Box Score LITTLE ROCK, Ark. ? The UALR baseball team (8-20, 4-11) snapped a 12-game losing streak with a 12-2 win over ULM (18-12, 8-7) on Sunday afternoon at Gary Hogan Field. UALR junior Anthony Pryor had his best outing of the season and junior Nate Brown drove in four runs to help the Trojans snap ULM's five-game win streak.
Pyror (1-3) worked a season-long 6.1 innings and held the Warhawks to four hits and two runs (one earned) to pick up his first win as a Trojan. Brown went 2-for-5 at the plate with a pair of two-run doubles, while junior Tim Emmons belted a two-run homer in the bottom of the fifth ? his seventh of the year.
“We got some clutch hits today in some big situations and did a good job of limiting our mistakes. Tony gave us a chance to win today by going 6.1 innings and proved that we can compete when we get a good outing from our starter,” said UALR head coach Scott Norwood. “With the exception of Friday's game, we've been playing better of late, and hopefully today's win will help us turn the corner.”
The Warhawks managed just four hits and stranded 10 runners on the day, leaving the bases full in the third and seventh innings. Jordy Poche (1-2) took the loss for ULM after allowing six hits and six runs (five earned) over 4.1 innings of work.
ULM got in the scoring column first, as Matt Collins and Poche started things off in the top of the second with back-to-back singles. Collins came around to score on a RBI groundout by Perry Smith to give the Warhawks the early 1-0 lead, but ULM would go scoreless over the next five frames.
UALR answered in the bottom half, manufacturing three runs to go ahead 3-1. Junior Landis Wilson tied the game at 1-all when he followed up a leadoff double by junior Tyson Parks with a RBI double off the wall in left. Wilson scored from second on a fielding error by third baseman Tom O'Gorman, and junior Josh Marazzito came around to score the third run of the frame off a run-scoring base knock by junior Anthony Gower. Marazzito went 3-for-4 on the day with three runs scored and two doubles.
ULM had an opportunity to cut into the Trojans' lead in the top of the third after loading the bases with two outs, but Pryor got an inning-ending 6-3 groundout from Poche to escape the jam unscathed.
The Trojans extended their lead to five runs, 6-1, by pushing across three runs in the bottom of the fifth, thanks in large part to Emmons' two-run bomb. Senior Kody Kroll got the Trojans going by drawing a leadoff walk and moved into scoring position on a wild pitch by Poche. Senior Matt Apfel plated Kroll with a run-scoring single up the middle, and Emmons followed two batters later with a two-run homer to right center (his seventh of the year) to make it a 6-1 contest and chase Poche from the game.
Blake Jones came on in relief of Poche in the fifth and escaped the frame without any further damage, but ran into trouble in the sixth as the Trojans struck for three more runs after Marazzito (double) and Kroll (hit by pitch) reached base to start things off. With runners on the corners and one out, Drew Graham took the mound for Jones and managed to strikeout the first batter he faced. Graham wasn't as fortunate with Brown, however, as UALR's center fielder ripped a two-run double down the left field line to make it an 8-1 ballgame.
After going scoreless for five-straight innings, the Warhawks finally got to Pryor in the top of the seventh after loading the bases with one out off an error, a walk and a hit batsman. With the bags full and one out, Pryor issued a free pass to Collins to pull the Warhawks within seven, 9-2, and bring his afternoon to an end. Junior JR Boling came on in relief of Pryor with the bases loaded and one out, and managed to preserve the 9-2 lead by striking out Poche and forcing Nick Wade to fly out to end the inning.
Leading 9-2, the Trojans tacked on three more runs in the bottom of the seventh to run rule the Warhawks on getaway day. Kroll pushed across UALR's 10th run with a base knock to left, and Brown brought the game to an end with a two-run double to right with the bases loaded.
UALR returns to action Tuesday night when it takes on Missouri State in Springfield, Mo. The Trojans will then face the Arkansas Travelers in a five-inning scrimmage on Wednesday before heading to Mobile, Ala. for a three-game series with the Jaguars.
The Travelers are offering free admission to Wednesday's scrimmage which is slated for a 6:45 p.m. start time at Dickey-Stephens Park in North Little Rock.
