State Division I baseball roundups

SUN BELT

TROY 6, UALR 3

The University of Arkansas at Little Rock scored single runs in each of the first three innings Saturday to take a 3-0 lead, but Troy University responded with four runs in the eighth inning to earn its fourth consecutive victory at Gary Hogan Field in Little Rock.

UALR's runs came on an RBI single from Hunter Owens in the first inning, an RBI single from Christian Reyes in the second and a Dalton Thomas home run, his fourth of the season, in the third. A sacrifice fly from Joey Denison in the fourth inning and a Mason Rogers home run in the seventh cut the lead to 4-2 before Troy (11-6, 2-0 Sun Belt Conference) took the lead for good in the eighth. Chase Smartt had a two-run single to center field, Trevor Davis added an RBI single and Davis scored when Mack Hathcock hit a sacrifice fly.

"Right now, we're running from the moment and not to the moment," UALR Coach Chris Curry said. "Until that changes, we're going to have the same results. We wait for something bad to happen or have a panic moment before we have a sense of urgency. That sense of urgency has to start when you arrive at the ballpark."

Thomas, Nik Gifford and Riley Pittman were all 2 for 4 to lead UALR (7-12, 0-2 Sun Belt) offensively, while Smartt was 2 for 4 to lead Troy and Rogers was 1 for 2. Austin Crook (3-0) picked up the victory after allowing UALR's 3 runs. Marc Skinner picked up his fifth save of the season for Troy. Ryan LeMoine (0-2) took the loss for UALR.

LOUISIANA-MONROE 5-6,ARKANSAS STATE 3-12

Arkansas State University scored six runs in the first two innings in the second game of Saturday's doubleheader against Louisiana-Monroe, then scored three times in the sixth and three more in the eighth to earn a doubleheader split at Tomlinson Stadium in Jonesboro.

Jeremy Brown had a two run single to key the Red Wolves' first inning, while Joe Schrimpf added an RBI single and Justin Felix scored on a wild pitch to take a 4-1 lead. Grant Hawkins hit a two-run home run to left field in the second inning to make it a 6-1 lead.

The Warhawks rallied in the fourth inning, scoring four runs to cut the lead to 6-5. Chad Bell had a two-run home run, Nathan Reynolds had an RBI single and Johnny DeLaCruz had a sacrifice fly in the inning.

Reynolds added an RBI groundout in the sixth inning to tie the game at 6-6, but ASU took the lead for good in the bottom half. Garrett Rucker had a sacrifice fly and Brown had a two-run single to give the Red Wolves a 9-6 lead.

ASU scored three more in the eighth inning on RBI singles from Hawkins and Tobias Johnson and a sacrifice fly from Alex Howard.

A three-run home run by Bell in the fifth inning proved to be the difference in the first game of the doubleheader.

SOUTHLAND

INCARNATE WORD 9, CENTRAL ARKANSAS 8

The University of Central Arkansas scored five runs in the seventh inning Saturday, but the late rally wasn't enough as Incarnate Word evened the series with a victory at Sullivan Field in San Antonio.

UCA took a 1-0 lead in the top of the first inning on a sacrifice fly by Jansen McCurdy, but Incarnate Word took a 2-1 lead in the second on a home run from Lee Thomas and a sacrifice fly from Ray Swyers. Brooks Ballisteri gave the Bears the lead again in the fourth inning on a two-run single for a 3-2 lead, but the Cardinals got their own-two run single in the bottom of the inning from Mark Whitehead to retake the lead at 4-3.

Incarnate Word then scored five runs in the fifth inning on a sacrifice fly, two RBI doubles and a two-run single for a 9-3 lead. McCurdy started the Bears' rally in the seventh with an RBI single that scored Michael Haun, cutting the lead to 9-4. Rigo Aguilar walked home a run with the bases loaded and Eddy Sanchez hit a three-run double to center field to cut the lead to 9-8, but Central Arkansas could get no closer.

Hunter Strong was 3 for 5 with a double and a run scored to lead UCA, which finished with 9 hits.

SWAC

TEXAS SOUTHERN 9, UAPB 5

Designated hitter Julian Jones, outfielder Jordan Knox and infielder Dontrell Brown all had two hits, but the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff could not overcome a four-run second inning and three-run eighth by Texas Southern at MacGregor Park in Houston.

Brown hit a home run in the top of the second inning to give the Golden Lions a 1-0 lead, but the Tigers (6-13, 6-1 Southwestern Athletic) got consecutive two-run doubles from Richard Alamo and Kamren Dukes in the bottom of the inning to make it 4-1.

Brown tied the game at 4-4 with a three-run home run in the fourth inning and took a 5-4 lead in the fifth when Jones scored on Brown's fielder's choice.

Jake Waters (0-1) took the loss in relief for UAPB (3-14, 2-3 SWAC).

Sports on 03/19/2017

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