LITTLE ROCK – It was a rough home opening day as Little Rock dropped a pair of games to Eastern Illinois Friday at Gary Hogan Field. The Trojans fell behind early in both, falling 12-6 in game one and 17-1 in seven innings in game two, falling to 1-4 on the young 2021 season.
Game One – Eastern Illinois 12, Little Rock 6
Eastern Illinois raced out to a 10-2 lead through the first four innings and never looked back, doubling up the Trojans 12-6 in game one of the Friday doubleheader.
Little Rock's bats pounded out 15 hits in game one, but couldn't take advantage of baserunners.
John Michael Russ was a solid 4-for-5 while
Jorden Hussein went 3-for-4 and
Canyon McWilliams and
Tyler Williams each registered a pair of hits.
After conceding a 2-0 lead after the first, Little Rock answered with a pair of runs in the bottom of the first, beginning with a leadoff double from
Eldrige Figueroa. He would advance to third on a wild pitch, then score on another one following a walk to
Noah Dickerson. An RBI single by McWilliams drove in Dickerson, tying the game at 2-2.
But Eastern Illinois answered with four runs in the top of the second, ending starter
Aaron Funk's day earlier than anticipated. Funk pitched just 1.2 innings and allowed six runs on four hits with five walks and just one strikeout.
EIU extend its lead to 10-2 in the fourth before Little Rock scored four times in the inning to narrow the deficit to 10-6. A two RBI double from Williams scored Russ and
Tim Dixon, who led off the inning with singles, before a fielders choice out from Figueroa plated Williams to make it 10-5. A
Nathan Lyons ground out to third drove in Hussein, who reached by way of a single, pulling Little Rock within four.
But those were the only runs Little Rock could muster, stranding 10 runners on base. The Panthers added two more in the top of the eighth to give the final 12-6 margin, taking advantage of nine walks from the Trojan pitching staff.
Eight different pitchers made their way to the mound on the afternoon, led by a one hit, one strikeout performance over 2.0 innings by
Cal Beardsley.
Reese Lansville allowed just one hit in 1.1 innings of work as
Chance Vaught and
Calvin Hunt each registered scoreless innings in relief.
Game Two – Eastern Illinois 17, Little Rock 1 (7)
Little went right for Little Rock in game two of the doubleheader as Eastern Illinois exploded for 13 runs in the fourth inning, en route to a commanding 17-1 seven inning victory.
Little Rock held the Panthers in check for the first two innings, falling behind 3-0 off a three run home run in the third. Eastern Illinois then poured it on in the fourth, scoring 13 times off six hits, taking advantage of a handful of Trojan walks, to break out to a 16-0 lead.
A solo home run by
Noah Dickerson in the bottom of the fourth provided the lone run for Little Rock, who finished the game with just three hits.
Four different pitchers took to the mound for the Trojans as
Hayden Arnold was credited with the loss, giving up seven runs on seven hits in 3.1 innings.
Zane Neves had a strong showing in his Trojan debut, pitching 3.0 innings and allowing one run on no hits with four strikeouts.
Little Rock will try to salvage the final game of the weekend series Saturday morning as first pitch has been moved up to 11 a.m. to try and avoid the forecasted storms expected to hit the area.
Jack DeCooman is scheduled to get the start for the Trojans at Gary Hogan Field.
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