Box Score JONESBORO,
Ark.
- Arkansas State (11-8, 3-0) completed its sweep of UALR (13-8, 0-3) with an
8-4 win over the Trojans on Sunday at Tomlinson Park and Kell Field. The Red
Wolves scored five runs in the bottom of the fourth to rally from an early 3-0
deficit, and then added three more insurance scores in the eighth to hold on
for series-ending victory.
Reliever Seth McWilliams (2-0) was credited with the
win for the Red Wolves. McWilliams gave up no runs on two hits over 4.0 innings
of relief work. Junior Tyler Buckley
(1-3) was saddled with the loss for the Trojans, as the right-hander gave up
four runs on three hits in 3.0 innings while getting the start.
The UALR bats put up seven hits on the afternoon.
Junior Myles Parma and senior Nick Rountree led the way with two
each, while Rountree also chipped in with a pair of RBI. Junior Chris Burk went 1-for-4 with a triple
and two runs scored. Senior Sean Bignall
ended the game 1-for-2 with a triple, a run and an RBI.
UALR was able to jump out to an early lead on ASU for
the first time in the series, scoring two runs on one hit in the top half of
the first. Three issued walks to Parma, senior Greg Garcia and Burk loaded the bases for the Trojans, and a single
by Rountree through the right side plated two runs to give UALR a quick 2-0
advantage.
The Trojans went up 3-0 in the top of the third on
back-to-back triples by Burk and Bignall to lead off the inning. UALR nearly
plated a second run in the frame, but Bignall was thrown out at home by the ASU
first baseman on a grounder by junior Blake
Johnson to keep the UALR lead at three.
After no runs and just two hits through the first three
innings of play, Arkansas State was finally able to generate some offense with
five runs on two hits in the bottom half of the fourth. Walks to Zach George
and Logan Uxa to lead off the inning were followed with an RBI single to left
by Collin Massanelli that scored the first Red Wolf run of the inning. After a
hit batsman by Buckley loaded the bases, junior Marshal Hamrick came on to pitch and promptly surrendered a two-RBI
single to Ryan Roberts. A sacrifice bunt scored the fourth ASU run of the
frame, and the fifth came home from third on a balk by Hamrick to give ASU a
5-3 lead heading into the fourth.
ASU tacked on three more in the bottom of the seventh
to push its lead to five. A bases-loaded single by Uxa brought in all three Red
Wolf scores of the frame to make it an 8-3 game after seven innings of play.
Bignall led off the eighth by being hit by a pitch, and
Rountree followed with a single to left to give the Trojans runners at first
and second. A groundout by Johnson advanced both runners, and a sacrifice fly
by sophomore Bryson Thionnet allowed
Bignall to score and make it a four-run deficit.
The Trojans would get no closer than that, however. ASU
reliever Brandon Farley issued one walk in the ninth, but allowed no hits to
close out the game and complete the sweep for the Red Wolves.
UALR will have a day of rest before it travels to Ruston,
La., to take on Louisiana Tech. First pitch on Tuesday is set for 6:00 p.m.
