Trojans Use Offensive Explosion to Sweep Red Wolves

Box Score JONESBORO, Ark.- Little Rock set a new program record for conference wins with their 13-9 win over Arkansas State to complete the sweep, Saturday afternoon at Tomlinson Stadium-Kell Field. The Trojans picked up their 18^th conference win of the year in the regular season finale, breaking the record of 17 wins set in 2016.

"I think it's a great story from where we were at one point, earlier this season," said Head Coach Chris Curry. "We did a great job of putting that fire out and getting back on top. It was an incredible season for the history books. I like the way we're competing. I know that on Wednesday, these guys will answer and we'll be ready to go."
 
Little Rock improves to 28-26 overall (18-11 Sun Belt) while Arkansas State falls to 26-29 (11-19 Sun Belt).
 
The Trojans' offense stayed hot in the series finale, racking up 20 hits on the day while eight Trojans enjoyed multi-hit performances. Riley Pittman posted a game-high four-hits and Ryan Benavidez had a three-hit day to continue his hot hitting. Christian Reyes, Troy Alexander, Nick Perez, Ramon Padilla, Nathan Lyons and Eldrige Figueroa each contributed two hits to the offensive explosion.
 
Christian Reyes led off the game with a triple to right field to open the contest for Little Rock. Ryan Benavidez promptly brought the leadoff hitter home with a groundout to give his team an early 1-0 lead.
 
Arkansas State answered in the bottom half of the second inning, tying the game at 1-1 by scoring one run. Jose Torres did well to minimize the damage, however, getting out of a bases-loaded jam.
 
Little Rock put together an impressive two-out rally in the third inning to regain the lead. Benavidez, Riley Pittman and Nick Perez notched back-to-back-to-back hits to bring one run across and make it 2-1 in favor of the Trojans.
 
The Red Wolves rallied for two runs in the fifth inning to take the lead. Zach Ours entered the contest with one out in the fifth and stranded a runner on second on second to get out of the jam.
 
Nathan Lyons picked up his first hit of the series in the sixth inning, a ground ball through the left side which scored Alexander. After a Figueroa single, Reyes picked up a two-RBI double when he ripped a line drive down the left-field line to cap off the three-run inning and take a 5-3 lead.
 
Little Rock broke the game open in the seventh inning when Pittman led off the inning by lacing a double into the right-center gap. After Perez reached on an error, Alexander picked up his second double of the day to bring both runners across. Garrett Scott's first hit of the day kept the rally alive before another tricky first-and-third play from the Trojans resulted in another run.
 
Ramon Padilla kept the train moving, doubling down the left-field line to score Scott from second base. Lyons recorded his second hit of the day to then score Padilla. Little Rock was not done, as Pittman blasted a double to the right-field wall, his second double of the day, to score two more. The seven-run inning gave Little Rock a commanding 13-3 lead.
 
A six-run inning gave the Red Wolves some life in the bottom half of the seventh, cutting the deficit to 13-9 heading into the eighth inning.
 
Dillon Delgadillo came on to get the Trojans out of the eighth inning and handed the ball off to Donavin Buck for the ninth. The Brawley, Calif. native tossed a perfect ninth inning to complete the sweep of the Red Wolves.
 
Little Rock has clinched a No. 3 seed in the upcoming Sun Belt Conference Tournament starting May 21 in Conway, S.C. and will await further seeding to learn their first opponent of the competition.
 
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