State Division I college baseball roundups

SUN BELT

TEXAS STATE 7,

ARKANSAS STATE 6 (10)

Arkansas State University (27-13, 8-10 Sun Belt Conference) scored a run in the eighth inning to tie the game at 4-4, then scored two runs in the 10th inning to take the lead, but Texas State (22-19, 12-6) got a three-run home run from Ryan Newman in the bottom of the inning to sweep the weekend series in San Marcos, Texas.

The Bobcats jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the bottom of the first inning on a two-run single by Travon Benton, but ASU got a two-run home run from Tyler Duncan that tied the game in the second inning.

Andrew Leggo hit a solo home run to give the Red Wolves a 3-2 lead in the fourth inning, but Texas State got the run back in the bottom of the inning on a sacrifice fly by Felipe Rodriguez that scored Chase Evans. Texas State took a 4-3 lead in the seventh when Jaxon Williams scored as Will Hollis grounded into a double play, but ASU tied the game at 4-4 in the eighth on Justin Felix's RBI single up the middle that scored Drew Tipton.

Kyle MacDonald was 3 for 5 with 1 run scored, while Duncan was 2 for 4 with 1 run scored and 4 RBI for the Red Wolves, who finished with 10 hits. Kollin Stone (1-2) took the loss after giving up Newman's game-winning home run in the 10th. Starter Nate Alberius went 6 innings, allowing 3 earned runs on 7 hits with 2 walks and 6 strikeouts.

LOUISIANA-MONROE 5-2, UALR 2-4

The University of Arkansas at Little Rock (18-21, 10-7 Sun Belt) used two home runs to score its runs in the second game of Saturday's doubleheader to salvage the final game of the series against Louisiana-Monroe (17-22, 7-10) in Monroe, La.

Riley Pittman hit a three-run home run in the third inning to give the Trojans the lead. The Warhawks got a sacrifice fly in the fifth inning and a home run from Chad Bell to score their runs before Christian Reyes added a solo home run in the ninth inning to cap the scoring.

Right-hander Jose Torres (1-3) earned his first victory of the season after allowing both ULM runs -- 1 earned -- on 8 hits with 2 walks and 6 strikeouts over 72/3 innings. Donavin Buck earned his fifth save after 11/3 no-hit innings with 2 strikeouts.

The Warhawks jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the first game on an RBI single in the first inning and an RBI fielder's choice in the second. Troy Alexander hit a sacrifice fly to score Ramon Padilla in the fourth, cutting the lead to 2-1, but ULM got the run back in the bottom of the inning when an error allowed a run to score. Ryan Benavidez had an RBI groundout in the fifth to cut the lead to 4-2 before a solo home run in the eighth provided Louisiana-Monroe with some cushion.

Eldrige Figueroa and Nick Perez had 2 hits each to lead UALR, which had 6 as a team while committing 3 errors and stranding 11 base runners. Chandler Fidel (4-3) took the loss after allowing 3 earned runs on 6 hits with 3 walks and 5 strikeouts over 7 innings.

SOUTHLAND

CENTRAL ARKANSAS 6,

SAM HOUSTON STATE 2

Solid pitching led the University of Central Arkansas (20-20, 11-7 Southland Conference) to a victory over Sam Houston State (22-15, 14-7) on Saturday and a sweep of the conference leaders at Bear Stadium in Conway.

Junior Brad Verel and senior Conner Williams held the Bearkats to two runs Saturday, which was half of the Bearkats' run total for the weekend. Verel (4-2), in just his third start of the season, lasted a season-high 7 innings in which he allowed 5 hits and struck out 5. All three starts came in conference play, and Verel has earned victories in each game.

Sam Houston State scored its two runs in the top of the first inning, but UCA tied the game in the bottom of the inning. Jay Anderson led off with a walk and Josh Ragan was hit by a pitch. Tyler Smith's sacrifice bunt moved both runners, and Anderson scored on Beau Orlando's groundout. Ragan scored on Marco Navarro's infield single to tie the game at 2-2.

UCA got two more runs in the second inning when Kolby Johnson was hit by a pitch to start the inning and scored on an RBI single by Anderson. Ragan smacked a base hit through the right side to score Anderson for a 4-2 lead. Navarro singled and scored from second on a wild pitch in the third inning, and Joshmar Doran added an RBI groundout in the sixth to give the Bears a 6-2 lead.

Navarro finished 2 for 4 with 1 RBI and 1 run scored for the Bears, who have won five out of six conference series this season.

SWAC

GRAMBLING STATE 10-19, UAPB 8-2

Grambling State got a two-run double from Jahmoi Percival in the top of the 11th inning to claim the first game of a doubleheader over the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff, then used a 12-run seventh inning in the second game at the Torii Hunter Complex in Pine Bluff.

The Golden Lions took a 2-0 lead on a sacrifice fly in the first inning and an RBI double in the third inning of the first game, but the Tigers responded in the fourth inning, getting three RBI singles, an RBI double, an RBI groundout and a home run to take a 6-2 lead. UAPB cut the lead to 6-4 in the bottom of the fourth on a two-run single. An RBI double in the sixth inning and a sacrifice bunt in the ninth gave Grambling an 8-4 lead, but UAPB forced extra innings by getting two RBI singles, an RBI double and scoring a run on a throwing error to tie the game at 8-8.

Justin Robinson was 2 for 6 with a double and a triple to lead UAPB, which finished with 10 hits. The Golden Lions had just four hits in the second game and scored both runs in the bottom of the seventh inning on RBI singles by Nick Kreutzer and Austin Krzeminski.

-- Arkansas Democrat-Gazette

Sports on 04/21/2019

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