BASEBALL
ASU holds on for victory
Arkansas State University (14-13, 4-5 Sun Belt) scored seven combined runs in the seventh and eighth innings Saturday, then withstood a Texas State (17-11, 6-3) rally in the bottom of the ninth to claim the series with an 8-7 victory at Bobcat Ballpark in San Marcos, Texas.
Trailing 2-1 going into the seventh inning, Joe Schrimpf hit a three-run home run to left field and Jeremy Brown added an RBI double to give the Red Wolves a 5-2 lead. Drew Tipton had a two-run home run in the eighth inning and Grant Hawkins added a solo shot to increase the lead to 8-2, but the Bobcats made things interesting in the bottom of the ninth.
Luke Sherley had an RBI double, Jared Huber had an RBI single, and Jonathan Ortega and Travon Benton hit home runs -- Benton's was a two-run shot -- before Ortega lined out in his second at-bat of the inning to end the game.
Garrett Rucker was 3 for 4 with 1 RBI and 1 run scored to lead ASU, while Schrimpf was 2 for 5 with 3 RBI and Brown was 2 for 4. Tyler Zuber (3-0) earned the victory in relief despite allowing 5 earned runs on 7 hits with 4 strikeouts in 4 innings. Starter Tyler Mitzel allowed 2 earned runs on 3 hits with 2 walks and 5 strikeouts over 5 innings.
UALR swept in home doubleheader
The University of Arkansas at Little Rock broke a 3-3 tie with three runs in the sixth inning of Saturday's second game of a doubleheader against Appalachian State, but the Mountaineers (12-16, 3-6 Sun Belt) responded with two runs each in the eighth and ninth innings to win 7-6 and sweep the doubleheader at Gary Hogan Field in Little Rock after winning the first game 3-2.
The Trojans (10-18, 3-6 Sun Belt) had 17 hits in the second game and left 11 runners on base while committing 2 errors. Hunter Owens was 3 for 5, while Ty Gunter was 2 for 3 with 1 RBI. Dalton Thomas, Nik Gifford and Cameron Knight were all 2 for 4. Thomas went 2 for 4 in the first game and Cale Ridling was also 2 for 4.
UCA sweeps doubleheader
The University of Central Arkansas (15-15, 5-7 Southland Conference) scored four runs in the second and fourth innings of Saturday's first game against Northwestern (La.) State (8-18, 3-6 Southland) to win 9-3, then scored the only run in a 1-0 victory to sweep the doubleheader at Brown-Stroud Field in Natchitoches, La.
Left fielder Keaton Presley was 3 for 5 with 3 RBI and 3 runs scored from his leadoff spot in the first game, while Hunter Strong and Dusty Wright were both 2 for 4. Cody Davenport (2-0) earned the victory after allowing 3 hits with 1 walk and 5 strikeouts over 6 innings. Will Brand got his first save of the season, despite giving up the Demons' 3 runs on 4 hits with 2 walks and 3 strikeouts over 3 innings.
Strong was 2 for 3 in the second game, and his single in the sixth inning moved Jansen McCurdy, who walked to begin the inning, from first to third with one out. McCurdy scored when Rigo Aguilar reached on a sacrifice bunt, thanks to a throwing error by Lenni Kunert. Mark Moyer earned the victory on the mound, allowing 4 hits with 5 walks and 5 strikeouts over 7 innings. Ty Tice got the save after allowing 1 hit with 1 walk in 2 innings.
UAPB splits doubleheader
The University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff (7-19, 6-6 Southwestern Athletic Conference) split a doubleheader against Southern University (7-19, 4-7 SWAC) on Saturday, winning the first game 9-8 in 10 innings and losing the second game 7-3 at the Torii Hunter Complex in Pine Bluff.
Bradly Lopez's RBI single with runners on first and second and two outs in the bottom of the 10th inning proved to be the game winner for the Golden Lions, who scored five runs in the bottom of the seventh to take an 8-4 lead but gave up three runs in the eighth and another in the ninth. Sergio Esparza was 3 for 5 with 2 runs scored to lead UAPB.
The Jaguars took a 3-1 lead in the second inning of the second game, but the Golden Lions scored on a passed ball in the fifth inning and got an RBI single from Juan Pablo Soriano in the sixth to tie the game at 3-3. Southern scored four runs in the eighth, keyed by a two-run triple by Phillip Williams, to earn the doubleheader split. Soriano finished 2 for 4 with 2 RBI, while Jaquese Moore was 2 for 3 with 2 runs scored.
TRACK AND FIELD
Weeks' twins 4th, 5th at Texas Relays
University of Arkansas, Fayetteville sophomores Tori and Lexi Weeks, twin sisters from Cabot, finished fourth and fifth overall in the pole vault at the Texas Relays on Saturday, and second and third among collegians.
Tori Weeks cleared an outdoor personal-best 14 feet, 9 inches to take fourth behind professionals Jenn Suhr (15-5¼) and Megan Clark (15-1), and South Dakota senior Emily Grove (14-9).
Grove cleared 14-9 on her first attempt to take third while Tori Weeks cleared that height on her third attempt.
Lexi Weeks cleared 14-5¼. Arkansas sophomore Desiree Freier cleared 13-11¼ to take 11th.
Also Saturday at the Stanford Invitational, Arkansas' Therese Haiss took sixth in the 800 meters (2:06.46), Ceara Watson seventh (2:06.57) and Nikki Hiltz eighth (2:06.92)
Friday night at the Stanford Invitational, Arkansas sophomore Alex George finished fifth in the 5,000 in 13:40.66, which ranks second in the NCAA this season and was his personal-best by almost nine seconds.
Razorbacks sophomore Erich Sullins won the hammer (202-3) and finished fourth in the discus (158-4).
Former Razorback Kemoy Campbell, running professionally, ran a Jamaican national record 28:06.40 to take third in the 10,000.
GOLF
Razorbacks men tied for ninth in Texas
The University of Arkansas, Fayetteville's men's team is tied for ninth after the first two rounds of the Aggie Invitational in Bryan, Texas, on Saturday.
The Razorbacks shot a 292 for a two-day 594 and are tied with Michigan. LSU leads the field with a 565, while Baylor is second with a 566.
Individually, Luis Garza of the Razorbacks is tied for eighth with a 142 (72-70).
SOFTBALL
UCA falls to Nicholls State
Veronica Villafranco had a two-run double in the fourth inning, which put Nicholls State ahead for good in a 3-1 victory over the University of Central Arkansas on Saturday in Conway.
After Villafranco put Nicholls State up 2-0, Central Arkansas closed to a 2-1 when Bailey Reynolds doubled down the left-field line to score Lauren Brooks in the bottom of the fourth.
The Colonels (24-12, 10-2 Southland) pushed it to 3-1 in the top of the seventh.
Kayla Gommess (8-11) took the loss for the Bears (13-25, 4-8 Southland Conference), allowing 1 earned run on 9 hits while striking out 3.
BOXING
Mid-South Golden Gloves set
The Mid-South Golden Gloves Championship Tournament will be held Thursday-Saturday at the North Little Rock Community Center, 2700 Willow St., in North Little Rock.
Champions from West Tennessee, Middle Tennessee, Louisiana, Mississippi and Arkansas will compete. Winners from the open division will advance to the Notional Golden Gloves Tournament of Champions in Lafayette, La., on May 1-6.
Bouts will begin at 6:30 p.m. each day. Admission is $10 for adults and $6 for students 12 years old and under.
For more information, call (501) 791-8541.
Sports on 04/02/2017