Eagles Shut Out Trojans to Even Series

STATESBORO, Ga. – Held to just three hits, Little Rock baseball took a 5-0 loss to Georgia Southern in Saturday night's contest at J.I. Clements Stadium.
 
The Trojans (16-27, 7-13 Sun Belt) were shut out by Georgia Southern (29-15, 12-8) starter Evan Challenger (2-4) as he threw seven strikeouts and allowed just three hits and four walks in nine innings of work.
 
"Against an arm like Challenger's, you only get two to three chances," Little Rock head coach Chris Curry said. "Our chances came in the second, fourth and sixth innings, and we just didn't get come up with the big hit."
 
Little Rock starter Cory Malcom (2-5) took the loss as went 6.2 innings, struck out seven and allowed four runs (three earned) on six hits and a walk. Dylan Slayton threw one inning of relief, struck out two and allowed one run on two hits. Matt McDowell came on for a third of an inning and recorded a strikeout.
 
"I thought Cory pitched well enough to give us a chance to win, and I thought Slayton and McDowell were very good out of the pen," Curry said. "We just couldn't get that timely hit."
 
The Trojans' only offensive came from Riley Pittman, Cameron Knight and Christian Reyes as each tallied a hit. Georgia Southern's Evan McDonald was the game's leading hitter as he went 2 for 4 with two RBIs and a run.
 
The Trojans got themselves into a bases loaded jam in the bottom of the third. A fly out to left by Georgia Southern's Mason McWhorter allowed C.J. Brazil to score from third on the sacrifice fly. That was all the Eagles could muster as a fly out to center ended the inning.
 
The scoring continued for the Eagles in the bottom of the fourth as McDonald hit a two-run single back up the middle after a single by Mitchell Golden and a double by Logan Baldwin.
 
Georgia Southern added another run in the bottom of the seventh as Steven Curry picked up the RBI on a fielder's choice to second. McDonald scored on the play to put the Eagles up 4-0.
 
The Eagles' went up by five in the bottom of the eighth. McWhorter doubled down the left field line before tagging up on fly out to center. He then scored on an RBI single by Tyler Martin.
 
The Trojans couldn't come up with the hits as Challenger retired the final 11 batters to give Georgia Southern the win.
 
Little Rock and Georgia Southern will battle for the series win in tomorrow's 1 p.m., rubber match in Statesboro.