Box Score LITTLE ROCK, Ark. - The Western Illinois offensive attack pounded out 16 hits and was aided by 14 walks and four hit batsmen by Trojan pitchers Tuesday evening as the Leathernecks defeated UALR 14-6 at Gary Hogan Field.
Tonight's game, which was originally scheduled to begin at 6 p.m. was actually delayed an hour due to a scheduling conflict with the umpires.
The Leatherneck bats seemingly weren't affected by the unanticipated delay as they wasted no time getting after UALR starter Garret Graziano. The first three runners reached base with singles and the fourth drew a walk to give WIU a 1-0 advantage. After a ground out, Cole Waddell laced a two-run single up the middle, putting WIU out front 3-0 in the opening frame.
UALR (13-9) answered right back in the bottom half of the first as Casey McCollum and Jake Rowell each reached on walks. Jason Houston then belted his fifth home run of the season over the left field fence to tie the game at 3-3.
Not willing to relinquish the early lead, WIU (5-11) wasted no time loading the bases up in their half of the second. After a sacrifice fly made the score 4-3, Waddell struck again with an RBI single to right field which scored two runs, giving the Leathernecks a 6-3 advantage. WIU then widened the gap to 8-3 after a pair of wild pitches brought Bryan Jordan around to score and an RBI single by Rich Mascheri scored Waddell. The Leathernecks weren't finished, however. After a walk by Chris Giglio loaded the bases again, Tim Lilga was hit by a pitch and then Dan Dispensa drew a walk to make the score 10-3 before Trojan pitcher Andrew Loe got Jason Summers to ground out to end the inning.
Back-to-back doubles in the bottom half of the second by Aaron Jarosh and Brock Feldman cut the lead to 10-4. After a couple of innings rendered no scoring, the Trojans scored two in the fifth, making it a 10-6 game, on an RBI single by Houston and an RBI double by Tyson Parks.
Two-run singles in each of the sixth and the eighth innings built the Leatherneck lead to 14-8 and WIU pitcher David Hill closed the door earning his second save of the season, hurling 4.2 innings of one-hit ball while striking out five.
Austin Brough earned the win in relief for WIU, improving his record to 1-2 on the season. Graziano was hit with the loss for UALR, falling to 1-2.
The Trojans were paced offensively on the evening by Houston, who finished with two hits and four RBIs. Parks also added a pair of hits and an RBI in the losing effort.
The two teams meet again for the finale of the two-game set tomorrow afternoon at Gary Hogan Field. First pitch is scheduled for 3 p.m.
