SUN BELT
TROY 4, ARKANSAS STATE 3
Center fielder Brandon Lockridge was hit by a pitch from Arkansas State University reliever Peyton Culbertson with the bases loaded and two outs in the top of the ninth inning Friday, giving the Trojans a victory over the Red Wolves at Tomlinson Stadium in Jonesboro.
Troy (26-12, 9-7 Sun Belt Conference) took a 2-0 lead after RBI singles from Brandon Lockridge in the first inning and Manning Early in the second. Arkansas State (12-22, 4-12) cut the lead in half in the bottom of the second on Cullen Ray's sacrifice fly, then took a 3-2 lead in the third inning on consecutive home runs by Jeremy Brown and Tobias Johnson. The Trojans tied the game at 3-3 in the sixth inning when Rigsby Mosley hit a triple to center field and scored on a throwing error by shortstop Grant Hawkins.
Drew Tipton went 2 for 4 with 1 run scored to lead the Red Wolves, who finished with 7 hits. Bo Ritter (1-1) took the loss after allowing 1 earned run on 2 hits with 1 walk and 2 strikeouts over 2 innings.
LOUISIANA-LAFAYETTE 1, UALR 0
The University of Arkansas at Little Rock (20-16, 9-6 Sun Belt Conference) and Louisiana-Lafayette (21-18, 9-7) both managed just three hits Friday, but the Warhawks pushed across a run in the bottom of the second inning to win the opening game of the series in Lafayette, La.
Louisiana-Lafayette scored its lone run on a two-out rally in the second inning. After Kennon Fontenot grounded out and Zach LaFleur lined out to start the inning, Jonathan Windham hit a double down the right-field line on the first pitch he saw. Kole McKinnon followed with a double down the left-field line to score Windham.
UALR threatened to tie the game in the top of the ninth inning. Danny Mitchell singled to lead off the inning and advanced to second on Chase Coker's sacrifice bunt. Mitchell would be stranded as Matt Merino and Kale Emshoff both grounded out to end the game.
Mitchell, Nick Perez and Marcus Ragan accounted for UALR's three hits. Chandler Fidel (5-3) took the loss despite going the distance for the Trojans. He allowed 1 walk while striking out 5 in his 8 innings.
SOUTHLAND
CENTRAL ARKANSAS 13, SAM HOUSTON STATE 2
The University of Central Arkansas (23-14, 11-5 Southland Conference) scored early and often Friday, getting three runs each in the first and fourth innings, then adding five more in the ninth to beat Sam Houston State (26-13, 13-3) in Huntsville, Texas.
The Bears took a 3-0 lead in the first inning on a throwing error and a two-run single by Rigo Aguilar. William Hancock's RBI single in the third inning gave UCA a 4-0 lead before a bases-loaded walk, a sacrifice fly and an RBI single by Aguilar in the fourth increased the lead to 7-0. Coby Potvin added an RBI single in the seventh to make it 8-0 before the Bears tacked on five more runs in the ninth on four bases-loaded walks and a hit batter.
Hancock was 4 for 6 with 2 RBI to lead the Bears, who finished with 17 hits and left 17 runners on base. Hunter Strong was 4 for 6 with 3 runs scored, while Colby LeBlanc was 3 for 4 with 3 runs scored and 2 RBI, and Potvin finished 3 for 5 with 2 runs scored and an RBI. Tyler Gray (5-0) threw a complete-game six-hitter to remain undefeated. He allowed a walk with seven strikeouts.
SWAC
ARKANSAS-PINE BLUFF 5, OKLAHOMA PANHANDLE STATE 1
JP Soriano, Nick Kreutzer and Ricardo Sanchez all went 2 for 4 on Friday to lead the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff (14-17) to a nonconference series-opening victory over Oklahoma Panhandle State (22-27) at the Torii Hunter Complex in Pine Bluff.
The Golden Lions scored four of their five runs in the third inning on RBI singles by Sanchez and Sergio Esparza, as well as an RBI double from Kreutzer, who added an RBI single in the eighth for UAPB's final run. The Aggies scored their lone run on a fielder's choice by Luis Rodriguez that allowed Kasey Leatherwood to score.
Peyton Burks (2-4) threw a complete-game four-hitter for UAPB to earn the victory. Burks had six strikeouts and one hit batter. Adrian Lopez (4-6) also went the distance for Oklahoma Panhandle State, allowing all 5 runs -- only 2 were earned -- on 9 hits with 3 walks and 2 strikeouts.
-- Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
Sports on 04/21/2018