Little Rock built a five-run lead Saturday afternoon, but Eastern Michigan stormed back with an eight-run seventh inning to claim an 11-6 victory at Gary Hogan Field and even the series.
The teams will meet Sunday in the rubber match, with first pitch set for 1:05 p.m. The game will be streamed live on ESPN+.
"Brigden handed us a five-run lead; he did a great job of settling in after the first 15–20 pitches," head coach Chris Curry said. "We just didn't throw strikes out of the pen. We gave up four runs on walks, and then their best hitter hits a grand slam, and it's a different ball game.
"It doesn't matter who you're playing at this level — if you give them extra runners and extra outs, it's going to be a tough day. I thought the offensive guys battled. Tomorrow we'll come back here and try to win a series."
Brigden Parker delivered a strong outing for the Trojans (1-1), striking out seven while allowing just three hits and one walk over five scoreless innings.
Little Rock gave Parker early support. Nico Baumbach opened the scoring with a solo home run in the second inning, part of a three-hit day. In the fourth, Luis Castillo launched a towering 459-foot blast to left-center field to extend the lead to 2-0.
The Trojans added three more runs in the fifth. Baumbach drove in another run, and Ty Rhoades tripled to plate two, giving Little Rock a 5-0 advantage through five innings.
Eastern Michigan (1-1) had gone 18 consecutive innings without scoring — the final eight innings Friday and the first five on Saturday — before breaking through in the sixth with three runs.
The Eagles then erupted for eight runs in the seventh inning, capitalizing on walks and a grand slam to seize an 11-5 lead. During the two-inning stretch, Little Rock used five relievers out of the bullpen.
Josh Beezley and Trent Jordan combined to strike out four and allow just one hit over the final two innings, but the deficit proved too large to overcome.
Angel Cano added an RBI single in the ninth, but the Trojans left two runners stranded to end the game.
Little Rock will look to secure the series in Sunday's decisive matchup at Gary Hogan Field.
