LITTLE ROCK - Senior Sean Bignall tied a school record with three home runs, while UALR set a new school record for team home runs with eight, as the Trojans (10-3) topped visiting South Dakota State (0-8) 20-8 on Wednesday afternoon at Gary Hogan Field. Bignall finished the day 4-for-5 at the plate with four runs scored and six RBI, and set a new school record for total bases in single game with 14.

The Trojans also set a new school record with 48 total bases as a team, shattering the previous mark of 38 set at Middle Tennessee on March 30, 2008. UALR had combined to hit five home runs in a game on three separate occasions in the school's history before tonight, with the most recent coming on April 26, 2009 against Houston Baptist. The Trojans equaled that mark in the sixth inning tonight on a two-run bomb by senior Nick Rountree, then added three more home runs in the bottom of the eighth to set the new school record.

Bignall's day at the plate is the most recent in a series of strong performances from the Brampton, Ontario, native. The senior is coming off a weekend at UT Martin that saw him hit three home runs, total 12 RBI and 40 total bases en route to earning Sun Belt Player of the Week honors. On the year, Bignall is hitting a robust .531 with nine home runs, 30 RBI, 21 runs scored and 61 total bases, and currently sports a 1.245 slugging percentage and .597 on-base percentage.

Junior Tyler Buckley earned the win for the Trojans, starting the contest and going 5.0 innings while giving up just two runs on three hits. Joe Ellison was handed the loss for SDSU after surrendering seven runs on seven hits in 2.2 innings on the hill.

UALR actually trailed early in the game, falling behind 1-0 when SDSU's Eric Cain homered to centerfield in the top of the first to give the Jackrabbits the lead after one. UALR put up two runs in the bottom of the second when a double by Bignall was followed with a two-run homer to left by Rountree that put the Trojans on top, 2-1.

South Dakota State evened the score with a one-run inning in the top of the third, but UALR bounced back with a five-run explosion on three hits, including two homers, in the bottom half of the frame. After junior Myles Parma scored the first run of the inning on a wild pitch, Bignall hit a two-run bomb to centerfield to give UALR a 5-2 lead. Senior Greg Garcia scored the fourth run on an RBI groundout by Rountree, and sophomore Byrson Thionnet hit a two-out solo shot later in the frame to cap the Trojans' five-run inning.

Following a pair of scoreless innings, SDSU put up two runs on three hits in the top of the sixth to pull within three. But that would be as close as the Jackrabbits would get, as UALR again put up five runs in the bottom half of the frame to push its to eight.

Sophomore Ben Crumpton scored the first run of the inning on a groundout by sophomore Kaleb Jobe, and Bignall put the next two runs on the board with a two-run homer to left. Following a single by Garcia, Rountree hit his second home run of the game, another two-run shot that put UALR up eight and tied the school record for team homers in a game.

A solo shot by SDSU's Phil Paquette made it 12-5 after seven, but the Trojans saved their biggest inning for the eighth, when they put eight runs on eight hits, including three home runs, to go up 20-5. Following a double by junior John Clark to the left-center gap, Bignall stepped to the plate and tied the UALR single-game record with his third blast of the game, a two-run shot left-center field. Following a pair of singles by senior Cameron Bentley and Crumpton, Parma hit a three-run bomb to left field that was immediately followed with  solo shot by Jobe over the right field fence that put the Trojans' 20^th run of the night on the board.

South Dakota State tacked on three runs in the top of the ninth before sophomore Ryan Montgomery got Steven Autenrieth to ground out to the shortstop for the game's final out.

Six different UALR players ended the night with multiple hits. Bignall led the way with his 4-for-5 effort, while both Garcia and Rountree chipped in with three hits apiece. Parma, Crumpton and Thionnet all put up two hits on the night, as the Trojans outhit the Jackrabbits by a 20-10 count.  

Tonight's game marked the first time UALR scored 20 runs in a game since its 20-9 win over Western Illinois on March 24, 2010.

UALR will have one day of rest before it returns to action on Friday with the opener of its three-game series against Wisconsin-Milwaukee at Gary Hogan Field. First pitch is slated for 3 p.m.