Trojans Tame Golden Lions in 12-6 Midweek Win
LITTLE ROCK - Little Rock avenged a loss from earlier this season with a dominating 12-6 win over Arkansas-Pine Bluff Tuesday at Gary Hogan Field. The Trojans improve their record to 26-20 on the season and are now 13-7 at home.
Eight different Trojans had at least one hit in the game with Nick Perez leading the way going 3-for-4 at the plate and driving in three RBI's and scoring twice.
Marcus Ragan extended his hitting streak to eleven-straight in impressive fashion recording three hits as well, scoring twice and bringing in one run.
The hero from Sunday's win over South Alabama, Chase Coker, kept his momentum going with a 2-for-3 performance to drive in two RBI and recorded his sixth triple on the year, adding to his program record for triples in a single season.
Hayden Arnold, Mason Leeming, Carter Brown and Cody Daylor each threw two innings a piece with Corey Flanagan throwing the final inning in his third appearance on the year.
Leeming gets the win on the night improving to 1-0 since Arnold only went two innings and five is required to register a win by the starter.
"I'm really proud of the pitching, number one, as we were throwing the ball across the plate and getting strikes with a bunch of different guys," said head coach Chris Curry. "Nick Perez had a great night for us, and its key in a midweek game to get those early hits and jump out to an early lead, and Nick's double set the tone.
"We had the opportunity to play a few different guys and keep everyone sharp as we head down the back stretch of our season. It was a good win against a very good UAPB team."
Little Rock jumped out to huge lead right out the gates getting six runs in the first inning. Ragan made sure to keep the hitting streak alive leading off the game with a single followed by Coker taking a five-pitch walk.
Matt Merino loaded the bases with a single of his own and then Kale Emshoff hit a hard grounder to third that the UAPB fielder couldn't handle, allowing Ragan to score for the first run of the game and keep the bases loaded.
The Sun Belt leader in batting average against conference opponents, Ryan Benavidez, then battled a long at-bat, only to be hit by a pitch to let Coker leisurely trot home.
Perez than registered all of his RBIs in his first at-bat with a bases clearing double to left-center, bringing three Trojans across the plate.
The batting order made it back around to Ragan in the first where he tallied his RBI with a single up the middle to bring around Nick Perez and cap off the six-run inning.
UAPB answered in the second with a run by a walk and an error. Little Rock then responded in the third inning came from Reyes scoring thanks to Coker's triple.
The Trojans then broke the game open with three runs in the fifth and two in the sixth, extending their lead to 12-2. The offensive outburst started in the fifth inning with a Riley Pittman solo home run over the right field wall, his fifth of the year.
Reyes and Ragan each than singled to give Coker runners on the corners with one out and he hit a dribbler down the third base line the fielder couldn't handle on the charge, scoring Reyes and allowing Ragan to advance to third. Ragan then scored on a sacrifice fly from Merino, giving Little Rock the 10-2 lead after five.
Benavidez led off the sixth inning off with a double to the right field wall and Perez then gave Little Rock runners on the corner with a single to move Benavidez to third. A wild pitch by the UAPB allowed Benavidez to score and moved Perez to third.
Pittman would draw a walk to put runners on first and third again with Troy Alexander up to the plate. Alexander broke his hitting funk with a single to right field to score Perez and give Little Rock the 10-run cushion.
That lead carried into the ninth before the Golden Lions tried to mount a massive comeback in the top of the last inning, tagging Flanagan for four runs to cut the deficit in half. But the lead was too great as the Trojans cruised to the 12-6 victory.
Little Rock now hits the road for the final time in the 2018 regular season and will have quite the challenge on its hands, heading to Conway, South Carolina for its first-ever meeting with Coastal Carolina this weekend. The Chanticleers, the 2016 College World Series champions, sit atop the Sun Belt Conference at 32-16 overall and 18-6 in Sun Belt play.
The three-game series gets underway Friday, May 11 and continues through Sunday, May 13, with first pitch scheduled for 1 p.m. CT on Friday and Saturday with an 11 a.m. CT start Sunday.
