Trojans Score Late to Hand Bulldogs 8-7 Loss To Open Home Stand

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. – Little Rock used a seven-run fifth inning to pull ahead of Louisiana Tech, then scored the go-ahead run in the bottom of the eighth to take an 8-7 victory over the Bulldogs at Gary Hogan Field. The win snaps the Trojans' seven-game winning streak, improving to 17-19 on the year.
 
Little Rock's offense struggled in the early going against the Bulldog pitching staff, managing just one hit through the first four innings off Jake Wright's double. During that stretch, Louisiana Tech scored twice in the third and twice in the fifth, building a 4-0 lead.
 
The Trojans put together one of their best innings of the season in the fifth, plating seven runs to build a 7-4 lead. A Jaxson Anderson single started the rally, scoring Wright off a leadoff walk, followed by a Jorden Hussein single to load the bases. Eldrige Figueroa then drew a walk, bringing Lyons home following a one-out single, cutting the Louisiana Tech lead to 4-2.
 
After a second out, Noah Dickerson drove a two RBI single to right, bringing Hussein and Anderson home to tie the game at 4-4. Little Rock then took the lead off a three-run home run from Canyon McWilliams, belting a shot to right to give the Trojans the 7-4 advantage.
 
Louisiana tech evened the scored in the top of the sixth with a three-run home run, evening the score at 7-7. That brought Sawyer Smallwood into the game with two outs in the sixth and he continued his dominating performance, pitching the final 3.1 innings and allowing no runs on no hits with four strikeouts and a pair of walks, throwing 56 pitches.
 
Little Rock saw the eighth inning open with back-to-back outs before Wright was hit by a pitch to put the potential go ahead run on base. Nathan Lyons then took advantage, sending a double to left center to score Wright from first and put the Trojans on top 8-7.
 
That was enough for Smallwood, who shut down the Bulldogs in the ninth by retiring all three batters he faced, including his fourth strikeout, to earn the win.
 
Lyons was the top bat of the day for Little Rock, going 3-for-4 with a pair of doubles and the game-winning RBI. Five other Trojans had a hit on the afternoon, including the three-run home run from McWilliams and the double from Wright.
 
Erik McKnight got the start for the Trojans, going 2.2 innings and allowing two runs (both unearned) on two hits with four strikeouts, earning the no decision. Chance Vaught, Jacob Weatherley and Michael Quevedo also saw action on the night as the Little Rock pitching staff combined for 11 strikeouts.
 
The home stand now continues this weekend as Little Rock welcomes ULM to Gary Hogan Field for a weekend series. Game one gets underway Friday at 6 p.m. with Hayden Arnold getting the start for the Trojans.
 
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