Runs came easily Friday afternoon as the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff began the weekend with a doubleheader sweep.
The UAPB baseball team beat Arkansas Baptist 20-6 and 32-3, each in seven innings, at the Torii Hunter Baseball Complex to start a four-game weekend series in Pine Bluff.
UAPB (4-2) totaled 36 hits between the two games. Edwin De La Cruz finished the day with 7 total RBIs, followed by Jaylon Nauden with 5 combined.
Head coach Carlos James said everyone contributed.
“That builds confidence,” James said. “No matter who you’re playing against, hitting is contagious. Winning is contagious. Playing defense is contagious. So, that was the good thing, that they stayed focused on the task at hand no matter who was in the game.”
Independent reporting for Pine Bluff & Jefferson County since 1879.
The Golden Lions quickly jumped ahead 8-0 in the first two innings of game one, sending all nine hitters to the plate in both. UAPB chased Arkansas Baptist starter Jonathan Taylor with one out in the second inning after he gave up four hits and six walks with no strikeouts.
Reliever Andrew Smith, who started the game at first base, settled things down for the Buffaloes until the sixth inning, when UAPB batted around and scored nine runs, highlighted by a 3-run home run by Lawrence Noble.
UAPB lefty Calvin McClendon (1-0) picked up the win after a 4.2-inning start. He didn’t allow a hit or a run until the fourth inning. He finished with seven strikeouts, two walks, three hits and 2 runs. The Buffaloes scored 4 runs in the seventh against the bullpen, but UAPB’s big lead ensured the game ended via run-rule.
All nine UAPB hitters scored a run, and eight had a hit. De La Cruz hit 3-for-4 with 4 RBIs and 2 runs, while Ben VanMaanen hit 3-for-3 with an RBI and 4 runs.
De La Cruz said the Golden Lions came to the plate trying to hit with the wind.
“The wind was blowing across out to right field,” De La Cruz said. “So, we came up pretty much knowing, just go the opposite way today and don’t try to pull anything, because it’s probably going to be caught.”
Arkansas Baptist started game two by taking a 3-0 lead in the first inning with four walks. UAPB didn’t score in the bottom of the first, but the Golden Lions scored 14 runs off 13 hits and two errors in the bottom of the second.
Brad Mican led off the inning and came to the plate three times. The first 12 hitters reached base. De La Cruz hit an RBI double and a 2-RBI triple in the inning, which lasted over 30 minutes. UAPB scored in each subsequent inning, including scoring 8 runs in the sixth.
UAPB started bringing players off the bench in the fourth inning, and James said how the reserves played is one of the things about which he was most proud.
“The second half of that first game, we played just about every freshman that we had,” James said. “They hit the ball well. They played good defense, and it was good to see them get their feet wet, too.”
The Buffaloes didn’t score again after the first. Brett Kennett (1-0) finished a three-inning start with seven strikeouts and six walks. The bullpen held Arkansas Baptist to one hit and one walk in the final four innings.
Game three is scheduled for 11 a.m. Saturday, with the finale set for 1 p.m. Sunday.