PANTHERS RALLY FOR 7-4 WIN AT KENNESAW STATE
KENNESAW -- Georgia State rallied with three runs in the seventh inning to earn a 7-4 victory at in-state rival Kennesaw State Tuesday at Stillwell Stadium.
GSU (23-25) and KSU (24-21) split their annual home-and-home series.
"I'm proud of the team," head coach Greg Frady said. "This is a big game because it's an in-state game, and they beat us in Panthersville. Our bullpen was the primary reason why we won, but we also did a good job with some situational hitting to score some runs."
With the Panthers trailing 4-3, Kendall Ford drew a walk to lead off the seventh inning, and Justin Jones ripped a double to right field to tie the game.
Luke Leonard laid down a bunt, but KSU pitcher Luke Torbert (1-3) threw wildly to first, allowing Jones to score and Leonard to go all the way to third. Then Will Kilgore's sacrifice fly scored Leonard and put the Panthers up 6-4.
Kennesaw State threatened in the bottom of the seventh, loading the bases with two outs, but reliever Tyler Koch came on and struck out Grant Williams to end the inning.
Brandon Bell, one of seven Panther pitchers on the night, recorded the final five outs to earn his first save. Brandon Baker (4-3) earned the victory by pitching a scoreless sixth inning.
"Brandon made a big difference in helping us win tonight," Frady said of Bell, who is also the Panthers' starting right fielder but is battling a wrist injury that has kept him out of the lineup. "He deserves a lot of credit because he's played well as an offensive player all year long."
After the Owls struck first with three runs in the third inning, Georgia State got on the scoreboard in the fourth on Jack Thompson's RBI-single. The senior first baseman had three hits on the night, including his first career triple.
Freshman Ryan Glass belted a solo homer in the fourth inning, his fifth of the season, but KSU scored in the bottom of the frame to lead 4-2.
The Panthers manufactured a run in the fifth as Ford walked, stole second and advanced to third on an error and scored on a wild pitch. That pulled GSU within 4-3 to set the stage for their three-run seventh.
Freshman Andrew Keene delivered a key insurance run in the ninth inning with an RBI-double.
Georgia State plays its final home series of the season this weekend as the Panthers host Appalachian State in a key Sun Belt Conference series that opens Friday at 6 p.m. at the GSU Baseball Complex.
JAGS FALL AT NO. 16 AUBURN
AUBURN, Ala. – No. 16 Auburn homered four times in a 10-4 win over University of South Alabama baseball Tuesday at Plainsman Park.
Auburn (35-14) tallied 17 hits in the game, led by Brendan Venter who finished with four hits, including two home runs, and four RBIs.
South Alabama (26-20) will return to action this weekend when it hosts UT Arlington in a three-game Sun Belt Conference series to close its home schedule, with the series opener set for a 6:30 p.m. first pitch Fri., May 11, at Stanky Field.
GAME FACTS
- Will Holland gave Auburn a one-run lead in the bottom of the first with a leadoff solo home run over the right field wall. Brett Wright doubled off the left field wall with one out, and advanced to second with one out on a wild pitch. Jaguar right-hander Will Eiland struck out Edouard Julien for the second out of the frame, and ended the threat with an inning-ending flyout to left field off the bat of Conor Davis to keep the Jaguar deficit at one run.
- Jay Estes led off the bottom of the second with an infield single to shortstop, and scored one batter later when Brendan Venter hit the 12th pitch he saw from Eiland over the left field wall for a 3-0 Tiger lead.
- Wright singled to right field with one out in the bottom of the third, and advanced to second with one out on a single to center field by Edouard Julien. But Eiland rolled a 5-4-3 double play off the bat of Davis to escape the inning with a three-run Jaguar deficit.
