Box Score RUSTON, La. – UALR baseball (11-18) fell to Louisiana Tech (15-15) by a score of 7-1 on Wednesday afternoon.
Ryan Scott had the best day at the plate for the Trojans as he went 2 for 4 and earned his 14th double of the season. Scott extended his hitting streak to eight games and leads UALR with 11 multiple hit games this season.
The Bulldogs had an early opportunity to score in the first inning. With runners on the corners and one out, Louisiana Tech tried to pull off a sacrifice fly to left, but Sam Vogel heaved a laser to the plate, throwing the runner out at home to complete the double play.
“I thought our outfield played outstanding defense all day, but they had a lot of work because we had a lot of balls up in the zone,” head coach Chris Curry said.
Louisiana Tech scored the game's first run in the bottom of the second inning. The Bulldogs started the inning with a single through the right side before advancing to second on a sacrifice bunt. The runner advanced to third on a wild pitch prior to a walk that put Louisiana Tech runners on the corners. The Bulldogs went out to a 1-0 lead with an RBI groundout to second.
The Trojans tied the game at 1-1 in the top of the third. Ryan Scott doubled down the right field line with two outs, and then scored on a close play at the plate after Tanner Rockwell singled through the right side.
“Scott was out by a mile, but he had a great slide. Ryan continues to be an outstanding baseball player, and Rockwell has given us a lot of leadership in the heart of the order.”
The Bulldogs took a 2-1 lead in the bottom of the sixth after a one-out triple down the right field line and a sacrifice fly to right field.
UALR starter Stephen Chandler tossed six innings, setting a new career-high. Chandler allowed two runs on just five hits and only walked one. Although Chandler had only pitched 77 pitches, Curry made the call to the bullpen at the end of the sixth inning.
“Stephen Chandler gave us a very good outing,” Curry said. “He hasn't been stretched out that much all year and was starting to get hit. The last ball should have been off the center field wall, but Sila got it. He was starting to get the ball up in the zone, and we wanted to get Oberling in there to get a look.”
Freshman Preston Oberling came on in relief to begin the bottom of the seventh inning, but after loading the bases and walking home a run with one out, junior Chad Bradford entered the game with a 3-1 deficit.
With bases loaded, LA Tech grounded into a fielder's choice, but scored another run. After another walk to load the bases, the Bulldogs hit a single to the right-center gap, scoring two more runs to go up 6-1.
Freshman right-hander Duncan McNair entered the game in the bottom of the eighth. The Bulldogs singled up the middle to lead off the inning. Another single and a wild pitch put runners at second and third. A sacrifice fly to center allowed Louisiana Tech to lead 7-1 after eight innings.
The Trojans couldn't get any offense going in the top of the ninth, allowing Louisiana Tech to sweep the two-game series.
“Once again, our bullpen let us down after Chandler came out of the game,” Curry said. “We had four walks in the last three innings that we pitched, and that's unacceptable. Those guys that aren't getting much of an opportunity to pitch have to be prepared physically and mentally when they're called upon. It's tough, but it's Division I baseball. You need to be ready to fill up the strike zone when you're called in.”
UALR will now come home for a three-game Sun Belt series against the second-place Texas State Bobcats starting on Friday at 6 p.m.
