CONWAY -- University of Arkansas-Little Rock baseball Coach Chris Curry made sure to get his message across on the 30-minute bus ride north to Bear Stadium early Tuesday afternoon.
Score early.
The Trojans did just that -- and with gusto -- jumping out to a 7-0 lead before rolling to an 8-2 win at the University of Central Arkansas, clinching the season series and handing the Bears their seventh straight loss.
Three UALR pitchers scattered four hits and allowed two unearned runs, but their burden was eased by the Trojans' offense. Tyler Williams went 3 for 4 with a pair of doubles, while Luke Pectol bashed a two-run homer and an RBI triple.
"We do a good job of scoring early, but we could definitely work on scoring in the later innings of games," Williams said. "We're not going out trying to predict the score, but I feel like everyone has a good approach and we're doing our job as much as we can."
Williams bumped his batting average up to .373, and while he's just on the outside looking in of the top 100 hitters in the nation, the senior center fielder is on pace to nearly halve his strikeout total after punching out 70 times last season.
"He has turned into the player we thought he would be in 2019 as a freshman," Curry said of Williams. "Just embracing being our star and all the weight and expectations that come with that."
Williams was right in the thick of things from the start Tuesday. UALR (24-14) started the game with a single by Alex Seguine and a Williams double, threatening just five pitches in.
A groundout and an infield single brought both runners home, and Pectol doubled the lead with an opposite-field shot that just kept carrying in the left-center alley.
The Trojans then sent seven men to the plate in the third, scoring three runs to put UCA (16-24) in an even deeper hole.
"We're kind of at that point where we're fighting and there's really nothing to show for it right now," Bears Coach Nick Harlan said. "The things that you're not executing well, you address those and then when you show up the next day, you show up with a good mindset because it's a new day.
"If you live in the past, that doesn't usually work out well."
The same could be said for UALR and its performances in midweek games. The Trojans are 4-1 in their past five midweek games, and they'll have a shot to extend that run against Arkansas State tonight at Gary Hogan Field in Little Rock.
Some of that is a product of UALR's offense in early innings. As Curry pointed out, making nonconference games lopsided quickly can impact how opponents utilize their bullpen -- opting to save better arms for weekend series.
But the Trojans have been able to get those wins with a variety of arms.
Malcolm Brown, who got the win against UCA, made just his sixth appearance in 38 games this season. He was followed by Camden Sargent -- a midweek regular -- but Chance Vaught, with his 8.83 ERA, logged the final six outs.
Last week against Louisiana-Monroe, six players threw for UALR. And in upsetting Arkansas two weeks ago, closer Jacob Weatherley pitched 42/3 innings.
"Midweek innings on the mound are crucial," Curry said. "We, by no means, think of those as throwaway innings. ... I was proud of the pitching today."
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NoneBox score
UALRABRHBIUCAABRHBI
Seguine, ss5110Sturgeon, cf3000
Williams, cf4130King, 3b2110
Rhoades, rf5111Mendolia, 1b4000
Bmbach, 3b4111Johnson, rf3001
Trevino, 2b3200Harris, dh4000
Pectol, lf5123Sldmridge, lf4010
Brewer, dh4111Argenta, c3110
Bernabe, 1b3022Bowman, ss3011
Hill, c0000Leonard, 2b2000
TOTALS368118TOTALS28242
UALR403 000 100 — 8 11 2
Central Arkansas001 100 000 — 2 4 0
E — Seguine, Sargent. DP — UALR 2. LOB — UALR 7, UCA 5 . 2B — Williams 2. 3B — Pectol. HR — Pectol (4). SF — Johnson. SAC — King. CS — Williams.
UALRIPHRERBBSO
Brown W, 1-0311012
Sargent421011
Vaught210014
UCAIPHRERBBSO
Laufman L, 0-2144400
Nelson11/331101
Walker1/322220
Gregson31/300021
Griffin211113
Derouin110011
WP — Nelson, Walker. HBP — by Sargent (Sturgeon). PB — Hill. Umpires — Home: Griffin, First: Blackburn, Third: Sanders. Time — 2:25. Attendance — 175.