HUNTSVILLE, Texas – After falling in an early hole, Little Rock scored four runs over the final three innings to try and rally against Sam Houston State, but the deficit was too great as the Trojans dropped the final game of the weekend series 8-4 at Don Sanders Stadium.
Sam Houston's long balls set the tone early in the Sunday afternoon tilt, belting a grand slam in the third inning and another two-run shot in the fifth, taking a 6-0 lead after five. The Bearkats added two more off an RBI single in the sixth, holding a commanding 8-0 lead after six innings.
After registering just two hits through the first six innings, Little Rock began to try and put together a rally attempt over the final three innings. A leadoff double by
Miguel Soto in the seventh, followed by a ground out, put him at third with one out, scoring off a ground out from
Tim Dixon to cut the deficit to 8-1.
Down to its final inning, the Trojans tried to make some noise in the top of the ninth, beginning with a lead off home run from
John Michael Russ, the first of his Little Rock career, cutting the deficit to 8-2.
Tyler Williams then reached on a throwing error and was able to get all the way around to third, scoring on a passed ball one batter later.
Dixon registered a two-out single up the middle and was then brought home off
Christian Bernabe's first career triple, slicing the Sam Houston lead in half at 8-4. But it was a case of too little, too late as the Bearkats registered the final out of the ninth to end the Trojan attempt.
Russ' home run was his second hit of the day as he was the lone Trojan with multiple hits, going 2-for-3 with a hit-by-pitch. Soto and
Noah Dickerson added doubles with the triple by Bernabe making four of the Trojans' seven hits on the afternoon for extra bases. But Little Rock batters struck out 11 times, bringing its total to 38 for the three-game series.
On the mound,
Jacob Weatherley earned the loss after going 3.0 innings and giving up three hits, one of which was the grand slam to put the Bearkats on top.
Dillon Delgadillo pitched 2.0 innings, giving up two runs on one hit with four strikeouts as
Cole Evans,
Cal Beardsley and
Eli Sievert each pitched an inning in relief with the Trojan pitching contingent combining for 10 strikeouts.
Little Rock will now look to close out its seven-game road swing with its final midweek game of the 2021 season, returning to Oxford, Mississippi for a meeting with Ole Miss Tuesday. First pitch against the Rebels is set for 6:30 p.m. with the game streaming live on SEC Network +.
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