LAFAYETTE, La. (LR Trojans) – Little Rock raced out to an early 2-0 lead in the first inning against Texas State, but it couldn't sustain the lead as the Bobcats rally for a 6-3 victory at Tigue Moore Field at Russo Park, eliminating the Trojans from the 2018 Sun Belt Conference tournament.
The loss brings the Trojans' 2018 campaign to a close with Little Rock finishing the season 28-28.
Back on the diamond just four hours following its 19-16 loss to host Louisiana, Little Rock's momentum carried over as Troy Alexander knocked an RBI single with two outs in the top of the first, allowing Chase Coker to score after he was hit by a pitch.
Nick Perez then singled to advance Alexander to third and the Trojans executed the perfect double steal, allowing Alexander to race home and give Little Rock the early 2-0 lead.
Texas State responded with a run in the bottom half of the first before the two pitching staffs settled into their grooves. Starter Aaron Funk limited the Bobcats to just two hits through the first four innings, but ran into trouble in the fifth, allowing back-to-back singles to start the inning before a bases clearing triple as Texas State took the 3-2 lead.
Funk would be credited with another run when the Bobcats executed a double steal after he was replaced by Ethan Daily with two outs in the fifth as Texas State extended its lead to 4-2.
Little Rock began to mount another comeback in the top of the sixth, getting Alexander and Pittman on base courtesy of a walk and a fielding error. Eldrige Figueroa, making his first appearance since May 8, registered his fifth RBI of the season with a sacrifice fly to right field, bringing Alexander home and cutting the deficit to one at 4-3.
But that was as close as the Trojans would get as Texas State put the game away in the bottom of the seventh, adding two more runs to its total and pulling away for the 6-3 victory, marking the second time in as many years the Bobcats have eliminated the Trojans from the Sun Belt tournament.
Alexander and Perez both registered a pair of hits on the afternoon for the Trojans with Alexander going 2-for-3 with an RBI and two runs scored. Perez finished 2-for-4 with Figueroa and Danny Mitchell Jr. adding the other two hits for Little Rock.
On the mound, Funk earned the loss after allowing four runs on five hits with a strikeout in 4.2 innings pitched, sitting at 2-1 on the year. Daily, McKinley Moore and Perez pitched the final 3.1 innings for Little Rock and combined to allow two runs on just one hit with Moore adding a strikeout.
Little Rock now turns its sights toward 2019 with a sense of optimism as the Trojan roster carries just three seniors. Little Rock sat in first place in the West Division for a majority of the conference schedule, despite being picked to finish fifth, as the 28 victories is the most for the team since 2013.
