FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – Little Rock held the nation's number two team in check, trailing by two heading into the bottom of the seventh. But three runs by Arkansas in the latter innings pushed the Razorbacks to a 7-2 victory Tuesday night at Baum-Walker Stadium.
Little Rock limited the Razorbacks to just eight hits on the evening, but Arkansas took advantage of five Trojan walks and capitalized with three doubles and a home run as half of their hits were for extra bases.
Arkansas built a 4-0 lead through the first three innings, scoring once in the first, twice in the second again in the third. But the Trojan pitching and defense came through, keeping the Razorbacks scoreless through the next three.
Little Rock had its opportunities early, stranding a pair in the first and one in scoring position in each of the second and third before finally breaking through in the fifth. With two outs,
Jorden Hussein was hit by a pitch, followed by a single from
Tyler Williams to give the Trojans runners on second and third.
John Michael Russ then delivered with a two RBI double down the right field line, bringing the duo home and trimming the deficit in half at 4-2.
The Trojans had another chance in the top of the seventh, getting
Eldrige Figueroa to second with one out following a leadoff walk. But a strikeout and a groundout got Arkansas out of the inning, setting up a one-run seventh and a two-run eighth to clinch the win.
In total, the Trojans stranded nine runners on the night, five of which were in scoring position. Williams and
Kobe Barnum both finished 2-for-4 on the night with Russ,
Miguel Soto and
Nathan Lyons each added a hit. Lyons also drew a pair of walks with Russ driving in the pair of runs.
Six different Trojans pitched Tuesday evening with starter
Sawyer Smallwood getting the loss after allowing three runs through two innings, but also registered three strikeouts. The Little Rock pitching staff combined for seven strikeouts, including a pair from
Jack DeCooman, who pitched 1.2 innings and allowed just one hit out of the bullpen.
Game two of the midweek series is set for 4 p.m. Wednesday afternoon from Baum-Walker Stadium, streaming live on SEC Network +.
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