The UALR baseball team entered the Sun Belt Conference tournament as a No. 3 seed, its highest in 25 seasons in the league.
But the Trojans fell in an early hole Wednesday, couldn't dig out and now face early elimination in San Marcos, Texas.
At a glance
SUN BELT TOURNAMENT
at Bobcat Ballpark San Marcos, Texas
WEDNESDAY’S GAMES
Georgia Southern 13, UALR 4
Texas-Arlington 4, South Alabama 2
Texas State 11, Troy 6
Louisiana-Lafayette 7, Arkansas St. 4
TODAY’S GAMES All times Central
UALR vs. South Alabama, 9 a.m.
Troy vs. Arkansas State, 12:30 p.m.
Ga. Southern vs. Texas-Arlington, 4 p.m.
Texas State vs. La.-Lafayette, 7:30 p.m.
No. 6 seed Georgia Southern scored four runs in the second inning and never trailed in beating UALR 13-4 on Wednesday at Bobcat Ballpark. UALR's third loss in a row sets up a tough task in today's 9 a.m. elimination game.
The Trojans will play No. 2 seed South Alabama, which lost 4-2 to No. 7 seed Texas-Arlington. They're also likely to face right-hander Kevin Hill, who beat UALR in a March game in Mobile, Ala., and was named the Sun Belt's pitcher of the year. Hill is 8-1 with a 2.38 ERA this year.
If UALR wins, it will play at 3 p.m. Friday.
UALR starter Matt McDowell gave up 8 runs, 6 earned, on 7 hits in 41/3 innings. Reliever Keenan Wingfield gave up 2 runs in 2/3 innings, and Dylan Slayton gave up 3 runs in 3 innings pitched.
"We didn't execute on the mound very well," said Coach Chris Curry, whose team entered with a Sun Belt-worst 6.11 team ERA. "Pitches were elevated over the plate, and that's pretty much the reason we fell behind. Georgia Southern's leadoff man was on six of the nine innings, and you can't win on the mound that way."
McDowell got through the first inning unscathed before trouble began. Two groundouts scored a run each inning as the Eagles led 2-0, but after McDowell hit a batter with a pitch, another run scored on a fielding error by Kyle Kirk. Logan Baldwin's RBI single made it 4-0.
The Trojans answered with two runs in the second when Zach Baker hit an RBI single and Hunter Owens added a sacrifice fly to make it 4-2. In the third, UALR got closer when Ryan Scott was hit by a pitch, moved to second on Dalton Thomas' single, to third on a ground out and scored on Ty Gunter's sacrifice fly to make it 4-3.
But the Trojans were held without a hit the next two innings, and by the time Kirk drove in Gunter with a sacrifice fly, the Eagles led 11-4 in the sixth.
Hunter Thomas went 3 for 5 with a home run for Georgia Southern, which plays Texas-Arlington at 4 p.m. today. Jordan Wren, Evan McDonald and Baldwin each had three hits for the Eagles, who had 15 as a team.
LOUISIANA-LAFAYETTE 7, ARKANSAS STATE 4
Arkansas State played even with the top seed in the Sun Belt Conference Tournament for almost eight innings. Then Kyle Clement came up with the big hit the Ragin’ Cajuns needed, and the Red Wolves didn’t have an answer.
Clement’s three-run home run off Tyler Zuber in the bottom of the eighth inning broke a tie game, and Eric Carter struck out the side in the ninth to send ASU to a first-round loss and into an elimination game today.
Eighth-seeded ASU (27-28) will play No. 4 seed Troy, which lost to Texas State on Wednesday, at 12:30 p.m. today.
The Red Wolves took a 1-0 lead in the first when Ty White singled, moved up a base on a walk, another on a groundout and scored on a wild pitch.
Then, after falling behind 4-1, ASU scored two runs in the fourth and one in the sixth to tie the game at 4-4. Trailing 4-1 in the fourth, Tanner Ring singled and later scored on an error. Tony Ortiz drove in Jeremy Brown with a single to make it 4-3. In the sixth, catcher Daltan Lovell’s second home run of the season tied the game at 4-4. Ortiz followed with a triple, but was stranded and ASU didn’t get another hit.
Carter, who entered following Ortiz’s triple, struck out nine of the 12 ASU batters he faced.
ASU starter Cody Jackson gave up 4 runs, 3 earned, on 3 hits in 4 1/3 innings. Zuber took the loss after giving up 2 runs on 3 hits in the eighth inning.
SOUTHLAND TOURNAMENT
CENTRAL ARKANSAS 3,
LAMAR 0
Cody Davenport took over as Central Arkansas’ top starter just as the Bears began their late regular-season run. Now, the freshman from Fayetteville has pitched UCA into the winner’s bracket at the Southland Conference Tournament.
Davenport held Lamar scoreless on 4 hits while striking out 8 over 8 1/3 innings Wednesday in a first-round victory at the Southland Tournament in Sugar Land, Texas. The fifth-seeded Bears (29-25), who have won 13 of their past 16 games, advance to play top-seeded Sam Houston State (38-19), which beat Stephen F. Austin earlier Wednesday, at 7 p.m. today.
Davenport, who went 3-0 in four starts as UCA’s top weekend starter, retired the first 11 batters he faced and didn’t allow a hit until the fifth inning. He gave up a one-out walk in the ninth before being relieved by Tyler Gray, who walked another batter before earning his first save of the season.
The Bears scored all of their runs in the seventh inning. Hunter Strong’s single scored Matt Anderson, then they added two more runs on a ground out and Tyler Langley’s RBI single to make it 3-0. Justin McCarty went 3 for 4 with a run scored for the Bears, who were swept by Sam Houston State in the regular-season series.
Sports on 05/26/2016