SUN BELT CONFERENCE

10th-inning rally topples UALR

Georgia Southern put together another late rally Saturday afternoon and handed UALR its second consecutive loss at Gary Hogan Field in Little Rock.

Georgia Southern scored single runs in the fifth, sixth, seventh and eighth innings to send the game into extra innings, then added another in the 10th inning for a 5-4 victory.

Kody Adams opened the 10th with a single off UALR reliever Cameron Allen and scored on a double into the gap in right-center field to give the Eagles their first lead of the game.

UALR (14-21, 10-9 Sun Belt) threatened in the bottom half of the 10th when Kyle Barrett reached on a one-out single up the middle and moved to second when Drew Merten was hit by a pitch, but Georgia Southern third baseman Dalton Busby ranged far to his right to snare a ground ball by Sam Vogel and start a game-ending double play.

The double play was the third of the day for Georgia Southern (23-16, 13-7) and nailed down the save for Chris Brown, who gave up a hit and hit a batter in a scoreless 10th inning for his ninth save.

"A quality opponent will only give you a very little amount of breathing room, and then they're going to take advantage," UALR Coach Chris Curry said. "We're battling, but again, there are no moral victories. That doesn't make you feel any better."

Jason Richmn (5-0) picked up the victory in relief after entering in the ninth inning with a runner on base and stranding two. Starter Tripp Sheppard allowed 3 runs on 3 hits and 1 error in the first inning but settled in after that, allowing 3 runs on 5 hits and 2 walks over 4 innings.

"I'm really proud of these guys for fighting back," said Georgia Southern Coach Rodney Hennon, who used seven pitchers in the game. "It wasn't easy again today. We got down early, and I thought Tripp settled in after that first inning and competed and gave us a chance and then the guys out of the bullpen came in and did a nice job."

UALR's Cory Malcom turned in a strong start, giving up 2 runs on 4 hits with a career-high 7 strikeouts before leaving with a 4-2 lead after the sixth inning. Allen (3-3) took the loss, giving up 1 run off 2 hits in 2 2/3 innings.

"Cory pitched outstanding," Curry said. "He gave us an opportunity to win. He was fighting and battling. He didn't have his best stuff, but he was good for six innings. He gave us everything we needed to win."

UALR started strong with three runs in the first inning.

Petr Sila led off with single to right-center and Tanner Rockwell singled and advanced to second on an error by the right fielder to put runners at second and third with one out. Kyle Kirk reached on fielder's choice that allowed Sila to score for a 1-0 lead.

Walks to Merten and Vogel loaded the bases, and Mitchell Scheuler followed with a single up the middle to drive in Merten and Kirk for a 3-0 lead.

UALR scored its final run in the fifth inning. Rockwell delivered a two-out double to right-center and scored on a single up the middle by Kirk to extend the Trojans' lead to 4-1.

Kirk finished 2 for 3 with 1 walk, 2 RBI and 1 run scored, extending his hitting streak to 11 games. He had reached base in 15 consecutive games.

The teams wrap up their series today with a noon game.

ARKANSAS STATE 11,

LOUISIANA-MONROE 3

Arkansas State catcher Stuart Levy hit two home runs and drove in six runs in a victory over Louisiana-Monroe (19-19, 6-11) at Warhawk Field in Monroe, La. Levy became the first player for the Red Wolves (15-21, 5-14) to hit two home runs in the same game and the first since Austin Baker hit three against Murray State on March 11, 2014.

Levy’s first home run extended Arkansas State’s lead to 6-3 in the sixth inning with a two-run shot to left field off Louisiana-Monroe reliever Josh Leone.

The Red Wolves added a run in the eighth then put the game away with Levy’s grand slam in the ninth.

Joe Schrimpf added two hits for the Red Wolves and Zach George had a hit and extended his on-base streak to 53 games, best in the nation.

Chandler Hawkins (3-5) worked 3 1/3 innings for the victory. Troy Setzer (5-2) took the loss for the Warhawks.

SOUTHLAND

NW (LA.) STATE 5,

CENTRAL ARKANSAS 4

Northwestern State scored three runs in the bottom of the ninth, including a game-winning two-run single by Caleb Dugas to even the three-game series at Brown-Stroud Field in Natchitoches, La., on Saturday.

Northwestern State (21-17, 13-6) got off to an early lead on a sacrifice fly from CJ Webster and an RBI single from David Fry in the first inning.

Central Arkansas (19-13, 10-7) tied the game 2-2 in the second when Hayden Steele doubled to score Brad Dillenberger from second and Ty Tice singled through the right side, scoring Steele, who had advanced to third on a wild pitch.

The Bears got two more in the seventh to make it 4-2 when Nick Rougeau singled, then scored on a double by Wesley Hoover, who scored on a single from Matt Anderson. That set the stage for the Demons’ bottom-of-the-ninth rally.

Sports on 04/19/2015

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