COLLEGE BASEBALL

Trojans' eight-run inning enough to put away Bears

UALR baserunner Riley Pittman slides across home plate past UCA pitcher Will Brand to score in Tuesday night’s game at Dickey-Stephens Park in North Little Rock. The Trojans beat the Bears 11-6 to avenge a 12-3 loss to their in-state rivals on March 14.
UALR baserunner Riley Pittman slides across home plate past UCA pitcher Will Brand to score in Tuesday night’s game at Dickey-Stephens Park in North Little Rock. The Trojans beat the Bears 11-6 to avenge a 12-3 loss to their in-state rivals on March 14.

UALR Trojans Coach Chris Curry said he believes his team's eight-run fourth inning Tuesday night could be a s

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UCA infielder Eddie Sanchez (right) throws to first base to try to turn a double play after forcing out UALR base runner Christian Reyes at second base during Tuesday night’s non-conference game at Dickey-Stephens Park in North Little Rock.

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UCA outfielder Michael Haun just misses the ball after diving for it. The Trojans trailed 5-0 before scoring eight runs in the fourth inning to take control.

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The University of Arkansas at Little Rock snapped a five-game losing streak with an 11-6 victory over the University of Central Arkansas in front of an announced crowd of 1,026 at Dickey-Stephens Park in North Little Rock.

It was UALR's first victory since April 14 at Texas-Arlington. The Trojans and Bears have each won a game apiece through two games in their three-game season series, with UCA winning 12-3 on March 14 in Conway. UALR hosts UCA at Gary Hogan Field in Little Rock on May 16.

In the fourth inning, UALR (15-26), which trailed 5-0, sent 12 batters to the plate to take an 8-5 lead. UALR's bullpen then held UCA hitless over the final five innings, with Corbin Osburn (1-0) pitching 1 1/3 innings of relief for his first victory of the season.

"These guys didn't blink," Curry said. "They stayed with it. They didn't panic. There were a series of 12 great at-bats.

"Our guys started believing. Hitting is contagious."

Riley Pittman went 3 for 5 for the Trojans, driving in 2 runs and scoring 2 runs. Cameron Knight and Ty Gunter each had two hits for UALR, which outhit UCA 13-5.

Bears starter Jacob Murray walked Nik Gifford to lead off the fourth inning, then allowed base hits to Zach Baker and Kale Emshoff, with Emshoff's single scoring Gifford to pull the Trojans within 5-1. Murray hit Christian Reyes with the bases loaded and reliever Gavin Tillery walked Hunter Owens as UALR got within 5-3 with nobody out. Dalton Thomas' sacrifice fly cut the lead to 5-4.

Tillery (0-1) yielded a two-run single to Pittman, and the Trojans took their first lead, 6-5. Knight doubled to center field for a 7-5 lead. Gifford, in his second-at bat of the inning, followed with an RBI double to cap the Trojans' eight-run inning.

UCA (22-19) got a run back in the bottom of the fourth on a groundout by Hunter Strong. But Curry brought in Saturday starter Cory Malcom, who got Colby LeBlanc to fly out to end the inning, stranding two runners.

Curry said Tuesday is Malcom's bullpen day, but the right-hander told his coach before the game that if the Trojans needed an inning from him against UCA, he could do it.

"He's our stopper," Curry said of Malcom.

The Bears were held to three base runners -- all on walks -- in the final five innings by the UALR bullpen.

"We just didn't get the timely hits," UCA Coach Allen Gum said. "We had guys on base. The guys on the back end did a good job. We couldn't get anything going."

UALR extended its lead to 11-6 in the top of the sixth. Knight had an RBI double and a wild pitch brought home another run for a 10-6 advantage. Baker's sacrifice fly made it 11-6.

Justin Garcia pitched three innings in relief for his second save of the season for UALR.

UCA took a 5-0 lead in the bottom of the second inning. Rico Aguilar hit an RBI single and UCA extended its lead to 3-0 when Justin McCarty and Aguilar scored on two Trojans fielding errors. Keaton Presley's two-run double to left field made it 5-0 Bears. Presley led the Bears with two hits.

UCA heads to Texas A&M-Corpus Christi for a three-game Southland Conference series beginning Friday, while UALR travels to Georgia Southern on Friday in a three-game Sun Belt Conference set.

Sports on 04/26/2017

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