored one in the first and two in the fifth to tie the score at three going into the sixth inning. Jeff Mack singled up the middle to score Graddy and Matt Warren in the top of the sixth. Ward later singled to score Mack to put the Bears up 6-3, and they would not relinquish the lead.

Robbie Daniel (1-1) earned his first win of the year in 3.1 innings of work. He gave up only two hits and one run in relief of starter Patrick Stacks.

Warren went 3-4 with two doubles and two RBI to lead UCA offensively.

Clark was impressed with his team’s solid defense more than anything.

“I think the nicest thing about the weekend was that we only made two errors in the series,” Clark said.

UCA hosts a doubleheader against Bacone College today at noon and will resume conference action against Harding in a three game series this weekend.