After failing to score in the first four innings Tuesday afternoon, the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff got its offense going over the final four frames to complete a comeback.
The UAPB baseball team rallied to defeat the University of Arkansas at Little Rock 10-8 in a midweek game at the Torii Hunter Baseball Complex, snapping a seven-game losing streak.
UAPB (5-9) trailed 8-0 midway through the fifth inning but fought back to tie the game at 8 entering the eighth. With one out, first baseman Konner Giddley reached base on an error by Little Rock third baseman Nolan Freund.
Golden Lion third baseman Ian Smith then swung and missed for strike three, but the ball got away from Little Rock (6-6) catcher Cade Martin. Giddley moved up to third base as Smith sprinted to first. Martin’s throw to first was off target and got just far enough past first baseman Easton Roe for Giddley to score, giving the Golden Lions their first lead of the game.
Later in the inning, Smith scored from third on a wild pitch by Little Rock reliever Isaac Evaniew to give UAPB a two-run advantage entering the ninth.
Independent reporting for Pine Bluff & Jefferson County since 1879.
UAPB Coach Logan Stout said he knew the offense, which entered the game hitting .219, would click eventually.
“You can’t be this good and then just be bad all spring,” Stout said. “We hit over .300 in the fall. I’m proud of them that they kept staying to the process. We played horrible. We played absolutely horrendous baseball, and for them to still come out and win, that’s awesome.”
The game was scoreless through two innings, but Little Rock scored two runs in the third, five in the fourth and one in the fifth. The Trojans’ offense was aided by starting pitcher Gage Haley, who held UAPB to two hits and no runs in the first four innings.
The Trojans scored eight runs off five hits and six walks against UAPB’s first three pitchers before senior right-hander Brendan Hamlin (1-1) stepped onto the mound with one out and two runners on base in the top of the sixth.
Hamlin escaped the jam with a strikeout and a ground ball to first. He went on to pitch 3 2/3 scoreless innings, allowing one hit and no walks with three strikeouts. The only baserunner he allowed in the final two innings came on a two-out error in the ninth.
The Davison, Mich., native said he entered the game believing UAPB could rally.
“It’s just, I gotta keep us close,” Hamlin said. “I can’t let up any runs, any freebies. So, it’s what happened. My team came back and helped me out.”
Momentum began to shift in the bottom of the fifth. Haley walked UAPB second baseman Aaron Grant with one out, then gave up an RBI double to pinch hitter Blake Coleman. The Trojans pulled Haley for Trent Jordan, who gave up two more hits before a 4-6-3 double play ended the inning.
After Haley gave Little Rock 4 1/3 innings, the Trojans used eight bullpen arms, with only one completing an inning’s worth of baseball. Left-hander Brett Gastman (0-2) was charged with the game-winning unearned runs in the eighth.
UAPB matched Little Rock’s big fourth inning with a five-run sixth. Second baseman Aaron Grant tied the game with a sacrifice fly in the seventh.
Coleman hit 2 for 3 with three RBI and two runs. Left fielder Jose Vasquez hit 3 for 5 with three RBI, while Grant hit 1 for 3 with two RBI and two runs. Shortstop Zach Wieder hit 3 for 4 and scored twice.
Stout said UAPB’s offense showed its depth Tuesday.
“Blake Coleman, he came in off the bench,” Stout said. “Matthew Dworsky came in off the bench and got on base three times. You look at some of these guys who came in, they weren’t starting, and they contributed in a big-time way. … Hopefully, the second half of this game will click for our offense, and we’ll carry it throughout the rest of the season.”
UAPB’s 10 runs were a season high, and its 11 hits tied for its second-most in a game this year.
UAPB is scheduled to return action for a weekend series at the University of Houston starting at 6 p.m. Friday.