LITTLE
ROCK
- After slow offensive performances from the UALR baseball team (5-2) in the
first two games of the series, the Trojans erupted with 13 runs and 12 hits on
Sunday en route to a series sweep over the SIUE Edwardsville Cougars (1-6). A
grand slam by junior Austin Pfeifer,
a three-run home run by junior Bryson
Thionnet and a solo shot by senior John
Clark paved the way for the blowout, giving head coach Scott Norwood his 100th career win at UALR in the
process.
Pfeiffer went 3-for-5 on the afternoon with four RBI's and
a run scored. Clark added three hits of his own with two RBI's and three runs
scored, senior Chris Burk went
2-for-3 with an RBI and one run scored and sophomore Sage Gasaway went 1-for-2 with an RBI and one run scored in his
season debut as the Trojan's designated hitter.
Junior Ethan
Schlechte got the start on the mound for the Trojans and rebounded well
from his first outing. Schlechte worked six complete innings, struck out six batters
and only allowed one run as his efforts on Sunday garnered him his first win of
the season.
Unlike the first two games of the series, slow offensive
starts didn't plague UALR on Sunday. The Trojans scored two runs in the bottom
of the first inning and five runs in the bottom of the second inning, putting a
stranglehold on the game right from the beginning.
In the first inning, a two-out RBI-single to center
field by Burk scored Clark from second base and quickly put the Trojans ahead
2-0. In the next frame, Pfeiffer stepped to the plate with the bases loaded and
crushed the first offering from SIUE pitcher Brooks McDowell over the left
field wall for a grand slam, capping a five run inning for UALR. For Pfeiffer,
it was his first home run of the season and second hit of the game.
The Trojans added three more runs in the bottom of the
fifth inning, this time courtesy of a three-run home run over the left field
wall by Thionnet. Thionnet's second home run of the season put UALR on top of
SIUE 10-1 after five innings of play.
Three more runners crossed the plate in the bottom of
the sixth innings for the Trojans, capped by a 2-RBI single to center field by
junior Kaleb Jobe. Jobe finished his
afternoon going 1-for-2 with two runs batted in and one run scored.
After Schlechte's six complete innings, Norwood turned
the ball over to his bullpen for the final three frames. Freshman Jesse Harbin, sophomore Stephen Chandler and senior Tyler Buckley pitched the seventh,
eighth, and ninth innings respectively and combined for three innings of
scoreless baseball.
In the 27 innings played this weekend, the UALR
pitching staff allowed a grand total of two runs to SIUE,
rebounding from a Tuesday loss to Louisiana Tech.
UALR will ride the momentum of its three game sweep of
SIUE and take it on the road with a game against Oklahoma State this coming
Tuesday. For the Trojans, it will be the first road game of the 2013 season.
First pitch from Stillwater, Okla. is scheduled for 4 p.m.