Little Rock Shows Grit Across Tough Weekend Series at Missouri State

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. — Little Rock dropped a pair of games Saturday during a doubleheader at Missouri State, falling by scores of 7-5 and 9-4 against a strong opponent at Hammons Field.
 
Saturday's opener experienced an hour-long rain delay late in the contest, and finally finished more than four hours after its start time of 1:06 pm. That game was almost extended by a ninth-inning rally by the Trojans (6-5) that just fell a little short.
 
Little Rock fell behind by seven runs in the finale, but battled back to within five and had runners on the corners in the ninth with yet another chance to chip away. Despite falling in all three games against the Bears, Little Rock had chances in the late innings of each to make things interesting.
 
"Although the outcomes of the three games are very frustrating and disappointing, I'm not down on how we competed this weekend. I think Missouri State is a regional-caliber club, one of the best offenses in the country. Despite the scores, there were a lot of positives to take away," head coach Chris Curry said. "I like how we fought back in all three games. They could have easily gotten away from us, and we fought back. We know we've got a talented club that needs to tighten up some things, so we're excited to get back and play our next five games against in-state rivals."
 
The Trojans return home to play their next five against in-state foes, starting with a trip to UAPB on Tuesday at 3 p.m. Next weekend will see the Trojans tangle with Central Arkansas for three games in the Governor's I-40 Showdown, before Little Rock hosts Arkansas State on March 10 for a midweek contest.
 
 
GAME 1 SUMMARY
Missouri State 7, Little Rock 5
 
Kade Smith hit his second home run of the season and finished with three hits, while Easton Roe had two hits and a pair of RBI. Cade Martin also collected two hits for the Trojans.
 
The Trojans got a solid relief effort from Josh Beezley, who tossed 3.2 innings of one-hit ball. Nic Bronzini and Isaac Evaniew also gave strong relief outings.
 
Missouri State posted an early 5-0 lead before the Trojans climbed back to 5-3 in the third. IT was 7-4 after five frames and the Trojans added another in the ninth before leaving the tying runs stranded on base.
 
 
GAME 2 SUMMARY
Missouri State 9, Little Rock 4
 
Roe hit his first home run of the year to tie the game early, while Nolan Freund had his first multi-hit game. Martin and Jerdy Lopez each drove in a run.
 
The Bears opened the scoring in the first inning, and Roe's homer down the left field line tied the game in the third. The hosts added on to make it 9-2 after five frames before the Trojans put together some late offense.