LITTLE ROCK, Ark. – Mother nature finally let up and Little Rock was able to begin the series against Bradley on Sunday in a doubleheader. The Trojans would be victorious in the first game, shutting out Bradley in a 2-0 win on the back of a great performance from starter
Jackson Wells. The second game was a back and forth offensive showing before Bradley scored 10 runs in the top of the tenth split the day and series.
Game One – Little Rock 2, Bradley 0
Starting pitching dominated in the first game of the day, and a phenomenal defensive effort was put on full display for both teams playing on less than ideal field conditions.
Wells made his second start of the year for the Trojans and set the tone of the game early, sitting the Braves down in order with one strikeout in the inning.
In the bottom of the first,
Nico Baumbach reached base courtesy of a two out throwing error by the Braves third baseman that said over the fence next to the first base dugout, awarding Baumbach second base. However, the Trojan infielder would be stranded after a popout one batter later.
The following frame Bradley would get a leadoff single that was immediately erased thanks to a 6-4-3 double play. They would then get runners to first and third thanks to two, two out singles but the threat was ended with the strikeout of Easton Harris for the third out.
After a
Skyler Trevino walk to lead off the bottom of the second, two outs would follow, and Trevino would be caught stealing second to end the inning.
A double began the third for Bradley and a sac bunt would get a runner to third with just one out in the inning, but another strikeout from Wells along with a spectacular diving grab from
Ty Rhoades in right field would save a run and kept the game scoreless.
Alex Seguine would hit a two out single in the bottom of the third for Little Rock but was stranded after a flyout in the next at bat.
Wells would then settle into a groove, retiring 12 Braves batters in a row. No hitters would reach base for either team again until the top of the seventh, when Logan Delgado worked a leadoff walk, but Wells was able to get the next three batters out.
The scoreless tie was finally broken in the bottom of the seventh when Baumbach clobbered the first pitch of the inning over the left field wall, giving the Trojans a 1-0 lead.
After a leadoff walk and a failed sac bunt attempt from Bradley,
Jacob Weatherley would come out of the bullpen to relieve Wells of his starting duties. A Braves baserunner would reach second, but the team was kept off the board thanks to an inning ending strikeout.
The Trojans added an insurance run in the bottom of the eighth,
Ben Harmon reached on a hit by pitch and was moved to third with a sac bunt and wild pitch before Seguine pulled a double down the line, scoring Harmon and bringing in the final run of game one.
Weatherley stayed in for the ninth and was credited with the save after ending the game four batters later.
Wells was impressive on the bump, going 7.1 innings and not allowing a run on four hits with three strikeouts. He also picked up his first win in a Little Rock uniform.
Weatherley got his second save of the season and stuck out two in his 1.2 innings of work, allowing just one hit in the process.
Baumbach single-handedly created the deciding run in the win with his homer in the seventh. He went 1-for-4 in the game and hit his second homerun this season.
Seguine was the sole Trojan to collect multiple hits in game one, going 2-for-4 in the game for his third multi-hit performance of the season.
Game Two – Bradley 19, Little Rock 9 (10 innings)
Game two was a much different game than the first, after a quiet first inning both offenses became active and remained that way through the end of the competition.
Bradley took the early lead in the top of the second on a two out, three run homerun by TJ Manteufel. Little Rock would respond in the bottom of the second with a leadoff blast from Trevino, his fourth of the season, to bring the game to a score of 3-1.
After a shutdown inning from Little Rock starter
Preston Davis, the Trojans jumped on the Braves for five runs in the bottom of the third. A single from
Jaxson Anderson and hit by pitches to get Seguine and
Tyler Williams on base would load the bases with no outs. A fielder's choice would keep the bases full before
Noah Brewer singled through the left side to move everyone up a base and cut the lead by a run. Trevino singled to the right side in the next at bat, scoring two and giving the Trojans a 4-3 lead. Rhoades then hit a shot up the middle to bring in an additional run. The flurry of offense would finally end with a
Ryan Lee double that scored Trevino and had Rhoades thrown out trying to score from first base.
The Braves took the lead right back in the top of the fourth, loading the bases and then hitting a grand slam with no outs in the inning. They would go on to add one more unearned run to their total and the Trojans were then in a two run deficit.
Neither offense scored again until the bottom of the sixth. Still trailing 8-6,
Ryan Lee hit his first homerun as a Trojan with two outs to cut the lead in half. Back to back to back singles then scored another run for Little Rock to even the game at eight runs apiece.
No more runs would score until the ninth inning when a triple to right field off the bat of Jackson Chatterton pushed a run across for the Braves and put the Trojans backs against the wall heading into the bottom of the ninth.
Little Rock would answer again, with one out in the ninth Baumbach hit his second homerun in the doubleheader, a solo shot and his third of the year, with one out to even the game and send it into extras.
Bradley then scored 10 runs in the top of the tenth, putting the game out of reach and splitting the series at one win for each team.
Five Trojans collected multiple hits in game two, with Anderson and Trevino leading the way with three each.
Austin Stubber was a bright spot on the mound, the senior right-hander threw three innings of shutout baseball allowing just two hits and striking out four.
Baumbach, Lee and Trevino all had homeruns for the Trojans in the second game of today's doubleheader. The trio combined for six of Little Rock's nine RBI in the game.
The Trojans will be back in action next Friday at 3 p.m. when Valparaiso visits Gary Hogan Field for a three game series.
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