LITTLE ROCK – The road woes continued Tuesday night for the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff baseball team as a pitcher’s duel got away from the Golden Lions late.
The University of Arkansas at Little Rock defeated UAPB 7-1 in midweek action at Gary Hogan Field as the teams split their season series. Little Rock (15-10) took a 2-1 lead into the bottom of the eighth inning and scored five runs on four hits and two errors to pull away.
UAPB Coach Logan Stout said the game got away from the Golden Lions in that inning, but he was otherwise proud of the performance.
“We missed the fly ball, had a couple errors. That’s just something I talked to the guys about. It’s like, don’t turn a bad moment into bad moments. Let’s keep it singular, and we can work through that, but overall, very proud.”
Independent reporting for Pine Bluff & Jefferson County since 1879.
Zach Wieder started the game at third base but took over at pitcher for UAPB (9-17) to start the eighth inning. He retired the first hitter of the inning, but the next five hitters reached base. A wild pitch with the bases loaded made it 3-1 before Little Rock shortstop Jerdy Lopez hit a two-RBI triple.
After giving up an RBI single, Wieder returned to third base as Troy McLeese stepped onto the mound. The Trojans added their final run of the inning on an error as Wieder airmailed a throw to first base on a two-out ground ball.
The game had been low scoring to that point, with Little Rock scoring two runs in the bottom of the third but otherwise being held in check prior to the eighth.
UAPB sent reliever Jordan Medellin to the bullpen to warm up during the rocky third inning but gave starting pitcher Jack Hasten (0-4) a chance to pitch the fourth. He rewarded his coaches for that decision by retiring the Trojans in order, but he left the game in the fifth after walking the first two hitters of the frame.
Stout said Hasten is a good competitor.
“When you don’t have your best stuff, but you can still find a way to keep your team in the game, especially in a midweek when we need to save a lot of our arms for the weekend, and we got a game tomorrow, but I was very, very proud of him,” Stout said. “The walks and the hit batters is higher than it needs to be, but the way we pitched out it, very, very proud of him.
Medellin took over and kept the deficit at 2-0 despite issuing a two-out walk. A strikeout of first baseman Angel Cano stranded three Trojans and fired up the UAPB dugout.
Hasten finished his third start of the season having allowed two runs on four hits with four strikeouts and three walks.
Medellin stayed in the game until Brendan Hamlin relieved him with one out in the seventh and two runners on base. He worked back-to-back strikeouts to end that threat, like what Medellin had done two innings prior.
The Golden Lions, like the Trojans, missed some opportunities, leaving two runners on base in the third and three in the fifth before finally scoring in the top of the eighth.
Shortstop Aaron Grant hit a one-out double, moved to third base on a passed ball, then scored on an RBI groundout from first baseman Ian Smith to cut the deficit to 2-1 half an inning before Little Rock pulled away.
UAPB left 10 runners on base, with the Trojans stranding nine.
Little Rock starting pitcher Brayden Walls (1-0) pitched 4 2/3 scoreless innings, holding UAPB to four hits and one walk with four strikeouts. Three relievers held UAPB to one unearned run, with Gage Haley earning his fourth save of the season.
The Golden Lions dropped to 0-9 on the road this season. Stout said the Golden Lions need to learn to finish games away from home.
“We’re in the games against really, really good competition,” Stout said. “Competition that these guys have never faced before, quite frankly. So, I’m very proud of them. Again, they’re just maturing. … As long as we can keep stacking bricks and getting better every single day, learning from our mistakes, maturing as baseball players, I feel very excited about where this team can go this year.”
