Little Rock Knocks Off SFA for Third Straight Win

LITTLE ROCK – Six runs in the seventh inning catapulted Little Rock baseball to a 10-4 victory over Stephen F. Austin on Tuesday night at Gary Hogan Field.
 
The Trojans (13-20) notched their third consecutive win, and it was their first against the Lumberjacks (20-15) at home since 2013. Coming into Tuesday night, SFA had won 12 of its last 13 games.
 
Little Rock tallied at least 10 runs for the fourth time this season. With 12 hits, it was the 13th time this season the Trojans had recorded at least 10 hits in a game. Of Little Rock's 12 hits, nine came from batters six through nine. Little Rock's three stolen bases tied for the most this season while its 10 RBIs were the third most in a game this year.
 
Four Trojans had multiple hits for the night. Riley Pittman led the way by going 3 for 5 with an RBI and two runs. Ty Gunter went 2 for 4 with two RBIs and two runs while Danny Mitchell Jr. also went 2 for 4 with two RBIs and a run. Christian Reyes went 2 for 3 with an RBI, a walk and a run. Dalton Thomas advanced his hitting streak to eight game with his conference-leading 13th double of the season. Hunter Owens picked up two RBIs for the night with one hit. Nik Gifford walked three times and scored two runs while Zach Baker had two walks and an RBI.
 
Carter Brown (2-1) earned the win for Little Rock as he pitched 5.1 innings, struck out one and allowed three unearned runs on four hits and one walk. The Trojans' bullpen of Cole Townsend, Justin Garcia, Matt McDowell and McKinley Moore allowed just one run on two hits and three walks. SFA starter Erik Nouis (1-2) picked up the loss as he pitched 3.1 innings, struck out four and allowed four runs on four hits and three walks.
 
"We're obviously very happy," head coach Chris Curry said. "It was a mentally tough day because we started out unsure if we were going to play. The rain held off, and we had to flip a switch and play. I was really excited about the start Carter gave us. He's starting to show what we saw all fall and spring. He held the game tight when we were trying to solve their left-hander. We finally got in their bullpen, and the bottom of our lineup really did the damage, and that was great to see. Those top-half hitters are really good, but they're not going to do it every night."
 
After three scoreless innings to begin the game, SFA put up two runs in the fourth for its only lead of the game. Once Zac Michener reached on an error, Josh Evans belted a two-run homer to right center.
 
The Trojans' bats also came alive in the fourth with four runs on three hits. Gifford started with a leadoff walk and advanced to second on a wild pitch. Cameron Knight then hit an RBI double down the left field line. After Pittman's single put runners on the corners, Gunter hit an RBI double to right field. Baker walked with the bases loaded before an RBI ground out by Hunter Owens put Little Rock up 4-2.
 
The Lumberjacks came within a run in the top of the sixth. With runners on the corners and two outs, a passed ball allowed Connor Fikes to score.
 
Little Rock then broke it wide open in the seventh with six runs on six hits and an error as the Trojans had 10 plate appearances for the frame. Little Rock had four consecutive hits with at least one RBI as Pittman, Gunter, Reyes and Mitchell each put up a base knock. Owens finished off the scoring with a two-out RBI double.
 
The final run of the game came in the top of the ninth on a leadoff homer to left by SFA's Will Foreman, but it was too little, too late for the Lumberjacks as a ground out and two strikeouts ended the game.
 
"That's a good win that shows consistency coming off our weekend series," Curry said. "We're about to go play UT Arlington, a team that stands at the top of our division, and I'd like to think we're starting to play a better brand of baseball. That's four games in a row where we've been really engaged in the dugout, and that's just who this team is."
 
Little Rock will now take its three-game winning streak to UT Arlington for a three-game Sun Belt series beginning on Thursday at 6:30 p.m.