Trojans Drop Opener at Coastal Carolina

CONWAY, S.C. – Canyon McWilliams extended his team-leading six-game hitting streak but Little Rock couldn't overcome powerful hitting in a 15-4 loss at Coastal Carolina Friday evening in Conway.
 
McWilliams reached base three times in a 2-for-3 performance with a walk and a pair of singles but it wasn't until the eighth inning when he got around to score, being driven in on a Christian Bernabe RBI single. Ironically, the only time McWilliams didn't reach base – the fourth inning – was when Little Rock was its most effective at the plate as the Trojans scored three runs on four hits thanks to three consecutive RBIs.
 
Outside of those two instances, Little Rock (21-20, 9-12 Sun Belt) was plagued by unfortunate circumstances and continued searching for the timely hit. The Trojans only went two frames out of the nine without putting at least one runner on base but the Maroon and Silver would strand seven in its efforts Friday evening while hitting into a pair of double plays.
 
Coastal Carolina (27-15-1, 14-7-1 Sun Belt) kept its at large chances alive by using powerful hitting and keeping Little Rock at bay. The Chanticleers struck first with a Graham Brown RBI double in the second and then used back-to-back home runs and a wild pitch to score five runs in the third.
 
CCU was able to pin six runs on nine hits off Trojan starter Hayden Arnold (4-5), who took the loss in a rare appearance where an opposing team was able to register multiple extra-base hits off the fifth-year pitcher.
 
After Coastal pushed its lead to 6-0 in the third, Little Rock cut that lead in half in the fourth as Nate Lyons and Jake Wright sandwiched RBI singles around a Jaxson Anderson RBI groundout but Little Rock would go on to strand four runners over the next three innings. However, Coastal would produce nine runs off six hits in that same timeframe, putting the game out of reach for Little Rock. Even an hour rain delay in the seventh didn't stop the Chanticleer offense, as Coastal scored its final two runs after the weather-related intermission.
 
Reid VanScoter (8-2) was credited with the win for Coastal Carolina after allowing just three runs on seven hits in 6.2 innings while walking two and striking out six. Tyler Johnson led the Coastal offense with a 3-for-4 performance at the plate with two runs scored and four RBI that came off a pair of home runs. Dale Thomas was also 3-for-4 with two runs scored and three RBI as he hit a home run in the five-run sixth inning for Coastal while Chris Rowan, Jr., who was 2-for-4, hit a solo home run following Johnson's first shot in the third inning.
 
The two teams return to action for the second game of the three-game series as Little Rock will try to even things up with a 1 p.m. CT/2 p.m. ET first pitch on Saturday. All three games of the series will be aired live 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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