MONROE, La. – A dominant pitching performance by the duo of
Hayden Arnold and
Aaron Barkley, combined with pair of solo home runs by
Tyler Williams and
Nathan Lyons, was enough for Little Rock to take the 2-0 win over ULM in the series opener Saturday afternoon at Warhawk Field.
The win snaps a six-game road losing streak for Little Rock, while extending its Sun Belt winning streak to four games. The Trojans sit 16-14 on the year and 7-3 in Sun Belt play, extending its winning streak over the Warhawks to six of the last seven.
Hayden Arnold had one of his best outings of the year, going 7.0 innings and scattering four hits with just one walk and 10 strikeouts, tying a season-high. He now has registered a quality start in five of his last six outings, upping his career strikeout total to 194 and moving into seventh all-time in program history.
He handed the ball to
Aaron Barkley for the final two innings and the closer did his job, retiring all six Warhawks he saw with a pair of strikeouts to pick up his fifth save of the season.
Offense was hard to come by for Little Rock, but the Trojans got just what they needed off the pair of solo home runs. Williams' blast, his team-best sixth of the year, gave Little Rock the 1-0 lead in the top of the first, then Lyons homered in the top of the fifth for his fifth round-tripper of the season, both of which came with two outs.
John Michael Russ and
Noah Dickerson both registered a pair of hits, going 2-for-4 on the afternoon as both of Dickerson's hits were doubles.
Eldrige Figueroa added the final hit of the day for Little Rock, who now sits a half game back of Louisiana for first place in the Sun Belt West Division race.
Game two of the series is scheduled for tomorrow afternoon as
Aaron Funk will head to the mound in a familiar situation, pitching on Sunday. First pitch is scheduled for 1 p.m. at Warhawk Field.
#LittleRocksTeam
