STATE NCAA DIVISION I BASEBALL ROUNDUPS

SUN BELT

UALR 11, TROY 8

Troy scored three runs in the top of the first inning Thursday, but UALR responded with nine runs in the first three innings and survived a mid-game rally at Gary Hogan Field in Little Rock.

UALR (10-11, 3-4 Sun Belt) got RBI singles from Cameron Knight and Kyle Kirk in the bottom of the first to cut the lead to 3-2, then tied the game in the second on an RBI single by Dalton Thomas. After a Nik Gifford walk, Knight hit a two-run single to give UALR a 5-3 lead.

After Troy (13-10, 3-4) scored a run in the top of the third to cut the lead to 5-4, UALR responded with four runs in the bottom of the inning. Hayden Martin hit an RBI double to increase the lead to 6-4, which chased Troy pitcher Lucas Brown. Reliever Houston Mabray gave up a single to Hunter Owens, then Ryan Scott hit an RBI single down the left field line and advanced to second base on the throw. Thomas grounded out to score Owens, giving UALR an 8-4 lead, and Scott scored on Gifford’s RBI double to right field.

Troy mounted a rally in the fifth inning. Payton Fuller walked, then advanced to third on Joey Denison’s double. Trevor Davis grounded out, scoring Fuller to cut the lead to 9-5. Cameron Sanders’ sacrifice fly scored Denison, then TJ Binder singled and scored on Chase Smartt’s double to left center, which chased UALR starter Matt McDowell. Cody Daylor then gave up an RBI single to Justin Friend, cutting the lead to 9-8, before Steven Whitaker struck out to end the inning.

Gifford’s two-run double in the bottom of the seventh gave UALR some insurance. He finished 2 for 4 with 3 RBI. Thomas Dalton led UALR, going 3 for 5 with 3 runs scored and 2 RBI and Scott was 2 for 2 with 4 runs scored and 1 RBI. Davis led Troy offensively, going 3 for 4 with 2 runs scored and 1 RBI.

Daylor (2-0) got the victory for UALR, allowing 1 hit with 2 walks and 3 strikeouts. McDowell allowed 8 runs — 7 earned — with 2 walks and 1 strikeout in 42/3 innings. Brown (3-3) took the loss for Troy after allowing 7 runs — 4 earned — on 7 hits with 3 walks and 1 strikeout in 21/3 innings.

GEORGIA SOUTHERN 8, ARKANSAS STATE 3

Georgia Southern (14-7, 5-2 Sun Belt) scored four runs in the second inning, two more in the third and one in the fourth to take control of Thursday’s series opener against Arkansas State (10-11, 2-5) at Tomlinson Stadium in Jonesboro.

Georgia Southern’s Logan Baldwin reached on an error to start the second inning. He stole second base as Will Hudgins struck out swinging, then scored on CJ Ballard’s double to left center. Ballard advanced to third on Cal Baker’s single, then scored on a Lawson Humphries single to right field. Baker scored on a sacrifice fly to give Georgia Southern a 3-0 lead and Humphries scored when C.J. Brazil singled and advanced to second on an error.

ASU scored a run in the bottom of the second on an RBI groundout from Neil Lambert, cutting the lead to 4-1. The Eagles added two runs in the third on consecutive RBI doubles by Ballard and Baker for a 6-1 lead. A sacrifice fly in the fourth inning gave Georgia Southern a 7-1 lead, but ASU tried to rally in the bottom of the fourth. The Red Wolves got a tworun home run from Joe Schrimpf with no outs to cut the lead to 7-3, but could do no further damage. The Eagles added an insurance run in the eighth inning.

Brazil was 3 for 5 with 2 runs scored and 1 RBI to lead Georgia Southern, while Baldwin, Ballard and Baker were all 2 for 5. Schrimpf led the Red Wolves by going 2 for 4 and was the only ASU player with multiple hits.

Tyler Zuber (2-2) took the loss for ASU after allowing 7 runs — 4 earned — on 10 hits with 1 walk and 7 strikeouts in 4 innings. Evan Challenger (4-2) got the victory. He allowed 3 earned runs on 6 hits with 2 walks and 10 strikeouts in 72/3 innings.

SOUTHLAND CENTRAL ARKANSAS 11, HOUSTON BAPTIST 0

Central Arkansas (10-10, 4-3 Southland) used a seven-run eighth inning to break open Thursday’s game at Bear Stadium in Conway against Houston Baptist (10-11, 2-2).

Leading 4-0 entering the inning, Matt Anderson singled through the right side for UCA to start the bottom of the eighth. He advanced to second on Butch Rea’s sacrifice bunt. Tyler Langley was hit by a pitch and Michael Haun walked to load the bases. A second walk, this one to Ty Tice, scored Anderson to give the Bears a 5-0 lead. Brandon Montalvo hit a sacrifice fly down the left field line, scoring Haun, and Logan Preston walked to load the bases again. William Hancock hit a tworun single, giving UCA an 8-0 lead, and advanced to second base. Justin McCarty followed that with a two-run double of his own for a 10-0 lead and Anderson added an RBI single.

Preston was 2 for 2 with 2 RBI and 1 run scored to lead the Bears, while Tice was 2 for 4 with 2 RBI and 3 runs scored. Houston Baptist was held to four hits, all coming from the bottom of their order. Connor Gilmore (2-1) pitched the entire way for UCA and had four strikeouts. JT Jakubik took the loss for Houston Baptist after allowing 6 earned runs on 3 hits with 3 walks in 12/3 innings.

— Arkansas Democrat-Gazette