SUN BELT

ASU exploits weary UALR staff in 19-2 thumping

JONESBORO -- After using 15 total pitchers in an 18-inning game Thursday night, the Arkansas State Red Wolves and UALR Trojans baseball teams had depleted bullpens for what was supposed to be a doubleheader Friday.

ASU didn't miss a beat and UALR's staff unraveled in a 19-2 Red Wolves victory at Tomlinson Stadium in the first game.

The only reprieve for the University of Arkansas at Little Rock pitchers was a 2-hour, 35-minute lightning delay with Arkansas State University ahead 13-0 in the sixth inning. That delay caused the second game to be rescheduled for 1 p.m. today, after which all seedings will be set for the Sun Belt Conference that begins Tuesday.

ASU right-hander Peyton Culbertson (5-7, 6.22 ERA) pitched six scoreless innings as UALR fell into a deep hole early.

"We got in front of the game," ASU Coach Tommy Raffo said. "[Culbertson] strung up a bunch of zeroes, which was really helpful."

UALR used four pitchers within the first four innings, including right-handed starter Ryan LeMoine (2-6, 7.81 ERA), who yielded eight runs while recording only seven outs.

LeMoine allowed 2 runs in first inning off 2 walks, 2 singles and a hit batsman. ASU junior third baseman Alex Howard hit an RBI sacrifice fly, and junior second baseman Jeremy Brown hit an RBI single. Senior center fielder Garrett Rucker hit an RBI double in the second inning to give the Red Wolves a 3-0 lead.

ASU piled up seven more runs in the third: two by passed ball, two by hit batsmen, and one each on a wild pitch, an error and a sacrifice fly. By the end of the game, UALR had used 8 pitchers who combined to walk 9 batters and hit 8 more.

UALR used seven pitchers ranked in their top 10 best ERAs the night before. As a result, the Trojans had to rely on pitchers with less experience and higher ERAs when LeMoine was lifted.

"We're not seeing their main weekend, get-after-it [pitchers]," Raffo said. "They're managing the weekend to get ready for Tuesday. That's just the way it plays."

Trojans senior right-hander Keenan Wingfield (7.71 ERA), the fourth Trojans pitcher, pitched into the sixth inning before lightning forced the delay.

Rucker, freshman left fielder Drew Tipton and junior shortstop Grant Hawkins each had multiple hits for ASU before the delay, and Hawkins went 4 for 4 with three singles, a triple and a walk. Howard had three RBI, including a solo home run to lead off the fifth.

UALR scored a run in both the eighth and ninth innings.

Culbertson did not allow a batter to reach third base. The sophomore pitched 6 innings with 5 strikeouts, 3 hits, 1 hit batsman and no walks.

"I just knew my job was to go out and get zeroes," said Culbertson, who said he knew he wasn't returning to the game 50 minutes into the delay. "[Just] get in the dugout fast because I knew our hitters were on."

It was ASU's largest margin of victory since beating Murray State 27-7 in 2014.

The Red Wolves are now locked into the No. 7 seed in the Sun Belt tournament, and they will play the No. 10 seed in one of two single-elimination games Tuesday at J.I. Clements Stadium in Statesboro, Ga. Last season, they entered the tournament as the No. 8 seed and lost in the semifinals to eventual champion and NCAA Tournament representative Louisiana-Lafayette.

No matter how UALR and Texas State's final games go, they will play each other in the other single-elimination game as either the No. 8 or 9 seeds.

SOUTHLAND

CENTRAL ARKANSAS 7-5, NICHOLLS STATE 6-4

Justin McCarty’s RBI single in the bottom of the eighth inning of the second game gave the University of Central Arkansas (31-24, 17-13 Southland Conference) a sweep of its regular season-ending doubleheader over Nicholls State (29-27, 15-15) on Friday at Bear Stadium in Conway.

he Colonels took a 3-0 lead in the second game on a Quade Smith RBI single in the second inning, and Kyle Knauth’s bases-loaded walk and Gage Teer’s RBI groundout in the third.

Dusty Wright’s RBI double down the right-field line in the third inning cut the lead to 3-1, then the Bears took the lead in the fifth inning. A throwing error by Teer at third base cleared the bases to give the Bears a 4-3 lead.

McCarty went 3 for 4 with a run scored in the first game, while Keaton Presley was 3 for 5 with 2 RBI and 1 run scored for the Bears.

Presley hit a two-run double down the right-field line in the second inning and Eddie Sanchez walked with the bases loaded to give the Bears a 3-0 lead.

The Colonels countered when Knauth hit a home run in the fourth inning, then scored five runs in the fifth to take a 6-3 lead. Knauth had an RBI single in the inning, Alex Tucker hit an RBI double, Gavin Wehby added a two-run triple, then scored on Sanchez’s throwing error. Josh Somdecerff’s RBI groundout cut the deficit to 6-4 in the fifth inning.

UCA took the lead for good in the sixth, thanks to an RBI groundout from Wright and RBI singles from Aguilar and Brooks Balisterri, who finished 2 for 3 with 1 RBI and 1 run scored.

Sports on 05/20/2017

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