ARLINGTON, Texas – Little Rock took a pair of tough losses in the Sunday doubleheader at UT Arlington, falling 5-4 and 3-0 as the Mavericks sweep the three-game weekend series. The Trojans fall to 19-21 on the year and 9-9 in league play, slipping to second in the Sun Belt West Division.
Game One – UT Arlington 5, Little Rock 4
After being no-hit Saturday, Little Rock made quick work to make sure that wouldn't be repeated as
Tyler Williams notched a two-out double in the bottom of the first, then an RBI single through the right side by
John Michael Russ brought him home to make it 1-0 Trojans.
Little Rock had a chance in the third as
Eldrige Figueroa reached by way of a fielding error and advanced to second on a wild pitch with one out, but a foul out and strike out ended the threat. That opened the door to the crucial three-run third for the Mavericks, who registered four-straight hits, including a pair of doubles, to score three runs and take the 3-1 lead with no outs.
But the Trojans kept the damage at three runs, aided by a key double play on a fly ball with
Noah Dickerson gunning out the runner at home before a pop up ended the inning.
Little Rock pulled even in the second, using a pair of two-out singles. Walks to Dickerson and
Jake Wright put two on for
Kobe Barnum, who singled up the middle to score Dickerson and make the deficit 3-2. On the next pitch Figueroa ripped a shot down the third base line to allow Wright to score and make it 3-3.
The Trojans would reclaim the lead at 4-3 in the fifth as a two-out single to right from Dickerson allowed
Jorden Hussein to score following a leadoff bunt single.
UT Arlington would score once in the fifth and once in the sixth, taking over the 5-4 lead, and the Trojan bats couldn't come up with the key hits. Little Rock managed just two hits over the final four innings, but threatened in the ninth after a one-out single from
Nathan Lyons, followed by a a fielding error against Hussein put two on with one out for Williams. But the first pitch he saw was drilled back to the pitcher, who made the snag and relayed to second for the double play to end the game.
All nine players in the Trojan lineup tallied one hit in the early tilt against the Mavericks with Williams' double the lone extra base tally. Little Rock drew three walks but struck out 10 times after striking out 14 times in Saturday's game.
Starter
Aaron Funk earned the no-decision, going 4.2 innings and allowing four runs on 10 hits with a walk and three strikeouts, throwing 78 pitches.
Aaron Barkley was tagged with the hard-luck loss, allowing just one unearned run on one hit over the final 3.1 innings with a strikeout.
Game Two – UT Arlington 3, Little Rock 0
Little Rock's defense and pitching kept the Trojans in the second game of the doubleheader against UT Arlington, but the Little Rock bats weren't able to get the key hits when it needed them as the Mavericks sweep the series with a 3-0 victory.
Once again, Little Rock had a prime opportunity to jump in front early behind a single from
Nathan Lyons and a double from
Tyler Williams, giving the Trojans a pair of runners in scoring position with one out in the first. But back-to-back strikeouts ended the threat, setting the tone for game two.
UT Arlington jumped in front in the bottom of the first, sending the first pitch it saw from
Jack DeCooman over the left field wall to make it a 1-0 game. The Mavericks would get runners at the corners with no outs, but a strikeout, a foul out and a ground out kept the score 1-0.
It was another UTA threat in the second as the Mavericks loaded the bases with nobody out, looking to break the game open, but DeCooman got the first out and
Jacob Weatherley came on to retire the next two batters to keep the score 1-0.
The Mavericks upped the score to 2-0 in the fourth off a sacrifice fly, loading the bases once again with one out, but one run was all the Trojans allowed.
Little Rock's final chance came in the seventh as
Jake Wright and
Kenny Rodriguez led off the inning with back-to-back singles, then advanced to second and third off a wild pitch with one gone. But a strikeout and a ground out kept them stranded and off the scoreboard.
UTA added another solo home run in the seventh, then after an
Eldrige Figueroa single to leadoff the eighth, the Mavericks retired the final six Trojan batters on just 14 pitches to secure the series sweep.
Rodriguez was the top offensive producer, going 2-for 4, while Williams and
Noah Dickerson added doubles for the lone extra base hits of the afternoon.
DeCooman took the loss after pitching 1.1 innings and allowing the one run on three hits. Weatherley pitched 2.2 innings and gave up a run on three hits while
Luke Wallner was solid in relief, allowing just one hit with a strikeout over 2.0 innings.
With the losses, Little Rock falls into a tie for second in the Sun Belt West Division standings with Louisiana at 9-9 in conference play. The Trojans continue to struggle on the road in league play, sitting at 1-8 in road Sun Belt games, opposed to 8-1 at Gary Hogan Field.
Little Rock does not have a midweek game this week and will return to Texas for a weekend series against Southland Conference member Sam Houston State May 7-9 in Huntsville.
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