LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (3/15/2013) — Aided by a
triple play and a two-run seventh inning the Arkansas State baseball team
defeated Arkansas-Little Rock 6-3 for its 10th straight victory over
the Trojans Friday night at Gary Hogan Field.
ASU improved its overall record to 12-6 and
moved to 1-0 in Sun Belt Conference play. UALR fell to 10-8 on the year and 0-1
in league play.
Collin Massanelli went 3-for-4 with three
RBIs, which tied a career high for the sophomore. Dustin Jones went 2-for-4 on
the night, while Alex Potts went 2-for-3 with two runs scored.
A-State starting pitcher Daniel Wright pitched
five innings gave up three runs on three hits and struck out five, while senior
Seth McWilliams earned the win after pitching two innings of relief and not
giving a run or a hit. Senior John Koch earned his first save of the year after
pitching the final two innings in relief of McWilliams.
ASU jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the first
inning after UALR starting pitcher needed 40-plus pitches to get through the
inning. UALR plated a run in the fourth inning when John Clark drove in Austin
Pfeiffer to cut the ASU lead to 3-1 and came back to tie the game in the sixth
inning to score two runs with no outs to chase Wright from the game.
“We took advantage of some early mistakes on
their part and we took advantage of it and we got a big inning in the first
with three runs,” ASU head baseball coach Tommy Raffo said. “Daniel was able to
create a very good tempo in our dugout and really keep the momentum on our side
through the first four or five innings.”
McWilliams came in relief and got out of the
inning when Bryson Thionnet tried to lay down a sacrifice bunt, but instead
popped the attempt up in front of McWilliams, which ASU turned into a triple
play.
The senior right-hander let the bunt attempt
fall in front of him and quickly threw over to third base to get the force out.
A-State third basemen Claude Johnson then threw to second base to get the force
at that base after Blake Johnson did not run on the play. ASU second basemen
Alex Potts then threw to first base for the final out after Thionnet never
touched first because it was occupied by Clark.
“We don't see triple plays very often and Seth
made a very heads up play,” Raffo said. “It kind of shifted momentum, even
though the game was tied it really gave us some energy going into the top of
the inning.”
The Red Wolves carried momentum from the the
triple play into the top of the seventh inning and scored two runs to take the
lead back from the Trojans. Potts led off the inning with a single and Dustin
Jones followed with a single to left side. After a sacrifice bunt from Austin
Baker, Massanelli drove home a run with a single and Ryan Emery followed with a
sacrifice fly to center to score Jones for the second run of the inning.
The Red Wolves tacked on another run in the
top of the ninth inning when Massanelli drove in his third run of the game with
a double off the center field wall that scored Potts.
ASU jumped out in the front in the top of the
first hitting thanks to timely hitting and two UALR miscues. Austin Baker led
off the game with a single and advanced to second on a wild pitch. Collin
Massanelli drove in Baker with a single to right to give A-State a 1-0 lead
after just two batters.
Ryan Emery later walked in the inning and
Claude Johnson advanced the runners to second and third with a ground out to
second. Massanelli and Emery scored on the next at-bat when Chance Cleveland
threw a wild pitcher that allowed Massanelli to score and Emery scored on the
play when the UALR catcher committed a throwing error to give ASU a 3-0 lead
after the first inning.
The teams for the second of the series on
Saturday with A-State throwing left-handed sophomore Chandler Hawkins and UALR
countering with right-handed senior Blake Huffman. The game is set to begin at
4 p.m.
