Little Rock suffered a 24-5 setback at the hands of the Memphis Tigers during a Tuesday contest at Gary Hogan Field. The Trojans (6-2) move quickly along in their schedule this week, leaving Thursday for a weekend series that begins Friday at Missouri State.
"Obviously, a very frustrating night … these things can happen in midweek games, especially when the ball is flying like it was … a great job by Memphis," head coach
Chris Curry said. "I told the team after what happened at their place that they'd come in here ready to go. They've been playing some tough teams, and they're well coached."
Memphis (3-5) found its offensive footing early, scoring six runs over the first two frames.
Angel Cano hit his fourth home run of the year to get Little Rock on the board in the first, but the Trojans were unable to score again until the fifth inning. By that time, the visiting Tigers had taken a 19-1 lead.
"This is what can happen when you don't execute. We knew it would be an offensive night, so we certainly don't need to give them extra bases like we did," Curry said. "Up to this point, we've been able to minimize scoring chances, but we were not able to do that tonight."
Even while facing a large deficit, Little Rock used the opportunity to evaluate a number of bench players, and the coaches were pleased with the results.
"
Jack Bilski did a great job stepping in and using his arm. That was good to see. I liked the at-bats from
Easton Roe and
Michael O'Brien in lefty-lefty matchups," Curry said. "I thought
Luis Castillo came in off the bench and gave us three quality at-bats. He's earned more opportunities this weekend. It was good to see
Lance Anderson,
Blake Simpson, and
Jake McClure with some good swings."
NOTABLE
• Anderson made just his second appearance this season, and in his first plate appearance as a Trojan, he slugged a two-run homer in the fifth inning.
• Bilski threw out two runners on the bases — one on a steal attempt at second and another on a back-pick at first base.
• Simpson doubled and drove in a run in a pinch-hit appearance.
• Cano was 2-for-2 with a solo home run.
• Little Rock used nine different pitchers in the contest.
• O'Brien had a hit and scored twice in a reserve role.
• Castillo finished 2-for-3 with an RBI.
