Box Score LITTLE ROCK - The UALR baseball team (2-5)
fell by a final of 8-5 to Bradley (4-2) in game number two of a three-game
series at Gary Hogan Field on Saturday. The Trojans tied a season high with 14
hits on the afternoon, but a seven-run inning by the Braves in the top of the
fifth proved to too much for the Trojans to overcome.
Bradley's Eric
Holmes was credited with his first win of the season, allowing two runs on five
hits in 1.2 innings of relief work for starter Jacob Booden. Daniel Golden was handed the loss for
UALR. Golden went 4.1 innings, allowing just four hits and five runs, three of
which were earned. Justin Ziegler picked up his second save of the series and
third of the season, giving up two hits in one inning of work.
UALR found
itself in an early 1-0 hole, as the Braves put their first run on the board in
their opening set of at-bats. After Golden issued a walk to Brian Martin to
leadoff the game, Martin stole second and advanced to third on an infield groundout
by Rob Elliot. Martin crossed the plate on another infield groundout later in
the inning, putting Bradley up 1-0 heading into the bottom of the first.
After
going scoreless in their first two sets of at-bats, the Trojans were able to
even things up in the bottom of the third. Following a walk to Brock Feldmann to lead off the inning, a
sacrifice bunt by Cameron Bentley
and a wild pitch allowed the senior to move all the way to third base with just
one out. A Justin Barnes single to
right field later in the inning made Feldmann the first UALR run of the game,
knotting the score at one apiece.
The
Trojans would take the lead in their next set of at-bats, scoring three runs on
three hits to put themselves up 4-1 after four innings of play.
A wild
pitch sandwiched between a pair of errors to start the inning allowed Casey McCollum to score the first run
of the fourth and give UALR its first lead of the contest. A pair of RBI
singles by Feldmann and Jason Houston
later in the inning put UALR up 4-1 heading into the fifth inning.
Bradley
would regain the lead in their next set of at-bats, however. The Braves scored
seven runs on six hits and a pair of Trojan errors to take an 8-4 lead heading
into the bottom of the fifth.
The
Trojans did their best to put together a rally in the bottom of the sixth. A
Bentley single to leadoff the inning was followed by back-to-back drawn walks
by Rowell and Houston. With the bases loaded and no outs, the Braves brought in
right-hander Andy Johnson to get them out of the jam. Johnson retired three of
the four batters he faced in the inning, giving up a two-out, RBI single to
McCollum, but allowed no further damage and escaped the inning with Bradley's
lead intact.
UALR tried
to put together one last attempt at a comeback in the bottom of the ninth, as
Feldmann and Bentley led off the inning with back-to-back singles. However,
Braves reliever Justin Ziegler was able to get the next batter, Houston, to
ground into a 6-4-3 double play before getting Rowell to ground to short for
the game's final out.
Bentley
led the Trojan offense with four hits, including a double, and two runs scored.
McCollum added three singles, a run and an RBI, while Feldmann had two singles,
a run and an RBI.
The
Trojans will be back in action tomorrow, February 27, taking on Bradley in the
finale of their three-game series with the Braves at Gary Hogan Field. Dillon Wilson will be on the mound for
UALR while John Nasshan will get the start for Bradley.
