ASU tops UALR

Arkansas State senior second baseman Justin Brown hit an RBI double to left field in the ninth inning, and the Red Wolves took a 7-6 victory over UALR on Thursday night at Gary Hogan Field in Little Rock. ASU remains within range of a spot in the Sun Belt Conference Tournament, and UALR fell behind in its pursuit of its first West Division title.

ARKANSAS STATE 7, UALR 6

A strikeout scored the game-winning run.

Entering a tie game in the top of the ninth, Arkansas State University sophomore Drew Tipton struck out on a pitch in the dirt.

The catcher bobbled the baseball, and Tipton advanced to first when the catcher missed the throw to first.

Two batters later, Red Wolves senior second baseman Justin Brown hit an RBI double to left field to give ASU a 7-6 victory over the University of Arkansas at Little Rock on Thursday night at Gary Hogan Field in Little Rock.

ASU (19-30, 10-16 Sun Belt Conference) remains within range of one of the final two spots in the 10-team Sun Belt Tournament, and UALR (26-25, 14-13) fell behind in its pursuit of its first West Division title.

Red Wolves junior righthander Peyton Culbertson (24; 3.60 ERA through Wednesday) earned the victory, pitching 1 2/3 innings and striking out two batters in the ninth.

ASU junior left fielder Casey Vaughn reached first to start the second, when UALR junior third baseman Nick Perez mishandled a grounder. The error was fatal. Two batters later, senior

designated hitter Tobias Johnson hit a two-run home run to right center field off UALR sophomore left-handed starter Chandler Fidel for the game’s first runs.

In the top of the fifth, ASU junior first baseman Kyle MacDonald hit his own tworun home run to right field to set the Red Wolves ahead 4-0.

UALR junior left fielder Ryan Benevidez recorded the Trojans’ first hit of the game, leading off the bottom of the fifth with a double off the right-field wall. Two batters later, Perez drove in Benevidez with a sacrifice fly to right field, bringing UALR within 4-1.

MacDonald hit another home run in the seventh —

a solo-shot to right field off UALR right-handed reliever Hayden Arnold to give the Red Wolves a 5-1 lead.

The Trojans pulled within 5-4 in the bottom of the seventh, knocking ASU junior right-handed starter Bradey Welsh out of the game with consecutive two-out singles. Then, the pinch hitting Riley Pittman hit a two-run triple, and junior centerfielder Matt Ragan followed by beating out a throw at first for an RBI single.

ASU’s Cullen Ray and UALR’s Emshoff traded solo home runs in the eighth to make it 6-5.

Then, Ragan tied the game 6-6 in the bottom of the eighth by beating out another throw on a two-out, RBI infield single with the bases loaded.

SOUTHLAND NICHOLLS STATE 5, CENTRAL ARKANSAS 4

Nicholls State scored three runs in the bottom of the ninth inning Thursday to beat the University of Central Arkansas in the series opener in Thibodaux, La.

UCA (32-21, 17-11 Southland Conference) built a 3-0 lead in the second inning on a William Hancock RBI single and sacrifice flies from Josh Somdecerff and Keaton Presley. Nicholls State (2430, 12-16) got a run back in the bottom of the inning on a Dillon Belle RBI single.

The Bears took a 4-1 lead in the top of the third on a Colby LeBlanc RBI single. Lee Clark’s RBI single in the bottom of the fourth cut the lead to 4-2 before the Colonels rallied in the bottom of the ninth. Kyle Knauth hit a two-run double down the right-field line to tie the game at 4-4, then scored the winning run when Gage Teer reached on a fielder’s choice.