LITTLE ROCK – A balance of offensive firepower and a stellar pitching performance paced Little Rock to a dominating 12-0 win over Texas State Saturday afternoon at Gary Hogan Field. The win clinches the series for the Trojans as Little Rock still has never lost a series to the Bobcats in program history.
Little Rock's offense erupted for 12 runs and 16 hits, tying the season-best for runs with the 12-6 win at Auburn on Sunday and setting a new program-best for hits in 2021. The Trojans scored three runs in the third and five in the fifth, upping their season total to 12 innings on the season scoring three or more runs.
While the offense provided the runs, the pitching shut down Texas State, one of the Sun Belt's top hitting teams, for the second-straight day. Little Rock limited the Bobcats to no runs on seven hits and 12 strikeouts with just one walk. That effort was led by
Hayden Arnold, who earned the win after going 6.0 innings and allowing just five hits with seven strikeouts and no walks.
10 different Trojans registered at least one hit on the afternoon, led by
Tyler Williams' 3-for-5 and
John Michael Russ' 3-for-3. Williams posted an RBI with three runs scored while Russ had a double, two RBI and a run scored, helping spark the Little Rock offensive attack.
Jorden Hussein and
Noah Dickerson each had a pair of hits on the day as well for Little Rock with the duo each going 2-for-4 and Hussein scoring three runs while Dickerson drove in three of his own, including a double.
Lyons and
Anthony Socci both hit home runs for Little Rock, sending shots over the left center field wall near where Williams' walk-off winner from Friday night landed. Lyons' blast was his second of the year while Socci took the first pitch he saw as a Trojan over the wall, driving in two in the eighth.
Little Rock took advantage of timely hitting as seven of the Trojans' runs were scored with two outs in an inning, beginning in the third off an RBI single to left from Williams to score Lyons. With the bases loaded off a walk to Russ, Dickerson roped a two RBI double to the gap in left center, plating Williams and Hussein to make it 3-0 after three.
The Trojans then exploded for five runs in the fifth, three of which came with two outs. Back-to-back singles from Hussein and Williams gave Little Rock two runners on, setting up a two RBI double from Russ to push the lead to 5-0. After advancing to third on an out from Dickerson, Russ would scramble home off a Texas State wild pitch, upping the lead to 6-0.
A walk to
Miguel Soto and a single from
Kobe Barnum once again put two runners on for the Trojans as back-to-back RBI singles from
Kenny Rodriguez and
Eldrige Figueroa brought them home, pushing the lead to 8-0 after five.
Little Rock got one each in the sixth and seventh, beginning with an RBI single from Dickerson with runners at the corners to sore Hussein, followed by the solo home run by Lyons with two outs in the seventh to up the Trojan lead to 10-0. The two-run shot by Socci in the eighth would up the lead to 12-0 as Little Rock cruised to the win.
Pitching with the lead, Arnold was nearly flawless in his six innings as he struck out the final Texas State batter in five-straight innings from the second through the sixth, keeping the Bobcats off the scoreboard.
Cole Evans,
Cal Beardsley and
Calvin Hunt each pitched an inning out of the bullpen as the trio combined to limit the Bobcats to two hits and five strikeouts with one walk over the final three. Evans struck out the side in the seventh while Hunt struck out two of the three batters he faced in the ninth to seal the win.
Little Rock was 12-of-25 (.480) with runners in scoring position on the day while the Bobcats were just 1-for-12 (.083). The Trojan damage could have been worse as Little Rock left 10 runners on base, compared to eight for Texas State.
With the win, the Trojans have won three-straight, their longest winning streak of the season, and sit in sole possession of first place in the Sun Belt West Division at 2-0. They improve to 15-7 all-time against Texas State and have now won all seven series against the Bobcats since Texas State joined the league in 2014.
It also marked Little Rock's first shutout victory since a 6-0 win over Illinois State in the 2020 season opener at Gary Hogan Field.
Little Rock will now try for the series sweep Sunday afternoon, concluding its three games against Texas State.
Jack DeCooman is slated to get the start for the Trojans with first pitch scheduled for 1 p.m. at Gary Hogan Field.
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