MONROE, La. (Interstat) — A pair of late home runs provided the necessary cushion as Central Arkansas held off a persistent Louisiana-Monroe rally to secure a 6-4 victory in the first game of a doubleheader Sunday at Warhawk Field.

The Bears (2-2) broke open a tight game in the seventh inning. With one out and Drew Moseni on first after a single, Kade Allen launched a two-run homer to deep right field. On the very next pitch, Reid Sloan followed with a solo shot to right, stretching a one-run lead to 6-2.

Allen added his second homer of the day, a solo blast in the ninth, to finish with three RBIs. His power display proved critical as the Warhawks (2-2) chipped away but could never draw even.

Central Arkansas built an early lead against ULM starter Holden Hess. In the third inning, AJ Negre singled, advanced on a balk, and scored on Mason Ross’s RBI double. Ross then came home on a two-out single by Tanner Gwyn for a 2-0 advantage.

Louisiana-Monroe answered in the fourth. Jake Haggard singled and scored on Sutton Lewis’s double. Lewis then came home on a groundout by Jake Griffith, cutting the deficit to 2-1. The Warhawks pulled within a run again in the sixth when Bryce Blaser walked, advanced on Haggard’s second hit of the day, and scored on a fielder’s choice by Jackson Landry to make it 3-2.

The game’s most important sequence, however, came in the bottom of the eighth. After Central Arkansas had taken its 6-2 lead, ULM mounted a final serious threat. With one out, Kade Dupont was hit by a pitch and Davis Mauzy singled. But Central Arkansas reliever Jakes Jones entered and induced a groundout and a strikeout to strand both runners and end the inning, preserving the four-run lead.

Jones returned to work a scoreless ninth for the save, despite allowing a single and a hit batter, by getting the final out on a foul pop-up with two men on base.

Central Arkansas out-hit Louisiana-Monroe 13-6 but grounded into two double plays. The Warhawks executed two sacrifice flies in the loss. Hess took the loss for ULM, while Bears starter Zach White earned the win.

The victory gave Central Arkansas a 2-1 series lead heading into the second game of the day. Both teams now hold .500 records early in the season.