Trojans Explode Early, Consistently in 9-6 Win over Central Arkansas

CONWAY, Ark. – Noah Dickerson smashed a grand slam, Canyon McWilliams drove in three runs and Little Rock put a runner on base in every inning but one as the Trojans powered their way to a 9-6 win over Central Arkansas in the final Governor's I-40 Showdown contest of the season at Bear Field Tuesday evening.
 
Dickerson's grand slam – his 10^th home run of the year – broke open a scoreless game in the third and Little Rock (23-24) never relinquished the lead en route to the win. That sparked an offensive effort that scored its most runs (9) over UCA since 2017 and collected a trio of extra base hits while drawing seven walks in the game.
 
Little Rock employed a collective pitching effort that was effective, limiting the Bears (23-27) to just seven hits while striking out nine. Austin Smith (1-0), in his first start of the year, was credited with the win after matching a career-long 3.1 innings on the mound in the start. He allowed just one run on two hits while matching a season-high three strikeouts. Sawyer Smallwood (5) earned the save by retiring seven of 10 batters faced, striking out two and having a hit by pitch marking the only blip on his stat line.
 
McWilliams finished the night going 3-for-4 at the plate, driving in three runs and walking once. His lone base on balls came immediately following Dickerson's home run and he would be driving in on Eldrige Figueroa's triple two batters later. That group – McWilliams (double), Dickerson (home run) and Figueroa (triple) – accounted for all three of Little Rock's extra-base hits.
 
The rest of the Trojan runs were generated by a collection of base hits with Figueroa scoring on a wild pitch. His run, which came in the seventh inning, was unearned off the UCA pitching staff as he moved from first to third on a failed pickoff throw, the lone error of the game for the Bears.
 
With Little Rock up 5-0 entering the fourth, McWilliams added to the Trojan tally with a two-run, two-out single. He drove in another run in the sixth with a single to right center. In all, he reached base in four of his five plate appearances and did so against four different pitchers.
 
Tyler Williams was 3-for-6 at the plate with three runs scored. Two of those runs came off McWilliams' RBIs while the third was part of Dickerson's grand slam.
 
Jack Haley (1-3) was charged the loss for UCA after allowing four runs on two hits with two walks as he faced four batters in the third. He did not record an out.
 
AJ Mendolia led the Bears with a 1-for-2 day at the plate, drawing a walk and getting hit by a pitch, turning both of his free passes into a run. He was part of the three-run fourth inning for UCA as they cut the margin to a 7-3 Trojan advantage and scored the first of UCA's three runs in the sixth inning as the Bears drew within an 8-6 margin. But Little Rock would add one final run in the seventh – unsurprisingly off a McWilliams' RBI to drive in Williams – and Smallwood would shut down any hopes of a UCA comeback.
 
Little Rock now turns its attention to its final Sun Belt series, both for this year and in its program history. The Trojans head to Lafayette, Louisiana to take on the Ragin' Cajuns in a three-game set starting Thursday night. All three games will be broadcast on ESPN+.
 
For the latest information on Little Rock Baseball, make sure to check out LRTrojans.com. You can also find the team on social media at @LittleRockBSB on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.
 
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