LITTLE ROCK – Miguel Soto went 4-for-5 from the plate and came within one of the school record for stolen bases, swiping four to help lead Little Rock to the 10-6 win over Eastern Illinois at Gary Hogan Field.
The junior registered four singles on the afternoon, scoring three of Little Rock's 10 runs, and also finished with four stolen bases, one shy of Allen Bragg's program-record five, set against Philander Smith in 1975. It was part of an 11-stolen base day for the Trojans which is the most in a game since the Trojans stole 14 against UT Martin in 2002, the Sun Belt's single game record.
Soto was one of three Trojans with multiple hits on the afternoon, joined by
Jorden Hussein, who was 3-of-5, and
Tyler Williams' 2-for-3 outing. Two of Hussein's hits were doubles as he drove in a run while Williams had a double, driving in two while stealing three bases of his own.
Eldrige Figueroa notched a pair of steals after going 1-for-4 with a run scored.
Noah Dickerson went 1-for-3 with a three-run home run in the fourth to help break the game open.
Canyon McWilliams and
Jake Wright each had a hit and an RBI in the game as well.
On the mound, starter
Jacob Weatherley had a solid first three innings, striking out a pair before allowing four earned runs in the fourth to get the no decision. Freshman
Ezra Gustafson pitched 2.0 innings, allowing one earned run on two hits and gets the credit for the decision in his collegiate debut.
Hoss Brewer and
Joey Martin each made their collegiate debuts as Brewer recorded four strikeouts in 1.2 innings of work and Martin gets credit for the save, pitching the final 1.1 innings for the Trojans.
Little Rock had opportunities all afternoon, beginning in the first when the Trojans had the bases loaded, but couldn't bring a runner around.
Eastern Illinois struck first in the top of the second, using an error and a triple to take the 1-0 lead, but that was quickly answered in the bottom half of the inning as a two-RBI double from Williams scored Hussein and Wright, giving Little Rock the 2-1 lead. Hussein then gave back with an RBI double in the third, scoring Soto to push the Trojan lead to 3-1.
The momentum carried into the fourth as Little Rock scored four runs, beginning with a three-run homerun from Dickerson, bringing McWilliams and Williams home and pushing the lead to 6-1. Soto then reached third off a single and a pair of wild pitches, brought home on an RBI groundout from Wright to extend the lead to 7-1.
Eastern Illinois answered with four runs in the top of the fifth, trimming the Little Rock lead to 7-5, but the Trojans responded in the home half, loading the bases and getting a run across off an RBI ground out from McWilliams, bringing Hussein across the plate to make it 8-5.
A Panther solo home run in the sixth put the Little Rock lead at 8-6 with the Trojans turning a key double play to escape the Eastern Illinois threat. Little Rock would escape the top half of the seventh with
Hoss Brewer registering three-straight strikeouts, then add an insurance run in the seventh, loading the bases once again and getting Figueroa home from third off an RBI groundout from Dickerson.
Soto then continued his strong game in the eighth, registering his fourth hit, then stealing second and third for his third and fourth steals of the game, adding another insurance run off a wild pitch, making it 10-6 Trojans before shutting down the Panthers in the ninth.
Little Rock will now try for its first series win of the season as it will face Eastern Illinois in the rubber game Sunday afternoon. Opening pitch is set for 1 p.m. at Gary Hogan Field with
Erik McKnight scheduled to get the start for Little Rock.
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