Box Score LITTLE ROCK - The UALR baseball team (2-4)
dropped its home opener to Bradley (3-2) by a final score of 4-0 Friday night
at Gary Hogan Field. Bradley's Joe Bircher, Danny Gifford and Justin Ziegler
combined for a four-hit shutout against the Trojans as the Braves jumped out to
an early 4-0 advantage after three innings and never relinquished the lead.
Garret Graziano was saddled with the loss for
UALR. Graziano went six innings, striking out four while allowing four runs on
just five hits. Bircher was credited with the win for the Braves after allowing
no runs on just three hits in seven innings of work.
After a
scoreless first inning of play, Bradley got on the board in the top half of the
second. Following a walk issued to Derek Sprout to begin the inning, an Austin
Jarvis double to right field two batters later would score Sprout from second
and put the Braves up 1-0.
Bradley
would add three more runs in their next set of at-bats, as a bases-loaded,
two-RBI single up the middle by Brad Kimball put the Braves up 3-0, while a
sacrifice fly by Jerrod Eigsti later in the inning scored Mike Tauchman from
third to increase the Brave lead to four.
That four-run
lead would prove more than enough for Bircher. The left-hander allowed just one
hit - a single to Sean Bignall in
the bottom of the fifth inning --- over his next five innings of work before turning
things over to Gifford in the top of the eighth inning.
The
Trojans best chance to get on the board came in their last set of at-bats, as a
Cameron Bentley walk to lead off the
inning combined with a Jake Rowell
single put runners at first and second with one out. However, Ziegler promptly retired
the next two batters he faced, securing the series opener for the Braves while
earning his second save in the Braves five games this season.
UALR and
Bradley will play game two of their series on Saturday at 3 p.m. at Gary Hogan
Field. Daniel Golden will be on the
mound for the Trojans while Jacob Booden will be pitching for the Braves.
