LITTLE ROCK, Ark. – Little Rock couldn't hold a slim, late-inning lead and Arkansas State escaped with a 7-4 win in 10 innings at Gary Hogan Field Tuesday night.
The Red Wolves tied the game at four in the eighth, and then scored three runs in the top of the 10
th to take just the fourth extra-inning affair in the 134-game series. Little Rock won the last extra-inning meeting – a 2-1 decision in 10 innings in 2019 at Jonesboro.
"We were on a losing streak, and then we tied a program record with eight wins in a row, and now we are on a losing streak again," Little Rock head coach Chris Cury said. "That kind of pattern isn't sustainable for a season. We have to be more consistent.
"The pitching wasn't bad, the onus is on the offense tonight. We have to be more consistent scoring runs."
The Red Wolves took a 1-0 lead in the first inning, but they didn't have it long as the Trojans scored four runs in the third inning to take a 4-1 lead.
Zach Henry launched a solo homer, and
Ty Rhoades hit a blast with
Ryan Geck aboard to make it 3-1. The final run of the inning came home on a
Reed Willbanks' sacrifice fly.
ASU cut into the lead with a two-run homer in the fifth. Then Little Rock preserved the lead until the eighth when ASU scored a run on an error.
The Red Wolves scored a trio of runs in the 10
th with two hits.
Hunter Royal took the loss in two innings of relief. He was one of six Trojan hurlers to take the mound.
Noah Burkey started the game and went three innings giving up four hits and an earned run with no walks or strikeouts.
Rhoades was 2-for-4 with 2 RBI and Geck was 2-for-5 as was
Angel Cano.
The Trojans hit the road for an Ohio Valley Conference series against Eastern Illinois which starts Friday at 3 p.m. The Panthers are in third place with an 11-6 record.
"We don't have another midweek game, so we have 48 hours to get ready and prepare," Curry said. "This is another big series for us."
