UAPB Baseball Falls Short in Game One Against Top Ranked Arkansas

UAPBBaseball Falls Short in Game One Against Top Ranked Arkansas - UA Pine Bluff Athletics

by Kalan Hooks

FAYETTEVILLE, AR – The University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff baseball team suffered a lost in game one of the two game series against the number-one ranked University of Arkansas Razorbacks with a final score of 12-4 on Tuesday night at Baum Walker Stadium.

Freshman Dante Leach led the Golden Lions at the plate going 2-for-4 with three RBIs, followed by sophomore Braelin Hence going 2-for-3, and senior Bryce Roesch going 1-for-3 with an RBI.

Arkansas native Joel Barker took the loss on the mound going 6.0 IP giving up seven hits with three strikeouts.

Playing the number-one team in the nation, the Golden Lions knew it wouldn’t be an easy battle. The Razorbacks jumped out to a quick 4-0 lead, scoring two runs in the bottom of the inning and an additional two runs in the bottom of the second inning.

The Golden Lions however pulled out the inner fight at the top of the fifth inning. After being walked, junior Kacy Higgins quickly stole the second base with junior Justin Rieschick singling to the right field, allowing Higgins to score a run for the Golden Lions and get on the board.

The Razorbacks would then jump out to a 9-1 lead over UAPB in the bottom of the seventh inning, scoring a total of five runs in the inning, but the Golden Lions answered back at the top of the eighth inning with Arkansas walking Hence and sophomore Karsten Vasquez. With sophomore Timothy Martin at the plate, Hence quickly put on the jets, stealing third base and Vasquez followed, stealing second base and Martin was walked, loading all bases. Freshman Dante Leach launched a triple to the right center, allowing runs from Hence, Vasquez, and Martin to bring the score to 12-4.

“You have to be proud of our guys the way they went out there and held their own tonight against the number-one team in the country”, said UAPB head coach Carlos James about how hard his team competed tonight.

Game two will be played tomorrow at 4:30 p.m. at Baum Walker Stadium and the game will be streamed lived on SEC Network on the ESPN app. You can also listen to the game live on 99.3 FM The Beat.