STATE DIVISION I BASEBALL ROUNDUP
SUN BELT ARKANSAS STATE 5, TEXAS-ARLINGTON 3
Carter Holt allowed 2 runs in 6 innings and Blake McCutchen drove in 3 runs to help Arkansas State University (1019, 5-7 Sun Belt Conference) avoid a three-game sweep with a victory over Texas-Arlington (16-19, 7-5) on Sunday at Tomlinson Stadium in Jonesboro.
Holt (2-2) also struck out five in his longest outing of the season.
Kollin Stone earned fourth save of the season for ASU.
Ben Klutts and Tyler Duncan each had two hits and scored two runs apiece. Duncan and Jaylon Deshazier each drove in a run.
The Red Wolves jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the bottom of the first inning. Duncan’s infield single drove in Liam Hicks for a 1-0 lead. Deshazier followed with a single, then McCutchen’s two-run single drove in Klutts and Duncan to make it 3-0.
Texas-Arlington pulled within 3-2 in the fourth inning on Andrew Miller’s two-run double.
McCutchen’s fielder’s choice extended ASU’s lead to 4-2 in the sixth inning.
After the Mavericks scored a run in the top of the eighth inning to cut the lead to 4-3, the Red Wolves responded with Deshazier’s sacrifice fly that made it 5-3.
LA.-MONROE 5, UALR 3
The University of Arkansas at Little Rock (16-15, 7-4) committed three errors in a loss to Louisiana-Monroe (12-18, 4-10) at Warhawk Field in Monroe, La.
Kenny Rodriguez went 2 for 3 with his fifth home run of the season along with a double to lead the Trojans. Jorden Hussein and Noah Dickerson also had two hits apiece.
Kobe Barnum’s two-run home run gave the Trojans a 2-0 lead in the top of the first inning.
The Warhawks took a 3-2 lead in the bottom of the third inning and added two runs in the fifth inning to extend the advantage to 5-2.
Rodriguez homered in the sixth inning to pull UALR within 5-3, but that was it for the Trojans.
Aaron Funk (1-4) took the loss for UALR, allowing 3 runs, 2 earned, on 4 hits in 3 innings.
SOUTHLAND TEXAS A&M-CC 5-10, CENTRAL ARKANSAS 1-4
The University of Central Arkansas (10-20, 6-14 Southland Conference) dropped two games to Texas A&M-Corpus Christi (13-22, 9-10) at Chapman Field in Corpus Christi, Texas, finishing a sweep by the Islanders.
Two big innings, one in each game, were the difference. The Islanders put up five runs on two hits and an error in the fourth inning in the first game. Connor Emmet supplied most of the Bears’ offense, going 3 for 3 with two doubles and a run scored.
Emmet doubled and scored on Beau Orlando’s base hit in the sixth.
In the nightcap, Texas A&M-Corpus Christi scored six runs on six hits to overcome a 3-0 deficit. The Islanders totaled 15 hits off seven different UCA pitchers. UCA picked up a single run in the first and two more in the third but scored just once more after that.
Orlando finished 3 for 5 with 2 runs batted in, while Kolby Johnson went 2 for 4 and scored three of UCA’s four runs.
SWAC ARK.-PINE BLUFF 6, TEXAS SOUTHERN 5 (11)
Kacy Higgins’ RBI single in the bottom of the 11th inning lifted the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff (4-22, 4-9
Southwestern Athletic Conference) to a victory over Texas Southern (10-24, 9-8) at the Torii Hunter Baseball Complex in Pine Bluff.
UAPB took its second three-game series win over Texas Southern this season. The Golden Lions also won two out of three against the Tigers on March 12-13.
Higgins, whose single brought home Lawrence Noble, led the Golden Lions offensively, going 3 for 6.
Humberto Maldonado went 1 for 3 with 2 RBI. Braelin Hence also drove in two runs.
Joel Barker struck out six in six innings to earn the victory for UAPB.
UAPB trailed 5-3 entering the bottom of the ninth inning, but Hence’s tworun single tied the game at 5-5 to force extra innings.