Costly fourth inning leads to loss in Memphis, fourth straight for Trojans

MEMPHIS, Tennessee — A nine-run fourth inning derailed any chance of getting things back on track Wednesday, as Little Rock saw a 1-1 contest turn into a 13-3 road defeat in eight innings at the hands of the Memphis Tigers at FedEx Park Avron Fogelman Field. The Trojans (5-7) dropped their fourth straight contest and split the season series with Memphis, which improved to 8-4. Little Rock will try to right the ship this weekend when it hosts Belmont for a weekend series at Gary Hogan Field, starting Friday at 3 pm.
 

"We've obviously hit a rough patch in our season, we don't want them to happen and they're certainly unacceptable. We've got some questions that need to be answered … we're going to find the right combination of players, the right combination of guys on the mound that give us the best chance to win. The best thing we can do in 48 hours is to get back on the field and find some answers to those questions pretty quickly." — Little Rock head coach Chris Curry

 
Both teams were hitless until the Memphis second, when the Tigers hit a solo home run to break the scoreless tie. The Trojans quickly answered in the third on Angel Cano's single to left, which allowed Cade Martin to score after drawing a walk. The score remained 1-1 until the bottom half of the fourth, when the Tigers scored nine runs on seven hits, including a three-run double that made it 6-1.
 
In the top half of the sixth, the Trojans mounted their final rally, plating a pair of runs on a single into center from Sammy Harris, plating both Aiden McGinnis and Kade Goeke. All three were substitutions for the Trojans after the score was opened up by Memphis. The tigers added a pair in the seventh before ending the game with a run scored on an error in the eighth.
 
Andrew Pickering, another late substitution for the Trojans, led the team at the plate with a pair of hits, including his second double of the year. Cano was the only starter to reach on a base hit. Malcolm Brown (0-1) started the contest on the mound but took the loss after 3.1 innings during which the right-hander allowed three hits, four runs and a pair of walks while striking out three.