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Box Score 2 JONESBORO, Ark. - Arkansas State (25-30-1, 13-16-1) took a pair of games from the UALR baseball team (20-32, 10-20) on Saturday afternoon at Tomlinson Stadium to complete a three-game sweep and claim the No. 7 seed in the upcoming Sun Belt Conference Tournament. UALR enters its first Sun Belt Tournament since 2003 as the No. 8 seed, and will open with No. 1-seed Troy on Wednesday, May 25 at 7 p.m. in Monroe, La.
Arkansas State 6, UALR 4 (game 2)
Todd Baumgartner broke a 4-4 tie with a leadoff homer in the bottom of the seventh, and Jacob Lee worked his way out of a bases-loaded jam in the top of the ninth to lead the Red Wolves to a 6-4 victory. ASU outhit the Trojans 14-to-11 in the win, led by a 4-for-4, three-RBI performance by Tyler Smith.
The Red Wolves took a 6-4 lead into the top of the ninth and called on Lee to close out the victory in his first relief appearance of the season. ASU's top starter with a 2.77 earned run average, Lee ran into trouble immediately as the first three Trojans reached base to open the frame. After senior Brock Feldmann drew a leadoff walk, junior Cameron Bentley doubled to right and junior Sean Bignall walked to load the bases with no outs.
With the tying runs in scoring position, Lee induced a 1-2-3 double play ball from the next Trojan he faced and then got a fly out from the following batter to end the game. Lee picked up his first save of the year, while Sam Jew picked up the win in relief despite allowing four hits and two runs in one inning of work. ASU starter Brad Allen held the Trojans to six hits and two runs over 6.0 innings in a no decision. Allen left the game after six innings with ASU holding a 4-2 lead, but the Trojans scored two runs in the top of the seventh off of Jew to tie things up.
Missed opportunities doomed the Trojans in the first game of Saturday's doubleheader, as UALR twice loaded the bases and came away empty handed, while also seeing a runner tagged out at the plate in the top of the seventh. UALR loaded the bases with two outs on the board in the top of the second, but Allen got a strikeout from the next Trojan he faced to leave the bags full.
Arkansas State took a 4-0 lead in the bottom of the third as it pushed across four runs with two outs on the board. The Red Wolves loaded the bases with a single and two walks off starter Ryan Juris, and Zach George put the home team on the board with a two-out, two-run double to left center. Smith followed with a two-run single through the left side to give ASU a 4-0 edge.
UALR went scoreless over the first four frames against Allen, but manufactured two runs in the seventh after Feldmann and Bentley opened the frame with back-to-back singles. Both runners advanced on a sacrifice bunt, and the Trojans got on the board when Feldmann scored on a RBI groundout by sophomore Myles Parma. Senior Jason Houston made it a 4-2 ballgame with a two-out, run-scoring single through the left side.
The Trojans evened things up at 4-all in the top of the seventh after Jew came on to pitch for Allen. Junior Justin Barnes opened the frame with a leadoff double to left center, and scored from third two batters later on a RBI base knock by Bentley. Parma tied things up at 4-all when he plated Bentley with a base knock to center. The Trojans had a chance to take the lead with runners on the corners and one out, but Bignall was tagged out at the plate (1-2) as he tried to score from third on a bunt by Houston.
Junior Bubba Cooper came on to pitch in the bottom of the fifth and worked two scoreless frames before surrendering a leadoff homer to Baumgartner in the seventh. ASU tacked on an insurance run in the inning to take a 6-4 lead, as the Red Wolves ripped off three-straight singles after the home run - capped off by a RBI base knock by Smith.
Holding a 6-4 lead, Daniel Wright retired the Trojans in-order in the top of the eighth before giving way to Lee in the ninth. Cooper (0-3) took the loss after allowing seven hits and two runs over 4.0 innings in relief.
Bentley went 3-for-4 with two runs scored and one RBI to lead the way for UALR. He was one of three players to record a multi-hit game, along with Parma and Houston.
Arkansas State 9, UALR 1 (game 3)
ASU starter Andres Caceres (1-0) limited the Trojans to three hits over 4.0 shutout innings to help the Red Wolves cap off a sweep of the Trojans with a 9-1 victory in the finale. Michael Faulkner went 2-for-3 with three runs scored and two RBI to lead the way for ASU, while Zach Maggio and Ryan Emery added three RBI apiece.
Arkansas State took control early on in the final game, capitalizing on two UALR fielding errors to score three unearned runs in the bottom of the second. Maggio delivered the biggest blow of the frame with a two-run single to center to make it a 3-0 contest.
ASU extended its lead to 5-0 in the top of the fourth as a leadoff walk to Dustin Jones and a single by Faulkner led to a two-run single up the middle by Emery. A leadoff walk cost the Trojans in the sixth as well, as Emery picked up another RBI when he plated Faulkner with another single up the middle.
Faulkner hit a two-out, two-run triple in the bottom of the seventh as ASU tacked on three more runs to take a 9-0 lead. He came around to score his third run of the game on the next at-bat as Maggio singled to left.
Trailing 9-0 in the top of the eighth, the Trojans used three-consecutive singles to ruin ASU's shutout bid. Reliever Cory Kyle retired the first two batters of the inning, but Jason Houston, Nick Rountree and Jake Rowell strung together three-straight hits, the last of which allowed Houston to score from third. UALR had just four hits over the first seven innings, before totaling three off Kyle in the eighth.
ASU threw a total of five pitchers in the win, with Caceres picking up his first victory of the year after opening the game with 4.0 shutout frames. UALR starter Calvin Drinnen (5-6) was tagged with the loss after allowing three runs (all unearned) and three hits over 3.0 innings.
