Trojans End 2016 Season With Loss to South Alabama

SAN MARCOS, Texas – Little Rock baseball (26-28) saw its 2016 season come to an end as it fell to South Alabama (39-19) by a score of 6-4 after the Jaguars rallied from behind in the ninth inning on Thursday morning at Bobcat Ballpark on the campus of Texas State.
 
In their final game at Little Rock, Ryan Scott and Hayden Martin carried the Trojans' offense as both combined for the team's five hits. Scott went 3 for 4 with a home run, a double, three RBIs and run while Martin went 2 for 3 with a double, an RBI and two runs. Scott's three RBIs pushed him to 66 for the year, breaking the Little Rock single-season record of 65 set by Chris Julo in 2003.
 
The first two innings went scoreless until Little Rock broke the tie in the bottom of the third. With a runner on second and two outs, Hayden Martin hit an RBI double to left center, scoring Zach Baker. Ryan Scott then hammered a two-run homer to right off the Texas State scoreboard to give Little Rock a 3-0 lead.
 
Three scoreless innings later, South Alabama made a game of it. Carter Perkins got the inning started with a leadoff double to left center before Brendan Donovan walked. With one out, a Matt Bolger single up the middle loaded the bases. Cory Malcom exited the game as Cody Daylor (3-2) made his way out of the inning. Malcom's exit came after throwing eight strikeouts in 6.1 innings. After an infield fly, Drew LaBounty hit a two-run single through the left side to cut the Jags' deficit to 3-2.
 
Little Rock added an insurance run in the bottom of the eighth. After Martin singled to left center with two outs, Scott followed that up with an RBI double to right center, breaking the Little Rock single-season record for RBIs.
 
With a 4-2 lead entering the ninth, Little Rock allowed South Alabama to load the bases with one out. Jarrid Garcia entered the game for Little Rock, but he walked a runner home to move the Jaguars within one. Keenan Wingfield then took over on the mound, but South Alabama's Jared Barnes hit a two-run double down the left field line to put the Jaguars up by a run. A wild pitch then allowed Cole Billingsley to score and put South Alabama up 6-4.
 
Down to its final three outs, the Trojans struck out twice and lined out to second to end the game.
 
Scott also ended his Little Rock career with the highest single-season batting average in program history at .435.
 
For the second consecutive year, Little Rock set a new program record for fielding percentage as it finished the season with an average of .975. Last year, the Trojans tied the program record at .973.
 
"I could not be more proud of this group and the foundation they've laid," head coach Chris Curry said. "They broke all these records and brought attention to the program. Even though it hurts deep down, I'm so proud to be the coach of this team. I'm excited about where we're headed as a program, and I'm going to miss those four seniors."