UALR Splits Double Header at SFA

NACOGDOCHES, Texas - The UALR baseball (1-2) team split a double header against Stephen F. Austin (2-1) on Saturday at Jaycees Field. The Trojans used a six-run second inning to take the first contest by a final of 6-4 before falling in the second matchup 4-2.

After getting themselves into a 1-0 hole after an inning of play, the Trojans lit up the scoreboard in the top half of the second inning, scoring all six of their runs on four hits.

After the Trojans began the inning with back-to-back singles by Justin Barnes and Jason Houston, a fielding error by SFA shortstop Jordan Lewis on a Niko Navarro ground ball allowed Barnes to score from second and moved Houston all the way to third. After Nick Rountree was hit by a pitch, Austin Atwell flied out to centerfield, driving home Houston and making the score 2-1, Trojans. Two consecutive drawn walks by Brock Feldmann and Cameron Bentley allowed Navarro to score the third run of the inning, while a Casey McCollum grounder to short drove in Rountree to give UALR a 4-1 edge. The next batter, Jake Rowell, singled through the left side to bring home Feldmann, while a Houston single later in the inning scored McCollum to give the Trojans their sixth and final run of the inning.

The 'Jacks would answer with three runs of their own in the bottom half of the inning to cut the Trojan lead to two, but those would be the last runs scored by either team for the remainder of the contest.

Houston led the offensive attack for the Trojans, going 2-for-3 with an RBI.

Nick Grimmett picked up the win for UALR, allowing just one hit over 7.2 innings and striking out three. Jason West was saddled with the loss for SFA.

The Trojans never led in the second contest, falling into a 1-0 hole after three innings and a 4-0 hole at the end of six.

UALR made a two-run rally in the top half of the seventh, as back-to-back, one-out singles by Sean Bignall and Myles Parma led to a pair of Trojan runs. After a passed ball moved Bignall to third and Parma to second, a Tyler Cameron ground ball to second scored Bignall for the first Trojan run. Parma would score the second run later in the inning after a wild pitch allowed the sophomore to score from third and make the score 4-2, SFA.

Bignall and Parma led the way for the Trojan offense, each ending the day with two-hit, one-run performances.

UALR's Calvin Drinnen went 5.0 innings and struck out two in a losing effort, while SFA's Zack Taylor pitched 6.2 innings and struck out six en route to picking up the win. Colton Eubanks was credited with the save for the 'Jacks.

UALR will conclude its four-game series with SFA on Sunday with a 1 p.m. contest at Jaycees Field.