LAFAYETTE, La. (LR Trojans) - Trailing 1-0 in the bottom of the ninth inning, Little Rock mounted a furious ninth inning rally, ending with a bases loaded walk-off to defeat Georgia State 2-1 in the single-game elimination round of the Sun Belt Conference tournament.
With one out in the ninth, Chase Coker and Nick Perez drew back-to-back four-pitch walks, setting the stage for Riley Pittman who drilled a shot through the right side, bringing Coker home from second and advancing Perez to third.
James Gann was then hit by a pitch, loading the bases with one out and bringing Christian Reyes to the plate. Reyes' patience paid off as he drew a five-pitch walk, allowing Perez to trot the 90 feet home and give the Trojans their first postseason victory since the 2011 Sun Belt tournament championship game.
With the win, Little Rock improves to 28-26 on the season, marking its most wins in a season since 2013.
The story of this game early was the pitching as Little Rock's Chandler Fidel and Georgia State's Hunter Gaddis staged quite the pitcher's duel through the first five innings. The two pitchers combined to allow just two hits as Fidel notched five strikeouts through five while Gaddis kept the Trojans hitless, striking out eight
.
Georgia State finally broke through on the scoreboard in the top of the sixth, notching a pair of singles to give the Panthers runners at the corners. After a four-pitch walk, Fidel was then called for a balk with the bases loaded, allowing the go-ahead run to trot home and give Georgia State the 1-0 lead.
Fidel's strong performance earned him a no decision, lasting seven innings and allowing just the one run on four hits with six strikeouts, throwing 84 pitches on a hot and humid day in the Bayou.
Gaddis remained untouchable by the Trojan bats, nearly notching the first no-hitter in Sun Belt Conference tournament history until Marcus Ragan broke it up with a single up the middle with two outs in the eighth inning. He finished the day with 12 strikeouts in 7.2 innings pitched, allowing just the one hit.
With two outs in the eighth, Little Rock staged is best scoring opportunity to that point as back-to-back hits from Ragan and Danny Mitchell Jr. gave the Trojans two on, but the Panthers escaped the threat by getting Mitchell Jr. at second off a fielder's choice from Kale Emshoff, setting up the dramatic ninth inning rally.
After Donavin Buck retired the first two batters of the eighth inning for Little Rock, first team All-Sun Belt reliever Justin Garcia came on and struck out his lone batter of the eight. Garcia then struck out two more Panthers in the ninth, earning the victory as the pitcher of record when Little Rock staged its ninth inning rally.
The Trojans managed just three hits on the day, coming off the bats of Ragan, Mitchell and Pittman, but drew five walks, three of which came in the bottom of the ninth, with a pair of hit-by-pitches. One of those HBP may prove costly as the tournament progresses as starting left fielder Ryan Benavidez took a shot off the hand in the bottom of the first and left the game.
With the win, Little Rock earns a spot in the double-elimination bracket of the tournament and will return to action on Wednesday, playing second-seeded and tournament host Louisiana. Opening pitch against the Ragin' Cajuns is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. Wednesday evening.
