CARBONDALE, Ill. – Little Rock steadily built a four-run lead through seven innings, then used an explosive ninth inning to power past 22nd-ranked Southern Illinois 11-5 to even the weekend series at Itchy Jones Stadium.
The win for the Trojans marks just the second time this season the Salukis have come up on the short end while the six-run deficit hands Southern Illinois its largest margin of defeat this season. The 11 runs scored by Little Rock is the most surrendered by the Salukis this season as well.
After battling the Salukis to a hard-fought 10-7 loss Friday night, Little Rock raced out to a 3-0 lead through five innings, getting the bats going in the top of the second as
John Michael Russ plated the first run of the game, scoring off a fielder's choice from
Kobe Barnum after leading off the inning with a single.
Little Rock added another run in the fourth, beginning with a leadoff double from
Tyler Williams, followed by a single from Russ to bring him home from second and up the lead to 2-0. The Trojans threatened to add more in the fourth, getting a pair of runners in scoring position off a double from Barnum, but Little Rock was unable to get the runners around.
A leadoff single from
Nathan Lyons in the fifth was complemented by a single from
Jorden Hussein, giving the Trojans runners at the corners with no outs. A deep sacrifice fly from Williams was enough to allow Lyons to score and up the Little Rock lead to 3-0.
Southern Illinois got its first run of the game off a two-out solo home run in the bottom of the sixth, putting the lone glitch on what was otherwise a great outing for starter
Hayden Arnold, who picked up the win after throwing 65 pitches in 6.0 innings of work, allowing just the one run on six hits with three strikeouts and no walks.
The Trojans added a pair of key insurance runs in the seventh as
Kenny Rodriguez led off the inning with a single and scored three batters later off a double from Hussein, upping the lead to 4-1. That double was answered by the second of the game from Williams to bring Hussein around, giving the Trojans the 5-1 lead into the eighth.
Southern Illinois bats started to come alive in the eighth, while also once again taking advantage of Trojan walks that plagued Little Rock Friday night. A leadoff double for the Salukis, followed by three-straight walks and a hit-by-pitch cut the Little Rock lead to two at 5-3. But a strikeout from
Cole Evans and a clutch 6-4-3 double play kept the damage minimal.
That set the stage for an explosive ninth inning for Little Rock as the Trojans scored six runs on five hits to build an 11-3 lead and clinch the Saturday victory. The inning began with a leadoff walk by Rodriguez, marking the sixth inning of the day that the leadoff batter reached base for Little Rock. Another walk to
Eldrige Figueroa and a sacrifice bunt by Lyons gave the Trojans runners at second and third with one out.
Back-to-back singles by Hussein and Williams each drove in a pair of runs, pushing the Trojan lead to 9-3.
Noah Dickerson then added the fifth double of the day for Little Rock to bring Williams home, and the Trojans reloaded the bases off a single from
Miguel Soto and a walk for Rodriguez. Figueroa, batting for the second time in the inning, was hit by a pitch to bring Dickerson home, giving the Trojans the 11-3 margin.
Southern Illinois' bats came through with a triple and a single, combined with a hit-by-pitch to bring two more runs home, but the eight-run lead was more than enough as the Trojans take the second game of the weekend series.
Little Rock's offense finished with 15 hits on the afternoon, led by Hussein, Williams and Dickerson each registering three hits. That trio combined to go 9-for-14 with eight RBI and five runs scored, pacing the Trojan offensive attack. Russ finished 2-for-5 with an RBI and a run scored with Barnum and Figueroa each adding an RBI.
After the six strong innings from Arnold, Little Rock's bullpen combined for just four hits allowed and the four runs over the final 3.0 innings, adding a combined four strikeouts.
Cole Evans and
Dillon Delgadillo both pitched an inning in relief while
Calvin Hunt,
Sawyer Smallwood and
Cal Beardsley combined to pitch the seventh for the Trojans.
The win for the Trojans was their first over a ranked opponent since sweeping a pair of games at Gary Hogan Field against 24th-ranked Coastal Carolina on April 12, 2019. It was Little Rock's first road win over a ranked team since the 17-7 decision over ninth-ranked Arkansas on April 2, 2019.
Little Rock will try and clinch the series as the two teams will meet in the rubber game Sunday afternoon at Itchy Jones Stadium.
Jack DeCooman is slated to take the mound for the Trojans with first pitch scheduled for 1 p.m.
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