Little Rock rallied for an 11-7 victory over Eastern Illinois on April 18, coming back from a five-run deficit at Gary Hogan Field to secure a key Ohio Valley Conference series win.
The result is significant as it moves the Trojans into a tie for second place in the conference standings with Eastern Illinois, just one game behind SIUE. The comeback also came against Eastern Illinois’ top pitcher and last season’s championship game opponent.
Eastern Illinois took an early lead by scoring five runs in the first inning, but Little Rock responded with consistent offense. Head coach Chris Curry said, “A great job today to win the series. Eastern Illinois is a tough team that we faced in the OVC Championship game last season, and it wouldn’t surprise me if that happened again. We got down five runs in the first inning, and that wasn’t the plan, but we never panicked. We kept hitting and got back in the game.”
Angel Cano started Little Rock’s scoring with an RBI single in the third inning before Blake Simpson added a sacrifice fly. In the fourth inning, Jerdy Lopez hit an RBI double and Kade Smith tied the game with a two-run single before Nolan Freund gave Little Rock its first lead of the day.
The Trojans broke open their advantage during a fifth-inning surge fueled by Panther errors and more timely hits from Chaplain, Lopez, Smith, Simpson, and Freund. Smith said after his three-hit performance: “Hitting is all confidence, and it is contagious. Everyone started hitting, and we are going up to the plate carefree and confident.”
Assistant coach Matt Parker commented on facing ace Bryce Riggs: “We talk about how to beat an ace—you don’t have to beat him, you just can’t let him stay in the game long enough to beat you… If you can’t get hits early, just grind out at-bats.” Parker added that discipline at bat was key: “He had only walked 17 all year, and we got two walks and nine hits. That is huge.” He also noted their steady approach after falling behind early.
Pitchers Brigden Parker and Luke Schimmels helped limit further damage after EIU’s strong start while Brayden Walls and Josh Beezley closed out relief innings effectively.
The teams will conclude their series Sunday afternoon at Gary Hogan Field.
