Trojans Fall to Red Wolves in Record 18-Inning Game

JONESBORO, Ark. – A walk-off hit in the bottom of the 18th inning put Arkansas State past Little Rock baseball by a score of 9-8 on Thursday night at Tomlinson Stadium. At six hours and 10 minutes, the game was the longest in Little Rock program history by both time and total innings.
 
Little Rock (21-32, 11-17 Sun Belt) tallied 12 hits for the night while Arkansas State (25-26, 12-16) racked up 17 hits and left 21 runners on base.
 
Cameron Knight finished the game 2 for 5 with two RBIs and a double as he came on to pinch hit in the seventh inning for Little Rock. Kale Emshoff was 2 for 7 with two RBIs, two doubles, a run and a walk. Riley Pittman advanced his hitting streak to 14 games as he went 2 for 7 with a run and a walk. Zach Baker and Ty Gunter each set the program's single-game record for most at-bats with eight each. Baker finished the night 2 for 8 with an RBI and a double. Dalton Thomas scored a team-high two runs with a hit and a hit-by-pitch.
 
Little Rock used nine pitchers for the game and tied a season-high with 15 strikeouts. Starter Cole Townsend threw five innings, struck out four and allowed three runs on five hits and one walk. Cory Malcom came on in relief and pitched two innings, struck out two and allowed one run on two hits. Corbin Osburn threw a team-high five strikeouts as he pitched 4.2 innings and allowed two runs on six hits and two walks. McKinley Moore (0-2) took the loss for Little Rock as he allowed the game-winning run to get on base in the bottom of the 18th.
 
Little Rock's pitching staff set a new single-season record for strikeouts thrown as it tossed 15 for the night to give the Trojans 451 for the season. The previous record of 438 strikeouts was set in 2003.
 
Arkansas State's Bradey Welsh (4-2) earned the win after he threw five innings, struck out six and allowed two runs on four hits. Reliever Tyler Zuber threw 5.1 innings with eight strikeouts and allowed just one hit and two walks. Starter Tyler Mitzel threw five innings, struck out five and allowed one run on three hits and a walk.
 
The Red Wolves tallied just one extra-base hit all night with a lone double. Grant Hawkins led the game by going 4 for 9, and Alex Howard had a game-high three RBIs as he went 3 for 9.
 
The Trojans got off to a rough start as they allowed three A-State runs on four infield singles in the bottom of the first inning.
 
Little Rock finally got on the board in the top of the fifth inning. After a two-out single by Gunter, Emshoff roped an RBI double into right center to cut the Trojans' deficit to 3-1.
 
The Red Wolves went up by three once again in the bottom of the sixth with an RBI single through the right side by Jake Bakamus.
 
Little Rock cut Arkansas State's lead to 4-3 in the top of the seventh with two runs on two hits. After Thomas hit a leadoff single and advanced to second on a passed ball, Nik Gifford hit an RBI double to left center. Gifford advanced to third on a wild pitch before scoring on an RBI ground out by Gunter.
 
The Trojans' big inning occurred in the top of the eighth as they took the lead with three runs on three hits, a walk and a hit-by-pitch — all with two outs. After Hunter Owens and Pittman singled, Thomas was hit by a pitch to load the bases. Gifford walked on a 3-2 count to score Owens for the tying run. After the Red Wolves went to reliever Tyler Zuber, Knight welcomed him to the game with a two-run single to center and put Little Rock up 6-4.
 
The Red Wolves weren't going down without a fight as they knotted the game at 6-6 in the bottom of the eighth. After Little Rock loaded the bases for A-State with three straight walks, a one-out two-run single by Alex Howard tied the game.
 
Seven scoreless innings past before Little Rock finally broke the tie in the top of the 16th. Knight hit a leadoff double down the right field line and then advanced to third on a ground out by Gunter. Emshoff then hit an RBI double to center to plate the go-ahead run. With two outs, Baker put the Trojans up by two with an RBI double to right center.
 
With two outs in the bottom of the 16th, Arkansas State tied the game with a pair of RBI singles by Hawkins and Garrett Rucker.
 
At the six-hour, 10-minute mark in the bottom of the 18th inning, Arkansas State's Justin Felix hit a bases-loaded single through the right side to win the game for the Red Wolves.
 
Little Rock and Arkansas State will battle for the series win on Friday as the two will play a doubleheader beginning at 3 p.m. The doubleheader was originally schedule for 2 p.m., but the duration of Thursday night's game caused the game to be pushed back one hour.