JONESBORO, Ark. – A five-run second inning for Arkansas State put Little Rock in an early hole it couldn't limb out of, falling to the Red Wolves 10-6 at Tomlinson Stadium Saturday afternoon. The win completes the series sweep for A-State as the Trojans fall to 12-11 on the year and 3-3 in Sun Belt play.
Little Rock's bats again struggled against the Arkansas State pitching staff, finishing with just seven hits on the afternoon, led by a 2-for-4 performance from
Tyler Williams with three RBI.
John Michael Russ added a pair of RBI as well, going 1-for-4 on the day.
Arkansas State put up a big inning in the second, bringing five runs across the plate to break out to a 5-0 lead after starter
Jack DeCooman struck out the side in the first. The Red Wolves would up the lead to 6-0 in the fourth with a solo home run.
Little Rock finally broke through in the top of the fifth, loading the bases with two outs off a fielding error, a walk to Hussein and Williams being hit by a pitch. Russ then came through with a two RBI single up the middle, plating Lyons and Hussein to cut the deficit to 6-2.
The runs for Little Rock ended a 21.2 inning scoreless drought, giving the Trojans their first run since
Kenny Rodriguez's solo home run to lead off the second inning in Thursday night's game. It was the longest scoring drought of the season for the Trojans, extending past the 19 inning drought to start the Auburn series.
The cut into the lead was short lived, however, as Arkansas State responded with three runs in the bottom of the fifth, extending the lead back to seven at 9-2. Little Rock got one back in the top of the seventh as a bloop single to right for
Tyler Williams was enough to allow Hussein to beat a throw at home and score from second, putting the Red Wolves lead to 9-3.
After another A-State run in the seventh, Little Rock responded with three runs in the top of the eighth, loading the bases off a walk for Rodriguez and back-to-back singles for
Anthony Socci and
Eldrige Figueroa.
Nathan Lyons was hit by a pitch, bringing home the first run of the inning, then Williams knocked a two RBI single through the right side, cutting the lead to 10-6.
Little Rock had opportunities throughout the game and series, but stranded 11 runners Saturday afternoon, upping its total to 26 throughout the three-game series.
The Trojans went through nine different pitchers Saturday, the longest of which was
Aaron Barkley, who pitched 2.2 innings, allowing five hits with a run and pair of strikeouts. The Trojan pitching staff did combine to strike out 11 Red Wolves, but nine walks and three extra base hits proved costly.
Little Rock returns to action with a two-game series in Fayetteville, taking on Arkansas Tuesday and Wednesday. First pitch against the Razorbacks is scheduled for 6 p.m. Tuesday at Baum-Walker Stadium, airing on SEC Network +.
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