Ninth-Inning Comeback Falls Short for Little Rock

LITTLE ROCK – A ninth-inning comeback fell short as Little Rock baseball (13-16, 6-7 Sun Belt) took a 7-5 loss to Georgia State (15-15, 4-6) in the series opener on Friday night at Gary Hogan Field.
 
Dalton Thomas ended the night 3 for 4 with his fourth home run of the season, two runs, an RBI and a walk.
 
Also getting multiple hits were Cameron Knight and Kyle Kirk as each went 2 for 3. Kirk had two RBIs for the evening while Knight earned an RBI and a walk.
 
Scoreless through three innings, the Trojans got on the board in the bottom of the fourth with two runs on three hits. After hits by Thomas and Nik Gifford to start the inning, a single by Knight plated Thomas to put Little Rock on top 1-0. Gifford scored later in the frame on a sacrifice fly by Kirk to give the Trojans a two-run cushion.
 
The Panthers plated three runs on four hits in the top of the fifth. Jaylen Woullard singled to lead off the inning and advanced to third base on another single and a hit batsman. Woullard scored the first run of the inning on a sacrifice fly by Ryan Blanton.
 
Will Kilgore scored the second run of the frame on a RBI single by Joey Roach with two outs. A Jarrett Hood single through the left side plated Justin Jones to give Georgia State a 3-2 lead. 
 
A solo homer by Thomas in the bottom of the sixth tied the game at 3-all. Georgia State regained the lead when Jones scored on a wild pitch in the top half of the seventh. The Panthers built a two-run lead on Jones' RBI single to left that scored Luke Leonard in the top of the eighth.
 
The Trojans got a run back in the bottom half of the frame. Georgia State's Bryce Conley walked Gifford and Knight to start the bottom half of the eighth inning. Zach Baker's sacrifice attempt resulted in a force out at third base, but Kirk's one-out single back up the middle plated Baker from second to pull Little Rock within a run. Little Rock was unable to do any further damage, as Riley Pittman flied out to right field and Hayden Martin struck out swinging to leave runners at the corners.
 
A solo shot by Roach on the first pitch of the ninth inning pushed Georgia State's lead to 6-4. A bases-loaded walk later in the frame grew the Panthers' lead to three runs.
 
Little Rock loaded the bases with no outs in the bottom of the ninth. Hunter Owens reached base on a four-pitch walk to start the inning, and consecutive infield singles from Ryan Scott and Thomas loaded the bases for Gifford. 
 
A wild pitch scored Owens from third base, but consecutive strikeouts issued by Conley brought the Trojans down to their final out. Following a walk by Keegan Meyn, Ty Gunter lined the first pitch he saw back up the middle, but a diving grab by Justin Jones ended the Trojans' threat and the game.
 
"Once again, the fight of our club showed up," head coach Chris Curry said. "We have the makeup, character and toughness, but what we're lacking is execution. I attribute that to our team trying incredibly hard in pressure situations, whether it be on the mound trying to execute a pitch or trying to get a situational hit."
 
Little Rock will try to knot the series against Georgia State on Saturday at 2 p.m., at Gary Hogan Field.