LittleRock Outlasts Troy to Win Fifth-Straight Series

LITTLE ROCK- Jose Torres' dominant performance on the mound accompanied by home runs from Riley Pittman and Ryan Benavidez led Little Rock to a 4-3 win over Troy to clinch the series victory Sunday afternoon at Gary Hogan Field.
 
"Momentum starts and stops on the mound," said Head Coach Chris Curry. "When you can run a guy like Jose Torres out there after they score 11 runs the day before…to put up a no-hitter through six innings against one of the best offenses in the league, that changes everything. Riley Pittman had a big swing early, Ryan Benavidez with a shot, and handing the ball to Donavin Buck in the seventh to let him take you home, that's good stuff."
 
Little Rock improves to 21-22 overall (13-7 Sun Belt) while Troy drops to 22-22 (10-11 Sun Belt).
 
Torres was in the zone from the very first pitch, striking out the side in his first inning of work. The junior would then retire 15 straight hitters and take a perfect game into the sixth inning. Torres finished with a line of 6.2 innings pitched without allowing an earned run, while striking out seven on just two hits.
 
Christian Reyes, Pittman and Benavidez each tallied multi-hit days. Reyes went 2-for-3 and scored a run while Benavidez and Pittman each homered on the day.
 
Reyes put together a gritty at-bat to start the contest, working a 2-2 count and turning it into a base hit to center field. Garrett Scott lined a shot off the left field wall for a double to score Reyes. In the next at-bat, Pittman stepped up to the plate and launched a no-doubt home run, his 11^th of the year, to right field to make it 3-0 in favor of the Trojans after the first.
 
Both teams would see their bats go quiet in the next three innings, as Torres would cruise on the mound.
 
Benavidez broke the silence in the fifth inning when he blasted a towering solo shot off the right-field foul pole to make it 4-0.
 
Troy got back into the game in the top of the sixth when some sloppy defense started a rally for the visitors. The first base runner reached on an error and a couple walks added to the self-inflicted wounds in the inning. A wild pitch brought the first runner to the plate. A sacrifice fly and Troy's first hit of the day would bring two more runs across to make it a one-run (4-3) ball game.
 
Torres would run into some more trouble in the sixth, but would hand the ball off to Buck who got the strikeout to end the inning.
 
The Brawley, Calif. native would go on to finish the contest, tossing 2.1 innings in relief whilst allowing just one hit and no runs for his second save of the series and eighth save of the season.
 
Little Rock gets a break from midweek action this week, but will head to Mobile, Ala. for a three-game set with South Alabama starting May 3 at 6:30 p.m.
 
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