LITTLE ROCK – Little Rock scored the tying run in the bottom of the ninth, and had numerous opportunities to earn the victory, but fell in a 5-2 14-inning heartbreaker to App State Friday night at Gary Hogan Field.
The Trojans tallied 16 hits on the night, compared to just nine for App State, but were unable to get them in key moment, stranding 19 runners on base on the evening, including 10 in scoring position.
App State jumped out to the early 1-0 lead off a solo home run in the first off
Hayden Arnold. But the Trojans answered in the home half using singles from
Nathan Lyons,
Canyon McWilliams and
Tyler Williams to load the bases for
Christian Bernabe, who drew a five-pitch walk to allow Lyons to score and tie the game at 1-1. But that was all the Trojans were able to manage, leaving the bases loaded for the first of three times on the evening.
The Mountaineers reclaimed the lead in the top of the fourth with another solo home run off Arnold, pushing the lead to 2-1. The Trojans would leave the bases loaded in both the fifth and sixth innings but were unable to push across the runs they needed.
Arnold would pitch seven innings for the Trojans, allowing just the two runs on four hits with six strikeouts before handing the ball to
Sawyer Smallwood to start the eighth. Smallwood would strike out a pair of batters in the eighth, setting the tone for his impressive outing.
Trailing 2-1 heading to the bottom of the ninth, Bernabe led off the inning with a single, followed by a strikeout by
Miguel Soto for the first out.
Jake Wright would double down the left field line, bringing Bernabe to third. The Trojans attempted a suicide squeeze with
Eldrige Figueroa at the plate, but Bernabe was thrown out at home for the second out of the inning.
With
Jorden Hussein at the plate, Little Rock was down to its final strike before Hussein sent a 1-2 pitch to right center, scoring Wright from third to tie the game at 2-2 and leave the Trojans with runners at the corners. But the winning run was stranded 90 feet away as the ninth inning ended on a Lyons strikeout.
Neither team seriously threatened for the next four innings as Smallwood kept the Mountaineers in check allowing just one hit over six innings with nine strikeouts. But the Trojans ran into trouble in the 14th inning as a pair of singles gave App State its first runner in scoring position of the game with two outs before a double and single in back-to-back at-bats drove in three to put the Mountaineers on top 5-2.
Figueroa registered a one-out single in the bottom of the 14th to try and start a rally, but a game-ending double play ended the threat as the Mountaineers take the series opener.
Smallwood took the hard luck loss after going 6.1 innings, but allowed the two base hits that led to the game-winning runs for the Mountaineers.
Jacob Weatherley pitched the final 0.2 innings for Little Rock as well.
At the plate, McWilliams led the way, going 4-for-7 while Lyons, Williams, Wright and Hussein each had a pair of hits on the night with Bernabe and Hussein notching the lone RBI.
Little Rock will look to even the series Saturday evening with a 6 p.m. first pitch at Gary Hogan Field.
Hoss Brewer is slated to take the mound for the Trojans.
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