SUN BELT
SOUTH ALABAMA 8, UALR 3
The University of Arkansas at Little Rock jumped to a 3-0 lead after three innings Friday, but South Alabama (29-17, 16-6 Sun Belt) took the lead for good with four runs in the fifth and tacked on three more in the seventh to give the Eastern Division leaders the series opener in Mobile, Ala.
UALR (16-29, 7-15 Sun Belt) got an RBI triple from Riley Pittman, who later scored on Dalton Thomas' RBI single to give the Trojans a 2-0 lead. The lead grew to 3-0 in the third inning when Pittman scored on Cameron Knight's RBI single. Wells Davis hit a home run on a 2-0 pitch to cut the lead to 3-1 in the fourth inning before the Jaguars took control of the game in the fifth. Will Luft and Colton Thomas hit RBI singles for South Alabama, which also scored on a wild pitch and a Paul Russo RBI groundout to take a 5-3 lead.
The Jaguars added insurance in the seventh inning, getting RBI singles from Matt Bolger and Drew LaBounty, as well as an RBI sacrifice bunt from Luft to set the 8-3 final.
Thomas finished 2 for 4 to lead the Trojans, who finished with 10 hits and left 9 runners on base to go along with 2 errors, while Pittman and Cale Ridling both went 2 for 5. Dylan Hardy went 2 for 5 with 1 run scored to lead the Jaguars, who had 9 hits and left 8 runners on base while also suffering 2 errors. Ryan LeMoine (2-5) took the loss for UALR after allowing 5 earned runs on 7 hits with 2 walks and 5 strikeouts over 4 innings.
TEXAS-ARLINGTON 11, ARKANSAS STATE 7
After Arkansas State University took a 5-3 lead after one inning, Western Division-leading Texas-Arlington (27-18, 17-5 Sun Belt) responded with four runs in the second inning, three runs in the fifth and one in the eighth to beat the Red Wolves (22-22, 10-12 Sun Belt) at Tomlinson Stadium in Jonesboro.
Texas-Arlington got an RBI double from Omar Salinas, an RBI groundout from Will Olson and a sacrifice fly from Noah Vaughan to take its lead in the top of the first inning. Arkansas State responded with an RBI groundout from Justin Felix, RBI singles from Jeremy Brown, Drew Tipton and Derek Birginiske, and an RBI double from Alex Howard to give the Red Wolves the 5-3 lead.
Salinas hit a two-run double to right-center field in the second inning to tie the game at 5-5. Olson added a second RBI groundout and scored on Quintin Rohrbaugh's RBI single to give the Mavericks a 7-5 lead. They got some insurance in the fifth inning, scoring on RBI singles from Aaron Funk, Easton Johnson and Zac Cook for a 10-5 lead.
ASU scored its final two runs in the bottom of the inning on Birginske's RBI single, and Tipton scored when Joe Schrimpf reached on a fielder's choice to cut the lead to 10-7. The Mavericks' final run came on a bases-loaded walk to RJ Williams with two outs in the eighth.
Tipton was 3 for 4 with 1 RBI and 1 run scored to lead the Red Wolves, who finished with 11 hits and left 13 runners on base, while Birginske was 2 for 4 with 2 RBI. Salinas was 4 for 5 with 2 runs scored and 3 RBI for the Mavericks.
Reliever Brad Vassar (3-1) earned the victory for Texas-Arlington after starter Kadon Simmons lasted just two-thirds of an inning. Simmons allowed 1 earned run on 2 hits with 3 walks and 1 strikeout over 3⅓ innings. Bryan Ayers (2-5) took the loss for Arkansas State after allowing 6 earned runs on 4 hits with 3 walks over 1⅓ innings.
SOUTHLAND
CENTRAL ARKANSAS 2, ABILENE CHRISTIAN 1
Junior pitcher Tyler Gray (5-4) allowed 1 run on 5 hits with 2 walks and 10 strikeouts over 8 innings Friday to lead the University of Central Arkansas (25-20, 13-9 Southland Conference) to a series-opening victory over Abilene Christian (12-31, 2-20 Southland) at Bear Stadium in Conway.
The Bears took a 1-0 lead in the third inning when Jansen McCurdy, who hit a one-out single to left-center field, advanced to third base on Hunter Strong's double and scored on a fielding error by left fielder Russell Crippen. The Wildcats tied the game in the third inning when Cole Solomon walked to start the inning and scored on a throwing error by third baseman Rigo Aguilar. UCA took the lead for good on Brooks Balisterri's single to left field in the fifth inning to score Strong.
McCurdy finished 2 for 5 to lead the Bears, who finished with 6 hits and left 13 runners on base. Derek Scott was 2 for 4 to lead the Wildcats, who left 5 runners on base. Left-hander Austin Lambright took the loss on the mound for Abilene Christian after allowing both UCA runs -- only 1 was earned -- with 6 walks and 6 strikeouts over 5 innings.
SWAC
SOUTHERN 9, UAPB 5
The University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff scored 4 runs in the fifth inning Friday to cut Southern University's lead to 1, but the Jaguars scored 3 runs in the sixth and 1 more in the eighth to claim the series opener at Lee-Hines Field in Baton Rouge.
Southern jumped out to a 4-0 lead in the third inning on a two-run double by Phillip Williams and an RBI single by Ashanti Wheatley, who later scored on an error by Jaylen Jackson. The Jaguars could have done more damage in the inning after Robinson Mateo singled and Ryan Watts walked to load the bases with two outs, but Bobby Johnson struck out to end the inning. Phillip Williams added an RBI double in the fourth inning to increase the lead to 5-0.
UAPB rallied in the fifth inning. Jackson singled to start the inning, Corey Henderson was hit by a pitch and Jerimiah Figueroa singled to load the bases. Jaquese Moore walked to score a run, followed by a Sergio Esparza RBI groundout and a two-run sacrifice fly by Joshua Williams that cut the lead to 5-4.
The Jaguars scored three runs in the sixth inning on two Golden Lions errors and an RBI single by Wheatley to take an 8-4 lead, then scored on a passed ball in the eighth for a 9-4 lead. Juan Pablo Soriano hit a home run to left field in the ninth inning for UAPB's final run.
Phillip Williams was 2 for 3 with 2 runs scored and 3 RBI for Southern, while Wheatley was 2 for 5 with 2 RBI. UAPB finished with six hits but didn't have a player with more than one. Daniel Franklin (3-6) went the distance to get the victory for the Jaguars, while Kenny Hinton (2-2) took the loss for the Golden Lions after allowing 5 runs -- 4 earned -- on 4 hits with 3 strikeouts in 4 innings.
Sports on 05/06/2017