'Gritty' Trojans can sweep after extra work

University of Arkansas at Little Rock baseball Coach Chris Curry said there was something in the chilly air that helped the Trojans persevere Saturday night against Louisiana-Lafayette.

"Our guys continue to fight and grind it out," Curry said after the Trojans scored two runs in the bottom of the 10th inning to win 4-3. "The Gary Hogan Field magic was on our side tonight."

The lasting image for Curry and the Trojans was that of their second baseman Jorden Hussein racing down the line to first base after hitting a dribbler to Ragin Cajuns third baseman Brett Borgogno.

UALR, trailing 3-2, had runners on first and second -- Nate Wright and Nathan Lyons -- and they were churning just as hard as Hussein.

"I just know I've got to give a hard 90 for my team," Hussein said of his hustle down the line and the hustle of his teammates. "Right off the bat, they knew they wanted to score."

Hussein said he sneaked a quick look at Borgogno, who was making the throw to first baseman Ben Fitzgerald to try to seal the victory.

"I wasn't sure if it was good or not," Hussein said of Borgogno's throw. "I saw the first baseman step right in front of me. When he stepped across the bag, I knew there was a shot it was going to get down the line."

Hussein said he knew Wright and Lyons got good jumps with two outs.

"I knew they were going to score there," he said. "With this team, it's been countless times this season it's been where we're never out of it. What we live by here is gritty not pretty.

"And that's exactly what we did tonight. We started out pretty, then we had to get gritty and do what we do."

The pretty part was the pitching of senior right-hander Aaron Funk, the Sun Belt preseason pitcher of the year who came into Saturday night's game with a 1-4 record and an ERA of 5.01.

"We needed that out of him," Curry said of Funk. "We needed him to be what he was."

Funk was solid for 7 inning, holding the Ragin Cajuns to 2 hits and 2 walks, and the Trojans (18-17, 9-5) led 2-0 thanks to a two-run home run by first baseman Kobe Barnum in the bottom of the second off Louisiana-Lafayette pitcher Connor Cooke.

Funk was taken out after 109 pitches, and things quickly got shaky.

Luke Wallner replaced Funk to start the eighth, getting one out before walking Carson Roccaforte and hitting Josh Cofield in the foot to put runners on first and second.

Wallner hit Fitzgerald to load the bases with two outs, and UALR called on left-hander Sawyer Smallwood to face Louisiana-Lafayette left fielder Brennan Breaux, who hit a high bouncer that eluded the grasp of Hussein at second base, and the game was tied at 2-2.

Louisiana-Lafayette put a runner on third with two out in the top of the ninth, but center fielder Tyler Williams ended the threat with a running catch that didn't surprise Curry.

"He's a major-league center fielder," Curry said.

The Cajuns' Connor Kimple reached first on a throwing error by Hussein with one out in the 10th, then reached third when Calvin Hunt's pickoff attempt got past Barnum.

Fitzgerald walked on a 3-2 pitch putting runners on first and third, and Kimple took off on Hunt's first pitch to Breaux, who got the bunt down in front of Hunt, who bobbled the ball and everybody was safe.

The Cajuns loaded the bases with one out, and C.J. Willis hit a fly ball to left field.

Left fielder Kenny Rodriguez's one-hop throw to catcher Jake Wright was there in plenty of time to beat Fitzgerald to keep the score 3-2 and end the inning.

"You may say ho-hum, we're still down," Curry said. "That saves the game. Just a gritty, gritty effort by our guys."

The teams play again at 1 p.m. at Gary Hogan Field, and UALR can sweep the series with another victory over the Ragin Cajuns (21-17, 7-7).

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