Box Score LITTLE ROCK, Ark. ? UALR freshman Ashur Tolliver out dueled Arkansas State ace T.J. Brewer Thursday night at Gary Hogan Field to lead the Trojans to a 2-1 win in the opening game of a three-game Sun Belt Conference series. Tolliver walked five Indians and scattered four hits, but got a hand from his defense and junior Nick DeSanctis, who went 3-for-4 and scored the winning run in the bottom of the eighth, to improve to 6-5 on the year.
Arkansas State (21-32, 11-17) received a solid outing from Brewer, but couldn't get anything going offensively against Tolliver. The Indians stranded a runner at third in the second, had a player thrown out at the plate in the fifth, and hit into an inning-ending double play in the seventh.
The Trojans (21-29, 9-18) broke a 1-all tie in the bottom of the eighth when junior Robert Taylor plated DeSanctis with a RBI single up the middle. DeSanctis opened the frame with a leadoff single, his third hit of the game. After moving to second on a sacrifice bunt by senior Brett Lawler, DeSanctis stole third with one out on the board (his second steal of the night). Taylor promptly plated DeSanctis with a base knock to give UALR a 2-1 lead.
“In a game like that, going up against their No. 1 guy, we're just trying to create runs as best we could. Fortunately, we got another strong outing from Ashur. He was fun to watch tonight,” said UALR head coach Jim Lawler. “Nick was the key offensively for us. When he gets on base, it gives me the option to hit-and-run, steal or bunt. Nick stealing third with one out was huge, and Robert had the great at-bat at the end.”
Brewer took the loss despite holding UALR to two runs (one earned) and seven hits. The senior hurler fell to 5-4 on the year despite racking up nine strikeouts against zero walks. Tolliver finished with six strikeouts in the game and held ASU's 5-through-9 hitters to a 0-for-15 showing.
ASU took a 1-0 lead in the top of the second after Tolliver put the first two runners on base, walking Drew Rogers and hitting A.J. Prickel. After both runners advanced on a sacrifice bunt, Rogers managed to score from third on a wild pitch by Tolliver with two outs on the board. The Indians ended up stranding Prickel on third as Tolliver fanned Brandon Eller to end the inning.
UALR tied the game at 1-all in the bottom half thanks to dropped fly ball by the Indians with two outs on the board. Senior Brian Asbill opened the inning with a leadoff single and moved into scoring position by stealing second (his team-leading 15th of the year). Asbill came around to score from second when freshman Brad Swiderski's two-out fly ball to left was dropped by Prickel.
Swiderski saved a run for UALR in the top of the fifth by throwing out a runner at the plate to end the inning and preserve the 1-all tie. With two runners on and two outs, Eller tried to score from second on a single to left by Josh Yates, but Swiderski fielded the ball cleanly and nailed Eller at the plate (7-2).
The two teams return to action tomorrow night at 6 p.m. Saturday's finale is slated for a 1 p.m. first pitch.
