RUSTON, LA (KFSM) – Arkansas was able to rely on late inning offense in their weekend sweep of Bryant. The Razorbacks looked like they were poised to do the same against Louisiana Tech Tuesday night.
Carson Shaddy’s two-run home run cut the Bulldogs’ lead to one with no outs in the top of the ninth but that’s as close as Arkansas would get as they dropped their first game of the season, 4-3, in the first of the two game series.
Arkansas starter Josh Alberius appeared to be cruising as he set a new career high in strikeouts in just four innings of work but he ran into trouble in the sixth. Louisiana Tech loaded the bases thanks in part to a Shaddy error then Dave Van Horn went to his bullpen. Weston Rogers threw just one pitch but the Bulldogs’ Chase Lunceford took the lead away from Arkansas with a two-run double to right. Jonathan Washam added a two-run double of his own later in the inning as Louisiana Tech took a 4-1 lead.
After Shaddy’s home run, much like the rest of the game, the bottom half of the order struggled to end the game. Arkansas’ 7-9 hitters went just 1-for-10 in the game, the lone hit was Jaxon Williams’ RBI double in the second inning to give the Razorbacks a 1-0 lead.
The two teams will close their series on Wednesday with first pitch set for 3:00 pm.
