Little Rock Splits Friday Doubleheader at Memphis

MEMPHIS, Tenn. - Little Rock split its Friday doubleheader at FedEx Park in Memphis as the two games were mirror images of each other. The Trojans raced out to an early five-run lead in game one before the Tigers rallied to take the 10-6 victory. In game two, Little Rock found itself in a four-run hole, then rallied in dramatic fashion to take the 5-4 victory.
 
The Trojans now move to 7-8 on the year while Memphis sit at 6-9 overall.
 
GAME ONE
The Trojans got off to superb start, belting three home runs in the second inning. Troy Alexander and Ryan Benavidez both tallied solo shots, leading up to a three-run dinger from Marcus Ragan, racing out to the 5-0 lead.
 
That momentum carried into the top of the third inning when Matt Merino homered for the third-straight game, pushing the Trojans' lead to 6-1. But the bats struggled in the latter innings as Memphis took advantage of the Little Rock bullpen, scoring five in the fourth, one in the seventh and two in the eighth to take the 10-6 victory.
 
Troy Alexander lead the Trojans in hitting going 3-for-4 at the plate in game one, knocking in the RBI off the home run, while Marcus Ragan brought in three runs off his home run, ending the game going 2-for-4. Five other Trojans accounted for Little Rock's 10 hits on the day.
 
Chandler Fidel took the loss after allowing seven runs (all earned) on 11 hits in his four innings of work while striking out three. Hayden Arnold and Carter Brown pitched the final four stanzas for the Trojans as Arnold allowed two runs on three hits with three strikeouts
 
GAME TWO
After starting game one hot, the Little Rock bats struggled in the early going in the second game of the doubleheader as the Trojans struck out 10 times as Memphis raced out to the 4-0 lead after four.
 
Little Rock got on the board in the top of the fifth as an RBI single from Chase Coker scored James Gann, trimming the deficit to 4-1.
 
The game turned around in the eighth inning as Eldrige Figueroa and Christian Reyes lead the inning off with walks, setting the table for Riley Pittman who would drive them both in with a double to left-center. Merino then reached base with a single and advanced to second on an error, putting Pittman. Alexander then struck again, ripping a shot up the middle to score both and give the Trojans the 5-4 lead.
 
Justin Garcia then got the save by doing what he does best - registering strikeouts. In the 2.0 innings pitched he struck out five while allowing two just hits and walking one.
 
After walking the first batter in the ninth, Garcia followed it with two strikeouts, putting the Trojans one out away from the victory. Memphis then roped a line drive to the left field wall as the Tigers looked to tie the game by scoring from first. But Ryan Benavidez quickly gathered it off the wall and fired it to the shortstop Merino who relayed it home to Kale Emshoff, applying the tag at the plate to preserve the win for Little Rock.
 
Donavin Buck improves to 2-0 on the year, earning the win after throwing two-thirds of the seventh inning and keeping the Tigers stifled. Starter Nick Perez lasted 3.1 innings, allowing four runs (three earned) on four hits, with Garcia picking up his second save.
 
With a questionable weather report, the Trojans and Tigers are tentatively set to play game three of their weekend series on Saturday at 1 p.m. at FedEx Park. Stay tuned to LRTrojans and @LittleRockBSB on Twitter for any changes to Saturday's game time.
 
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