LITTLE ROCK, Ark. – A dominant night on the mound from Brannon Westmoreland deserved a better fate.
The Little Rock right-hander struck out 10 over seven shutout innings, but the Trojans were edged 1-0 by Morehead State in a tightly played Ohio Valley Conference opener Friday night at Gary Hogan Field.
Westmoreland was in complete control throughout, allowing just three hits while working efficiently into the seventh to keep the Eagles' high-powered offense off the board.
"Well, it's a shame that an outing like that from Westmoreland is wasted in a 1-0 loss," Little Rock head coach Chris Curry said. "I thought Brannon did an unbelievable job… against an offense that was ranked the No. 1 offense in the month of April. He did an outstanding job shutting them down."
The game remained scoreless into the ninth before Morehead State broke through. A leadoff walk opened the door, and Caden Sheridan delivered the decisive blow with an RBI single to right to plate the game's only run.
Little Rock matched Morehead State with four hits but couldn't capitalize on key opportunities. Nolan Freund and Blake Simpson each doubled, while Simpson, Freund, Nico Baumbach and Michael O'Brien accounted for the Trojans' hits.
"That game right there is unfortunate," Curry said. "It came down to fundamentals and situational hitting. Twice, we had the runner on second base with nobody out and didn't move him over. We had runners on second and third with one out and didn't put the ball in play… we didn't execute fundamentally."
Despite the result, Little Rock's pitching staff held firm. Westmoreland set the tone before Gage Haley and Tag Andrews combined to limit the damage late, allowing just one run on four hits for the game.
"Anytime you allow just one run, that's on your offense," Curry said. "We've got to do such a better job offensively."
Little Rock will look to respond Saturday and even the series. First pitch at Gary Hogan Field is 4 p.m.
"We've got to flip the momentum of the series tomorrow," Curry said. "This team's been great at that all year… I trust this group to respond."