- South Alabama answered in the top of the fourth. Dylan Hardy reached on a bunt single back to the pitcher to lead off the inning, and moved to second on a passed ball. Brendan Donovan followed with an RBI single to right field that scored Hardy, to cut the Auburn lead to 3-1. Donovan also advanced to third on the play on a two-base fielding error by Tiger right fielder Steven Williams. Carter Perkins followed with a walk to put runners at the corners with one out before Wells Davis delivered an RBI single to left field that scored Donovan and cut the Tiger lead to 3-2. A fielding error by Auburn left fielder Judd Ward allowed Perkins to score from first to tie the game at 3-3.
- Estes led off the bottom of the fourth with a double to left field, and scored when Venter delivered a two-run home run over the left field wall – his second of the game – for a 5-3 Auburn lead.
- Wright led off the bottom of the fifth with a walk from Jaguar right-hander Noah Michael, and scored one batter later on a two-run home run to center field by Julien for a 7-3 Tiger advantage.
- Auburn pushed its lead to 8-3 in the bottom of the eighth on an RBI single to left field by Josh Anthony, and added its final two runs when Ward scored on a 4-6-3 double play off the bat of Williams and Anthony scored on a two-out RBI single to center field by Wright.
- Brendan Donovan doubled to right-center field to lead off the top of the ninth, and scored the game's final run on a sacrifice fly to left field by Wells Davis.
NOTES
- Travis Swaggerty's on-base streak was snapped at 27 games.
- Auburn left-hander Welby Malczewski (4-0) allowed one run on one hit with one strikeout and one walk in five relief innings pitched in the win.
- Eiland (1-1) allowed five runs on nine hits with three strikeouts in three innings pitched in the loss.
- Venter went 4-for-4 with a double, two home runs, four RBIs and three runs scored to lead the Tigers at the plate.
- Donovan finished 2-for-4 with a double, one RBI and two runs scored to lead the Jaguars offensively. Davis added a hit and two RBIs.
- Jag right-hander Chase Lambert tossed two scoreless relief innings and allowed one hit with three strikeouts, and right-hander Patrick McBride allowed one hit in one scoreless relief inning.
- The loss marked the Jags' first at Auburn since falling 6-1 at Plainsman Park in 2014.
A-State Baseball Falls to UCA in Midweek Action
CONWAY, Ark. (5/8/18) – The Arkansas State baseball was tied with Central Arkansas 3-3 heading to the bottom of the fifth, but a sloppy inning that featured four walks, two errors, and two hits plated six runs for the home team to blow the game open as UCA defeated the Red Wolves 14-3 in a midweek contest Tuesday night at Bear Stadium in Conway, Ark.
A-State (17-27) began the game with a bang as Kyle MacDonald hit a two-run shot over the 15-foot wall in dead center in the top of the first. However, UCA (28-18) scored three in the bottom of the first, the last two on a two-run homer of its own from Josh Somdecerff, for a 3-2 edge. The Red Wolves were able to even the score in the third when Jeremy Brown homered to left-center field.
The score remained tied 3-3 until the bottom of the fifth when Korey Wasson walked the bases loaded and all three runs scored on a double and an error after Coulton Lee entered. The Bears then got a two-run single from Rigo Aguilar and scored on an error to finish the inning with six runs on just two hits for a 9-3 advantage.
Central Arkansas would add five more runs in the seventh and eighth innings to move in front 14-3, which would go on to be the final. Ross Rogers didn’t allow a run over the final six innings for UCA to earn the win, while Wasson took the loss for A-State.
The Red Wolves were led by MacDonald’s 3-for-3 effort at the plate with his 11th homer of the season, which is the most by an A-State player since 2007 when Ryan Hudgins and Josh Yates both hit 11. UCA’s Hunter Strong went 4-for-5 with three doubles and six RBI to lead the home team as neither team had a player with more than one hit aside from MacDonald and Strong.
Zachary Patterson was strong in relief for A-State with three scoreless innings, while Chase Nix was the only other pitcher for the team to not allow a run with a scoreless eighth inning.
A-State returns to action this weekend in a key Sun Belt series against Georgia Southern May 11-13. First pitch from Tomlinson Stadium Friday night is set for 6:30 p.m.