MONROE, La. – Little Rock rallied back to force extra innings, but a walk-off double clinched the series for ULM with a 5-4 10th inning win Monday afternoon at Warhawk Field. The Trojans fall to 16-16 on the year and 7-5 in Sun Belt play, dropping its second-straight road conference series.
Little Rock got on the board quickly in the top of the first, beginning with a leadoff single from
Nathan Lyons, followed two batters later by a two-run home run from
Tyler Williams. It was Williams' team-best seventh home run of the season, giving Little Rock the early 2-0 lead.
The Trojans would go on to load the bases off a single from
John Michael Russ and a double from
Kenny Rodriguez, followed by
Noah Dickerson being hit by a pitch.
Kobe Barnum grounded out to third, but it was enough to bring Russ home and give the Trojans the 3-0 lead after one.
But the lead was short-lived as ULM would answer with a two-run home run in the bottom of the first, then score two more in the bottom of the second off a passed ball and a sacrifice fly, giving the Warhawks the 4-3 lead after two.
Little Rock threatened in the third with a one out double from Russ, advancing to third on a wild pitch with just one out, but a line out and ground out kept him from coming home.
The Trojans were able to even the score in the fifth, beginning with a leadoff single from Lyons and a sacrifice bunt from Hussein. Williams was able to bring Lyons home, reaching base on a throwing error which brought him around and evened the score at 4-4.
Little Rock's offense was limited to just two hits over the next three innings, but defense also kept ULM off the board as the Trojans and Warhawks needed extra innings to settle the series.
The Trojans had a chance in the 10th, getting a leadoff single but was kept off the scoreboard. ULM rallied with two outs in the bottom of the 10th, drawing a nine-pitch walk, followed by a double to right center on a 3-2 count to walk off and win the series.
Six off Little Rock's nine hits came from Lyons, Russ and Rodriguez, each of which had a pair on the afternoon. Both of Rodriguez' hits were doubles as four of the Trojans' nine hits were for extra bases.
Five different Trojans saw action as
Sawyer Smallwood,
Luke Wallner and
Jack DeCooman each pitched a pair of innings, with
Erik McKnight pitching the seventh. The quartet combined to allow four runs on four hits with six strikeouts.
Aaron Barkley came on and pitched the final 2.2 innings, retiring eight of the first nine batters he saw with three strikeouts. But the final two ULM batters took him deep into the count as he was credited with the loss.
The five game road swing now continues on to Oxford, Mississippi, as the Trojans are preparing for their fourth game in as many days. Little Rock will face 12th-ranked Ole Miss Tuesday at 6:30 p.m. at Swayze Field, airing on SEC Network +.
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