ATLANTA –Tyler Williams finished a double shy of the cycle and drove in five runs in a 3-for-4 performance but Little Rock was clipped in a high-scoring regular season finale at Georgia State, 11-10, Saturday afternoon.
The back-and-forth contest wrapped up the regular season for both teams and now Little Rock (21-28, 11-13 Sun Belt) turns its attention to the Sun Belt Tournament starting on Tuesday. Official pairings for the tournament are expected to be announced Saturday night after all teams have concluded play.
Williams was a factor in seven of Little Rock's 10 runs in the game, driving in five while scoring another two himself. His offensive onslaught started in the first when he drove in
Miguel Soto, who had already driven in
Jake Wright with a triple of his own. Williams moved from first to third in that early frame and eventually stole home to give the Trojans a 3-0 lead in the first.
But Georgia State (17-36, 12-12) would use a six-run frame in the bottom half of the inning to take the 6-3 lead, adding another run in the bottom of the third for a four-run advantage entering the fourth.
Little Rock began chipping away at that lead in the fourth, starting with
Kenny Rodriguez scoring on a Georgia State error – one of three miscues on the day for the Panthers – and then saw
Tim Dixon score on a wild pitch. That cut GSU's advantage to a 7-5 margin before the Panthers responded with a two-run home run in the bottom of the fifth.
Similar to the first frame, Little Rock's offense came alive as Soto drove in a run with a single before Williams hit a three-run home run to even the game at 9-9.
Georgia State regained the lead in the seventh as the Panthers returned the favor by taking advantage of a Little Rock error – one of three on the day for the Trojans – and added two runs to its tally.
The Trojan rally fell short in the eighth as Williams drove in
Kobe Barnum with a triple cutting the deficit to 11-10. Representing the tying run and standing just 90 feet away, Williams would get stranded aboard as a groundout ended the inning. Little Rock would go down in order in the ninth to prevent any further comeback.
Aaron Barkley (6-5) was charged with the loss after allowing one earned run (two overall) on three this while fanning two and walking two. Joseph Brandon (1-2) was credited with the win for Georgia State despite just facing one batter.
Eldrige Figueroa matched a career-high with four base hits while Soto was 2-for-5 with two runs scored and two RBI as he continued his hot weekend.
Dalton Pearson led the Panthers offense with a 3-for-4 performance with two runs scored while Preston Joye went 2-for-3 with two RBI and two runs scored.
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