Little Rock Wins Series Opener at Georgia Southern

STATESBORO, Ga. – A three-game series against Georgia Southern saw Little Rock baseball dominate the series opener by a score of 11-4 on Friday night at J.I. Clements Stadium.
 
The Trojans' 11 runs were their most against a Sun Belt opponent this season, and it was Little Rock's third straight win in Statesboro dating back to last season.
 
"It was a tremendous win for the guys on many levels," Little Rock head coach Chris Curry said. "After such a tough travel day, we challenged the guys to play with energy, and they did."
 
Little Rock starter Ryan LeMoine (2-4) pitched a beauty on the bump as he picked up the win while nearly going the distance. The junior struck out a career-high nine batters and allowed four unearned runs on five hits, a walk and a hit-by-pitch in a career-high 8.2 innings. This was the second consecutive start in which LeMoine tallied a career high for strikeouts.
 
"Ryan LeMoine was outstanding," Curry said. "I thought he did a great job of continually shoving it in the strike zone the entire night. We had just one walk all night, and usually when we do that, we play pretty well."
 
Eagle starter Jacob Condra-Bogan (4-2) got into trouble early and took the loss as he went two innings and allowed five runs on six hits and two walks. Georgia Southern used a total of six pitchers for the game.
 
At the plate, Little Rock (16-26, 7-12 Sun Belt) put on a hit parade with 13 for the night while every Trojan starter reached base. Nik Gifford went 3 for 4 with two runs, an RBI and a hit-by-pitch. Riley Pittman had the game's only home run as he went 2 for 5 with two runs, an RBI and a walk. Cameron Knight was 2 for 4 with a triple, two runs and a hit-by-pitch. Zach Baker went 2 for 5 with two RBIs, a double, a run and a hit-by-pitch. Hunter Owens and Christian Reyes each tallied two RBIs and a hit.
 
"Riley Pittman set the tone for us," Curry said. 'He's kind of become the spark plug on offense and the guy we're going around as of late. It's nice to see him mature into a confident hitter."
 
Georgia Southern (28-15, 11-8) had a rough go of it at the plate as they tallied just six hits for the night — none of which were for extra bases. Top slugger Ryan Cleveland finished 1 for 3 with an RBI.
 
Little Rock got the scoring underway with a five-run inning in the top of the second. On the second pitch of the inning, Pittman launched his fourth homer of the season over the left field wall and hit the scoreboard. With bases loaded, Baker hit a two-RBI double down the left field line. Owens then picked up two RBIs of his own with a double down the right field line.
 
The Trojans continued right where they left off in the top of the third with four runs on four hits. Knight began the inning with a leadoff triple before scoring on an RBI single through the left side by Gifford. After Gifford moved to second on a wild pitch and Jonathan Davis walked on four straight balls, another wild pitch moved both into scoring position. A one-out RBI single by Reyes plated Gifford before Davis scored on a wild pitch to the backstop. Baker singled through the left side to put runners on the corners before another wild pitch scored Reyes to put Little Rock up 9-0.
 
The Eagles finally responded in the bottom of the third with an RBI single through the right side by Cleveland.
 
Little Rock went up by 10 in the top of the sixth as two more runs scored. Ty Gunter was hit by a pitch with bases loaded to score Pittman, and Reyes walked on a 3-0 count to score Knight. 
 
Georgia Southern made a last-ditch effort in the bottom of the ninth with three runs on four hits and two Little Rock errors. A bases-loaded RBI ground out by Evan McDonald scored Cal Baker before C.J. Ballard scored from third on a wild pitch. After allowing back-to-back singles, LeMoine's night came to an end as Preston Oberling came on in relief. Steven Curry hit an RBI single through the right side before a ground out by Mitchell Golden ended the game.
 
Little Rock will now go for the series win against Georgia Southern tomorrow night at 5:30 p.m. (CT). A series win would be Little Rock's second straight against the Eagles and first road series victory of the year.
 
"With Cory Malcom on the mound tomorrow, we feel good about our chances," Curry added.