Little Rock Edged by No. 10 Ole Miss

Box Score OXFORD, Miss.- Little Rock's ninth-inning comeback fell just short as the Trojans fell to Ole Miss 11-8 Tuesday afternoon in Oxford.
 
Ryan Benavidez continued his hot hitting with a 3-for-5 day at the plate. Josh Nowak entered the game in the eighth inning and notched two hits including a two-RBI triple in the final frame.
 
The Rebels struck first in their first turn at bat, and followed by scoring five runs in the second inning to take control of the game. After a scoreless third, Ole Miss tacked on another run in the fourth inning.
 
Little Rock would not go away, however, and responded with four runs in the top half of the fifth. Troy Alexander and Nathan Lyons were each hit by a pitch to set the table for the bottom half of the order. Freshman Miguel Soto slapped a single to right field to plate Alexander. A beautifully placed drag bunt from Chase Coker brought Lyons to the plate. Soto would then come trot home when Coker's stolen base drew a throw to second base.
 
The small ball would continue at the top of the order when Christian Reyes laid down yet another nifty bunt to score Coker and land himself on first base.
 
At the end of five innings, the score was 7-4 in favor of the hosts.
 
Ole Miss was able to put up a four spot of their own in the seventh inning, but the Trojans would not go down without a fight.
 
Much like the fifth inning, two free passes would set up a big inning for Little Rock. Coker and Reyes drew consecutive walks before Benavidez roped a line drive to left field to load the bases. Garrett Scott plated Coker with a sacrifice fly before Trace Jordan laced a ball right past the second baseman to score Reyes.
 
Nowak stepped up to plate for the second time on a cold night in Oxford and blasted a line drive that extended just beyond the reach of the left fielder's diving attempt. Nowak's triple cleared the bases to bring the Trojans within three, but the rally would eventually come to an end and Little Rock's comeback fell short.
 
Aaron Funk was charged with the loss while Rebels' reliever Max Cioffi earned the win.
 
Little Rock falls to 2-10 on the season and will look to their final four nonconference games before conference play begins on March 15.
 
This weekend, the Trojans will host South Dakota State for a four-game series starting March 8 at 3 p.m.
 
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