EDWARDSVILLE, Ill. – Behind a dominant effort on the mound and timely offense in the middle innings, Little Rock opened its pivotal Ohio Valley Conference series with a 3-0 victory over SIUE Friday night at Simmons Baseball Complex.
"That was a quality game played by two teams at a high level," said Little Rock head coach Chris Curry. "Our pitching was more than we needed. It was great. … Two teams at the top of the league, and you saw why. There was great pitching and defense on a night where the wind made it tough to hit."
The Trojans (20-14, 8-2 OVC) limited the Cougars to just three hits while striking out eight in a complete-game shutout, taking an early edge in a matchup between two of the league's top teams.
Little Rock broke through in the third inning, capitalizing on a SIUE miscue to plate the game's first run. The Trojans added to their lead in the fourth, stringing together three hits to score twice and build a 3-0 advantage.
That was more than enough for Little Rock starter Brannon Westmoreland, who controlled the game from start to finish. The Trojans worked around four walks and allowed just three hits all night, keeping SIUE off the scoreboard and preserving the shutout.
"Going in, I wanted to control the pace, get ahead of hitters and keep the ball down," Westmoreland said. "I started that in the bullpen and then carried it into the game, rolling and controlling the game and playing the way I wanted to."
Westmoreland, who retired nine batters in a row, said he stayed focused on the process rather than the scoreboard as the zeros piled up.
"I try not to think about it. I saw a scoreboard with a bunch of zeroes - I just wanted to keep the lead," he said.
Isaac Evaniew sealed the effort late, closing out the shutout with two outs in the eighth inning and retiring the Cougars in the ninth.
Jerdy Lopez led the way offensively, going 2-for-4 on two infield singles with a run scored, while Easton Roe added a pair of hits and reached base three times. Michael O'Brien delivered a key RBI double as part of Little Rock's seven-hit effort.
"The way the ballpark was playing, it was tough to get runs," he said. "We had good pitching was on the mound, and we just needed one run. Having that extra cushion helped, though."
With the win, the Trojans move into a tie atop the OVC standings with SIUE, setting up a critical remainder of the weekend series.
Little Rock and SIUE continue the three-game set Saturday afternoon, with first pitch scheduled for 2 p.m. at Simmons Baseball Complex.
"We need to come out tomorrow and win the series, but it was a great night tonight," Curry said.
