Box Score
LITTLE ROCK, Ark. ? The Arkansas-Little Rock baseball team (4-2) pushed across four runs in the bottom of the sixth to hand Southern Arkansas (4-4) a 7-2 defeat on Wednesday afternoon at Gary Hogan Field. Juniors Ryan Gotcher and Matt King outhit the Muleriders 6-to-5, with Gotcher delivering his second home run of the short season.
Junior reliever Adam Miller got the start for the Trojans and threw 3.0 scoreless innings, allowing just one hit and a walk. Junior Scott Yant (1-0) came on in relief of Miller at the start of the fourth, and picked up the win by going the next 2.2 innings with two hits and one run allowed.
After stranding Gotcher at third in the first, and leaving the bases full in the second, the UALR offense manufactured three runs in the bottom of the fourth after King and junior Brian Asbill got things going with back-to-back singles. Sophomore Mitchell Webb followed by laying down a sacrifice bunt, which SAU pitcher Zak Kinnison fielded and threw in to leftfield while trying to nail King at third. King came around to score on the error making it a 1-0 contest.
Seth Pinner came on in relief of Kinnison (0-1) with the bags full and promptly hit senior Jacob Stover with a pitch to make it a 2-0 ballgame. Senior Derek Eilers followed with a sacrifice fly to center to extend UALR's lead to 3-0.
A RBI groundout by Cole Grandfield in the top of the sixth cut the Muleriders' deficit to two runs, 3-1, but the Trojans struck back with four runs in the bottom half off Duke Williams to put the game out of reach. Williams retired the first batter he faced, but could not get past Gotcher, as the Tulsa, Okla.-native ripped a solo shot over the fence in right.
Senior Tim Lawrence followed with a double, then came around to score on a double by Stover. Eilers, who led the Trojans' with two RBI, plated Stover with a base knock to right and scored the final run of the inning off a RBI groundout by junior Brian Smiley.
SAU threatened in the top of the eighth, as the visitors loaded the bases on sophomore Cody Fry. Junior Dustin Turner came on in relief of Fry with the bags full and two outs on the board. After a wild pitch scored SAU's Skyler Stromsmoe, Turner fanned Lance Colvin to end the inning then got the final three outs in the ninth to end the game.
UALR returns to action this weekend when it welcomes Northern Iowa to Gary Hogan Field for a three-game series beginning at 3 p.m. on Friday.
