PINE BLUFF, Ark. – Little Rock struck first against Arkansas-Pine Bluff, but a pair of three-run innings for the Golden Lions did in the Trojans as Little Rock falls 7-4 in the first game of the home-and-home series between the two. The loss drops Little Rock to 21-18 on the year.
"I'm frustrated with the inconsistency our team is playing with right now," said head coach
Chris Curry. "We did not execute on all three phases, giving up multiple two out walks, our bunting was awful and we didn't handle the ball well on defense. It was a mental let down in all three phases which is unacceptable this time of year when you should be playing your best baseball."
Little Rock drew first blood in the top of the second as singles by
Kale Emshoff and
Troy Alexander put runners at the corners with just one out.
Nick Perez then reached on an error by the UAPB third baseman, bringing Emshoff home and leaving two runners on with one out. But the Trojans were unable to take advantage, registering back-to-back strikeouts to end the threat.
The Golden Lions responded with four unanswered runs over the next two innings, registering three in the third and one in the fourth to build a 4-1 lead. Little Rock tried to begin a rally in the seventh, beginning with a
Chase Coker double and a
Marcus Ragan triple, both of which went to center, cutting the deficit to 4-2.
UAPB posted another big inning in the bottom of the seventh, scoring three to put the Golden Lions in control at 7-2. Little Rock mounted one last rally attempt in the top of the ninth, beginning with Coker's fifth triple of the season, setting a new program record. The three-bagger brought Perez home, then Coker would add another run off a Ragan ground out to third, but that is where the rally ended as the Trojans drop the 7-4 decision.
Eight different Trojans accounted for nine hits on the day, led by Coker's 2-for-4 performance with an RBI and two runs scored. Ragan went 1-for-5 with the pair of RBI with Perez adding an RBI on his 1-for-2 outing.
Little Rocker starter
McKinley Moore took the loss, allowing four runs on five hits, walking three and striking out one in three innings of work.
Ethan Daily had a strong outing in relief, pitching 2.2 innings and holding UAPB to just one hit, as Perez gave up just two hits with three strikeouts in 1.2 innings.
The game in Pine Bluff was the fifth of an eight-game road trip for Little Rock, one which wraps up this weekend in Boone, North Carolina against Appalachian State. The three game series against the Mountaineers begins Friday at 5 p.m. CT as Little Rock looks to improve on its 1-4 record on the road swing.
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