STATE DIVISION I ROUNDUPS

SUN BELT ARKANSAS STATE 12-2, SOUTH ALABAMA 10-12

Justin Felix went 3 for 4 with 4 RBI and two runs scored, while Alex Howard went 2-for-4 with 4 RBI and 1 run scored to lead Arkansas State University (20-18, 8-9 Sun Belt Conference) to a victory over the University of South Alabama (24-16, 11-6) in the first game of Saturday’s doubleheader at Tomlinson Stadium in Jonesboro. The Jaguars beat the Red Wolves 12-2 in the second game.

Howard hit an RBI single in the second inning to score Jeremy Brown to give the Red Wolves a 1-0 lead, then ASU took control of the game in the third. Winston Welch singled to center field to start the inning, then Drew Tipton reached on a sacrifice bunt and advanced to second on a throwing error by South Alabama starter Thomas Huston. Grant Hawkins followed with a two-run double to push the lead to 3-0.

After Joe Schrimpf flied out and Garrett Rucker drew a full-count walk, Felix hit a three-run home run to left field on a 2-0 pitch that gave ASU a 6-0 lead. Brown was then hit by a pitch on a 3-1 count and advanced to second on a balk before moving to third when Jake Bakamus grounded out. Howard followed with a two-run home run for an 8-0 lead.

The Red Wolves took a 9-0 lead in the fourth when Tipton scored on Rucker’s sacrifice fly.

The Jaguars mounted a rally in the top of the fifth inning. Hunter Stokes hit a oneout triple that scored Colton Thomas, who walked to start the inning, then Stokes scored on Dylan Hardy’s single down the left-field line to cut the lead to 9-2. Brendan Donovan hit a two-out, two-run home run to trim the lead to 9-4, and after Travis Swaggerty drew a full-count walk, Wells Davis hit an RBI double down the rightfield line to cut the lead to 9-5.

Jared Barnes hit a home run to left-center field in the sixth inning that drew the Jaguars within 9-6.

ASU added some insurance in the bottom of the sixth, getting an RBI single from Brown and a sacrifice fly from Howard to take an 11-6 lead. Thomas hit a one-out, three-run home run on the first pitch he saw that cut the lead to 11-9, but Felix hit an RBI single in the bottom of the inning to give Arkansas State a 12-9 lead.

South Alabama’s final run came in the top of the ninth when Swaggerty hit a home run on the first pitch of the inning.

Bakamus was 2-for-4, while Hawkins was 2-for-5 with two RBI and two runs scored for the Red Wolves.

Davis was 3-for-3 with an RBI and a run scored to lead the Jaguars, while Swaggerty was 2-for-4 with three runs scored.

ASU starter Bradey Welsh (2-1) got the victory despite giving up 5 earned runs on six hits with five walks and a strikeout over five innings. Tyler Zuber got his fifth save after allowing one earned run on three hits with twio strikeouts in the ninth inning.

Huston (4-2) took the loss after allowing seven runs — five earned — on four hits with 2 walks and 1 strikeout over 21/ 3 innings.

LOUISIANA-LAFAYETTE 9-7, UALR 4-4

Louisiana-Lafayette (25-14-1, 12-4-1 Sun Belt) maintained its lead in the West Division after sweeping a doubleheader from the University of Arkansas at Little Rock (14-25, 6-11) at Gary Hogan Field in Little Rock.

Steven Sensley hit a two-run home run to right field in the top of the first inning in the first game to give the Ragin’ Cajuns a 2-0 lead.

Alex Pinero added a home run in the fourth inning to push the lead to 3-0. He was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded in the sixth to score a run for the Cajuns, who also got a two-run double from Ishmael Edwards and a two-run single from Brad Antchak to take an 8-0 lead.

UALR rallied in the seventh inning, getting RBI doubles from Nik Gifford and Zach Baker, as well as an RBI single from Ty Gunter to cut the lead to 8-3. Louisiana-Lafayette got an RBI single from Joe Robbins in the eighth to bump the lead to 9-3, before Gunter hit an RBI double in the ninth inning that scored Gifford for the 9-4 final.

The Trojans jumped out to a 4-0 lead in the bottom of the first inning of the second game on an RBI groundout from Gifford, an RBI single from Cale Ridling and a two-run double from Baker. The Cajuns chipped at the lead with an RBI ground out in the second inning, an RBI single from Robbins in the third and a Kennon Fontenot home run in the fourth inning to trim the lead to 4-3. Louisiana-Lafayette took the lead for good in the fifth inning on an RBI double from Antchak down the right-field line and a three-run home run from Fontenot to left field.

Gunter was 2-for-3 with two RBI, while Gifford was 2-for-4 with two runs scored for the Trojans in the first game. Ridling was 2-for-4 and Dalton Thomas was 2 for five in the second game. Robbins was 3 for five to lead the Ragin’ Cajuns in the first game, while Edwards was 2 for 4 with two RBI and two runs scored. Fontenot was 3-for-4 with four RBI and two runs scored in the second game, while Antchak was 3-for-5 with two runs scored.

SOUTHLAND CENTRAL ARKANSAS 3-5, SAM HOUSTON STATE 2-3

The University of Central Arkansas (21-18, 9-8 Southland Conference) had a flair for the dramatic in its doubleheader against Sam Houston State University (26-12, 13-4), getting a two-out RBI single from Jansen McCurdy in the 10th inning to win the first game, then scoring three runs in the bottom of the eighth in the second game at Bear Stadium in Conway.

The Bears took a 1-0 lead in the fourth inning of the second game on a Brooks Balisterri RBI single that scored Rigo Aguilar. The Bearkats took a 3-1 lead in the top of the fifth on an RBI single from Bryce Johnson and a two-run triple to right field from Robie Rojas. UCA trimmed the lead to 3-2 in the bottom of the inning when Michael Haun scored on Keaton Presley’s sacrifice fly.

Presley singled to start the eighth-inning rally for the Bears, then moved to second when McCurdy reached on a throwing error. Hunter Strong hit a bunt single to load the bases with no outs. After Aguilar struck out, Presley and McCurdy scored on a wild pitch from Nick Mikolajchak to retake the lead at 4-3.