Trojans Double Up Bobcats, 6-3, To Take Series Opener

SAN MARCOS, Texas - Little Rock picks up its third victory in a row with a 6-3 win over Texas State Thursday night in game one of the series at Bobcat Ballpark. The Trojans are now 15-10 on the year and improve to 5-2 in conference to stay atop in the Sun Belt Western division.
 
Little Rock found itself in a slightly different position than it had in recent games – leading. The Trojans opened scoring in the third inning with three runs off of five singles and an error. James Gann began it with a single up the middle prompting Ryan Benavidez to follow with one of his own to left field.
 
Chase Coker then reached on a throwing error which scored Benavidez and Gann to put Little Rock up 2-0. After Matt Merino hit a single to put Coker on second, Troy Alexander hit one down the right-field line to score Coker.
 
The Bobcats would score two in the third and one in the fifth to tie the game, but the Trojans regained the lead with two runs in the sixth.
 
Coker and Merino led off with hits to put them on first and second. Alexander then tallied his second RBI of the day with single to right field to score Coker, advancing Merino to third. Kale Emshoff would hit into a double play, but he was able to score Merino in the process to push the lead to 5-3.
 
Little Rock increased the lead to three in the top of the seventh after Nick Perez led things off with a double. Gann single to score Perez for his eighth RBI in the last five games, registering at least one RBI in each.
 
Starting pitcher Chandler Fidel lasted through the sixth inning and got his second win in as many series, improving to 4-2 on the year. He allowed only two earned-runs off of six hits, three walks and striking out two before handing the ball off to Donavin Buck.
 
Buck maintained the Little Rock lead as in his two innings worked he scattered three hits while striking out two, handing the ball off to Justin Garcia in the ninth. Garcia then did what he does best, striking out the Bobcat side to register his sixth save of the season, pushing his strikeout total to 50 in 29.3 innings pitched.
 
At the plate, Little Rock finished with 11 hits on the evening, led by a 3-for-4 performance from Benavidez with a run scored. Merino, Alexander and Gann each had a pair of hits for the Trojans with Alexander's two RBI upping his season total to a team-best 28, hitting .390 on the year.
 
Little Rock will try to clinch its fourth-straight series Friday evening when the Trojans and Bobcats meet in game two of the weekend series. First pitch from Bobcat Park is scheduled for 6 p.m.
 
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