Trojans Get Back in Win Column With Victory at SFA

NACOGDOCHES, Texas – A 7-2 victory over Stephen F. Austin (23-22) put Little Rock baseball (22-20) back in the win column on Tuesday night at Jaycees Field in Nacogdoches.
 
Junior outfielder Hunter Owens led the Trojans offensively as he went 3 for 4 with three RBIs, two runs and a double.
 
Dalton Thomas went 3 for 5 a run and a double while Jonathan Davis went 2 for 3 with an RBI.
 
On the mound, Dylan Slayton (3-1) picked up the win after throwing 4.0 innings in relief with a strikeout while giving up just four hits and a walk.
 
After a scoreless first inning, Zach Baker put Little Rock on board. Baker doubled to lead off the inning and proceeded to steal third to earn his team-leading seventh stolen base. A wild pitch to the backstop allowed him to score and put Little Rock up 1-0.
 
The Lumberjacks knotted it up in the bottom of the inning. After Connor Fikes singled to right with one out, he advanced to third on a failed pickoff attempt and then scored on a throwing error from first to third.
 
SFA took a 2-1 lead in the bottom of the fourth. With two on and one out, Fikes singled to left center to score a runner and put runners on the corners. After Trojan starter Joe Corbett allowed a walk to load the bases with one out, he recorded a strikeout and got a ground out to end the inning.
 
Little Rock's Dylan Slayton took over on the mound to begin the bottom of the fifth inning after Corbett threw 4.0 innings with three strikeouts while allowing two hits, two runs (one earned), three walks and one hit-by-pitch on 67 pitches. Slayton worked efficiently as he quickly earned got a ground out and a fly out. After Nick Ramos singled with two outs, he attempted to steal second, but a quick throw to second by catcher Jonathan Davis caught the runner and ended the inning.
 
Hunter Owens got the sixth inning started with a single to center. A successful sacrifice bunt by Davis moved Owens to second, who then proceeded to third on a wild pitch. A sacrifice fly to deep center by Keegan Meyn brought Owens home and knotted the game once again at 2-2.
 
With one out in the top of the seventh, Dalton Thomas earned his third hit of the game with a single up the middle, earning his seventh three-hit game of the season. After back-to-back walks to Baker and Ty Gunter loaded the bases, Owens cleared them on the first pitch he saw with a three-run double off the center field wall to put Little Rock up 5-2.
 
The Trojans added an insurance run in top of the eighth. With one out, Hayden Martin hit his third double of the year down the left field line. Ryan Scott brought Martin home with an RBI single to left and increased Little Rock's lead to 6-2.
 
The Trojans tacked on their seventh run of the game in the ninth. With two outs, Owens was hit by a pitch and stole second. Davis then hit an RBI single to right center to put Owens across the plate.
 
Preston Oberling came on to close things out in the bottom of the ninth. After getting a ground out, Oberling walked the SFA batter on four pitches. He quickly rebounded with a pop up and a strikeout to clinch Little Rock's 22nd win of the season.
 
"With the exception of the one play with two errors, I thought it was an outstanding effort all the way around," head coach Chris Curry said. "That was one of our more complete ballgames. What I really appreciated was the effort from the club after what happened on Sunday. We viewed that game as an outlier because that wasn't us, and those things happen. But I was very excited to see how we reacted on the road in a midweek game, and these guys answered like they have all year long. That's why I believe in them."
 
Little Rock will return to Sun Belt action beginning on Friday as it hosts UT Arlington in a three-game series at Gary Hogan Field.