FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – Little Rock went toe-to-toe with in-state rival and No. 22 Arkansas deep into the game Tuesday night at Baum-Walker Stadium in a 7-0 loss.
The game was scoreless after four innings. Arkansas took a 1-0 lead in the fifth and scored five in the sixth.
The Trojans (19-14) continued to show they can compete with top-level competition, holding the Razorbacks (21-13) in check for much of the night and limiting Arkansas to just four hits.
"The difference was the sixth inning," Little Rock head coach
Chris Curry said. " We struck a guy out but threw the ball away, and then they hit the ball down the line. They got the big hit, and we didn't."
Little Rock created opportunities throughout, collecting seven hits from five different players.
Kade Smith led the way with a 2-for-3 performance to raise his average to .374, while
Angel Cano added two hits.
Jerdy Lopez and
Michael O'Brien each contributed a hit, and
Blake Simpson added another as the Trojans consistently applied pressure offensively.
On the mound, the Trojans turned in a strong collective effort, highlighted by
Nic Bronzini's three scoreless innings to open the game. Bronzini allowed no hits and struck out three, setting the tone early against one of the nation's top lineups.
Gage Haley followed and was charged with the loss, allowing one run over 1.1 innings, while
Tag Andrews struck out two in his inning of work.
Zach Busick,
Malcolm Brown and
Trent Jordan combined to cover the final frames, with Jordan closing the game with a scoreless inning.
Little Rock now turns its focus back to Ohio Valley Conference play this weekend with a key road series at SIUE, matching up with the current league leader in a pivotal early-April showdown.
