SUN BELT CONFERENCE
UALR 2, LOUISIANA TECH 1 (12)
Junior Nick Perez led the University of Arkansas at Little Rock offensively and on the mound Tuesday as the Trojans won the first game of a midweek series at Gary Hogan Field in Little Rock.
Perez went 2 for 4 with a double and was the only Trojans player with more than one hit, but it was his pitching that helped stake UALR (9-8) to the victory. He came in to pitch with one out in the top of the 12th inning after Louisiana Tech’s Chris Clayton grounded out on a sacrifice bunt that moved Tanner Huddleston — who was hit by a pitch to start the inning — to second base. After Parker Bates grounded out for the second out of the inning, Jonathan Parker drew a five-pitch walk, only to be thrown out at second base on Mason Robinson’s fielder’s choice.
Troy Alexander got things started for UALR in the bottom of the 12th inning when he doubled a 2-2 pitch down the right-field line. He scored on Kale Emshoff’s RBI single to right-center field to secure the victory.
The game had gone scoreless through eight innings until Dalton Skelton scored on Huddleston’s sacrifice fly in the top of the ninth to give the Bulldogs (12-6) a 1-0 lead. Riley Pittman’s RBI single with two outs in the bottom of the ninth — his only hit — tied the game at 1-1. Louisiana Tech managed just four hits, led by Skelton’s 2-for-5 performance. Kent Hasler (0-2) took the loss after allowing both UALR hits and the winning run in the 12th inning.
ARKANSAS STATE 9, SOUTHERN ILLINOIS 8 (11)
After allowing five runs in the top of the ninth inning, Payton Lannon’s RBI groundout in the ninth inning and Drew Tipton’s RBI single in the 11th inning gave Arkansas State University a victory over Southern Illinois on Tuesday at Tomlinson Stadium in Jonesboro.
Addison Fugitt hit an RBI single in the first inning to score Nikola Vasic and give Southern Illinois a 1-0 lead. ASU then took control with a three-run second inning. Drew Tipton hit an RBI double to right-center field, then he and Grant Hawkins scored when Tobias Johnson reached on a fielding error. Johnson’s RBI single in the sixth gave the Red Wolves a 4-1 lead, but the Salukis closed the gap to 4-3 in the seventh. ASU responded with three runs in the bottom of the seventh. Cullen Ray hit a two-run single up the middle and a throwing error allowed Jacob Jablonski to score as the Red Wolves took a 7-3 lead. The lead held until the top of the ninth inning, when a two-run home run by J.T. Weber and a three-run home run by Connor Kopach gave Southern Illinois an 8-7 lead. Lannon’s RBI ground-out in the bottom of the inning tied the game at 8-8 to force extra innings.
Tipton led ASU by going 3 for 6 with 2 runs scored and 2 RBI. Johnson and Casey Vaughan had two hits each for the Red Wolves, who finished with 12 hits. Bryan Ayers pitched the final three innings for the victory, allowing 1 earned run on 1 hit with 5 strikeouts.
SOUTHLAND CONFERENCE
CENTRAL ARKANSAS 7, SE MISSOURI STATE 3
The University of Central Arkansas (8-8) scored 6 of its 7 runs in the first 4 innings Tuesday at Bear Stadium in Conway.
The Bears jumped out to an early lead on Keaton Presley’s two-run home run with two outs in the bottom of the first inning. TJ Black, who singled to start the third inning, scored on an RBI double down the left-field line by Josh Somdecerff and Tyler Smith’s RBI single gave UCA a 4-0 lead.
SE Missouri State (5-12) got an RBI single from Alex Nielsen in the fourth inning, cutting the lead to 4-1, but UCA responded with two runs in the bottom of the inning on RBI singles by Somdecerff and Hunter Strong. A home run and an RBI single cut the lead to 6-3, but Presley’s second home run of the game — a solo shot to left field in the eighth inning — provided the final margin.
Presley led the Bears offensively, going 2 for 3 with 2 runs scored and 3 RBI, while Strong and Somdecerff both went 2 for 4. Tristen Gagan went 3 for 5 to lead the Redhawks offensively, while Chase Urhahn was 2 for 5. Gavin Stone earned the victory on the mound after allowing 2 earned runs on 4 hits with 3 walks and 4 strikeouts over 4 innings.