SUN BELT
TEXAS-ARLINGTON 10, UALR 5
The University of Arkansas at Little Rock (14-22, 6-9 Sun Belt) jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the top of the first inning Saturday, but Texas-Arlington (19-17, 10-5) responded with four runs in the bottom of the inning, then added three runs in the fourth and three more in the sixth for a victory at Clay Gould Ballpark in Arlington, Texas.
Hunter Owens hit a one-out single up the middle for the Trojans in the top of the first inning. After Dalton Thomas walked and Nik Gifford struck out swinging, Owens scored on Cale Knight's RBI single for a 1-0 lead. Thomas scored on Riley Pittman's RBI single to give the Trojans a 2-0 advantage.
RJ Williams doubled to left to get the Mavericks going in the bottom of the first. Brady Cox followed with a single to right. Williams scored on Omar Salinas' RBI single down the left-field line to cut the lead to 2-1. After Quintin Rohrbaugh popped up for the first out, Will Olson drew a full-count walk to load the bases. Christian Hollie struck out swinging on three pitches for the second out, but Noah Vaughan followed with an RBI single to tie the game at 2-2. Phil Berthiaume hit a two-run single up the middle on the first pitch he saw to give the Mavericks the lead for good at 4-2.
Cox added an RBI single in the fourth inning and Rohrbaugh hit a two-run single to left field to give the Mavericks a 7-2 lead.
UALR cut the lead to 7-5 in the fifth inning, scoring on Nik Gifford's fielder's choice and a two-run single from Riley Pittman, but Texas-Arlington added some insurance in the sixth. Olson hit a two-run single to right-center field and Hollie had a sacrifice fly to score Rohrbaugh that gave the Mavericks a 10-5 lead.
Kale Emshoff went 2 for 3 to lead the Trojans, who finished with 13 hits, while Pittman was 3 for 5. Gunter and Owens both finished 2 for 4.
Berthiaume was 2 for 3 with 2 RBI to lead the Mavericks and Cox was 2 for 4 with 2 runs scored and 1 RBI.
Austin Gardner got the victory, allowing two hits in four innings of relief. UALR starter Chandler Fidel took the loss after allowing 7 runs -- 6 earned -- on 8 hits over 3 1/3 innings.
LOUISIANA-LAFAYETTE 3, ARKANSAS STATE 2
Joe Robbins' squeeze bunt in the bottom of the ninth inning propelled Louisiana-Lafayette (21-14-1, 10-4-1 Sun Belt) over Arkansas State University (19-17, 7-8 Sun Belt) at M.L. "Tigue" Moore Field in Lafayette, La.
Ishmael Edwards drew a one-out, full-count walk with one out in the bottom of the ninth for Louisiana-Lafayette. He advanced to second on a wild pitch and went to third on Brad Antchak's single to center field. Robbins' game-winning bunt came on an 0-1 pitch.
The Ragin' Cajuns struck first with two runs in the bottom of the second inning after stringing together three consecutive hits. Brenn Conrad hit a two-run single that scored Kennon Fontenot and Alex Pinero for a 2-0 lead.
The Red Wolves responded in the top of the third inning when Grant Hawkins hit an RBI double down the right-field line to score Alex Howard to cut the deficit to 2-1. Joe Schrimpf followed with a sacrifice fly to score Drew Tipton and tied the game at 2-2. Garrett Rucker followed with a walk, and a wild pitch allowed Rucker and Hawkins to move into scoring position, but they were stranded when Justin Felix struck out to end the inning.
Winston Welch went 1 for 2 and Howard was 1 for 3 as the Red Wolves were held to three hits.
Wyatt Marks (2-1) got the victory for Louisiana-Lafayette after striking out 7 of the 9 batters he faced in 3 relief innings.
Tyler Zuber (3-1) took the loss, allowing 2 walks and 2 strikeouts over 1 2/3 innings.
SOUTHLAND
DALLAS BAPTIST 7, CENTRAL ARKANSAS 1
Dallas Baptist (20-15) broke a 1-1 tie with five runs in the eighth inning Saturday to pull away for a 7-1 nonconference victory over the University of Central Arkansas (19-18) at Bear Stadium in Conway.
UCA starter Mark Moyer (4-2), who carried a no-hitter into the fifth inning, gave up a leadoff home run to Garrett Wolforth in the top of the eighth to start the Patriots' charge. Luke Stratman singled through the right side and Tim Millard walked on five pitches, which led the Bears to replace Moyer with Ty Tice.
After Jameson Hannah flied out, Millard and Stratman pulled off a double steal. Austin Listi was intentionally walked to load the bases with one out and Matt Duce hit a grand slam to right field on a 1-0 pitch that gave the Patriots a 6-1 lead.
Stratman added a home run to left field in the ninth for Dallas Baptist's final run. All seven of the Patriots runs Saturday came on home runs.
The Bears were held to four hits, including Hunter Strong's RBI single in the third inning that led to their only run. Keaton Presley, Jansen McCurdy and Rigo Aguilar all went 1 for 3, while Strong finished 1 for 4.
SWAC
UAPB 5-4, ALABAMA A&M 4-1
The University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff (11-23, 9-8 Southwestern Athletic) swept a doubleheader against Alabama A&M (8-30, 5-12 SWAC), at Bulldog Baseball Field in Huntsville, Ala., winning the first game in 10 innings.
The Bulldogs built a 3-0 lead after getting an RBI single from Zeth Malcom in the third inning, as well as an RBI groundout from Joannes Diaz and an RBI single from Dalton Mitchell in the fourth.
The Golden Lions rallied to take a 4-3 lead in the top of the sixth inning on a two-run double from Joshua Williams and RBI singles from Aderly Perez and Julian Jones.
Alabama A&M tied the game at 4-4 in the bottom of the sixth when Diaz reached on an error by Bradly Lopez that allowed Carson McGregory to score.
The game remained tied until the 10th inning, when Sergio Esparza hit a one-out single to center field, then stole second and advanced to third on an error by Malcom. After Austin Grien struck out looking, Juan Soriano's RBI single to left field scored Esparza for the winning run.
Williams went 2 for 2 with 2 RBI, while Jaquese Moore and Esparza both went 2 for 5 for UAPB. Tyrus Lopez (2-4) got the victory for the Golden Lions after allowing 1 hit with 2 walks and 5 strikeouts over 4 2/3 innings of relief.
Brandon Marsonek (1-6) took the loss. He allowed 4 hits to go with 6 strikeouts over 4 innings.
Logan Bax went 2 for 2 for the Golden Lions in the second game, while Esparza was 2 for 4 with 1 run scored. Moore hit an RBI double down the left-field line in the fifth inning that tied the game at 1-1. He later scored when Esparza reached on an error by Bulldogs third baseman Carlton Peppers.
Dontrell Brown scored in the sixth inning when Perez reached on an error by right fielder Njike Hunter to take a 3-1 lead, and Jerimiah Figueroa made it 4-1 lead in the seventh inning when he scored on an error by shortstop Brandon Whitaker as Esparza stole second base.
Sports on 04/16/2017