Trojans Falter Early but Come Back to Win Against Grambling

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. – After allowing three first inning runs to the Tigers, Little Rock was able to right the ship and went on to defeat Grambling by a final score of 9-5, improving to 7-4 on the season.
 
Trailing by a trio of runs in the bottom of the first, the Trojan offense went to work early by getting the first four batters of the game on base via single. By the end of the frame, Little Rock had cut the lead to just one run.
 
Grambling threatened again in the top of the second, but Lukas Frers was able to escape a jam by coaxing a flyout to left field with runners on second and third and two outs.
 
The Trojans picked up where they left off in the bottom of the inning beginning with a walk, a sacrifice bunt and then a single by Alex Seguine brought in the tying run after which Little Rock never trailed again.
 
Frers continued into the third and faced the minimum in the inning, striking out two during the process. Little Rock was finally able to take its first lead of the game when, with one out, Ryan Lee sent a no-doubt homerun over the left-center field wall scoring Noah Brewer and Skyler Trevino as well as himself on one swing.
 
A bizarre series of events led to Grambling scoring two unearned runs in the top of the fourth, tightening the score back to just a one run lead for the Trojans. Scott McDonough entered the game in relief of Frers in the top of the fifth and though a Tiger baserunner was able to make it to third, the lead was preserved at 6-5. McDonough would strike out the side in the sixth inning, though another Grambling baserunner was able to reach third base.
 
After a leadoff single from Ty Rhoades in the bottom of the sixth and a sacrifice bunt moving him to second, Luke Pectol drilled a single to left which scored the freshman from Jonesboro, cushioning the Little Rock lead by a run.
 
The Trojans would add two more runs to double the lead in the seventh with a single from Rhoades and a sac fly from Seguine bring home Trevino and Jake Wright respectively.
 
Austin Stubber was able to close out the game for Little Rock, coming in in the top of the seventh and facing 10 batters over the final three innings with the only baserunner coming on a fielding error.
 
Four Trojans collected multiple hits in the game and Little Rock put up 12 total hits as a team on Friday, eclipsing double digits as a team for the fourth time this year.
 
Frers earned the win for his efforts out of the bullpen, his first as a Trojan. The Surrey, British Columbia native pitched 2.2 innings, giving up two runs both of which were unearned and allowed just two hits while striking out four.
 
McDonough and Stubber combined for five no-hit innings of work and struck out six total batters between the two of them, Stubber also earned his first save of 2023.
 
Lee hit his second homerun in a Little Rock uniform on Friday evening in a 1-for-2 performance, scoring twice and driving in three runs.
 
All nine Little Rock starting position players reached base in the game, with eight also collecting at least one base hit.
 
The Trojans will be back in action tomorrow afternoon for game two of the three game series against Grambling. First pitch is scheduled for 2 p.m. and Jackson Wells is the projected starting pitcher for Little Rock.
 
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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