NORTH LITTLE ROCK, Ark. | The Grambling State University baseball team nearly pulled off a stunning upset on Tuesday night to No. 2 Arkansas as the Tigers held a three-run in the eighth inning, but the Razorbacks used a four-run eighth to cap the comeback in a 7-6 victory at Dickey Stephens Park.
Grambling State (16-17) started strong as
Marshawn Taylor singled to left and advanced to second on a wild pitch.
Richard Ortiz followed with a base hit down the left field line as Taylor scored from second to give the Tigers a quick 1-0 lead.
Arkansas (25-9) finally got onto the scoreboard in the fourth as Evan Lee singled to right center and advanced to third when Heston Kjerstad reached on a base hit up the middle. Dominic Fletcher followed with an infield hit as Lee scored to tie the game at 1.
The Tigers quickly responded with a run in the top half of the fifth as
Drexler Macaay singled to lead off the frame and advanced to second on a wild pitch. With two down,
Ace Felder singled to center to plate Macaay and give Grambling State a 2-1 advantage.
The Razorbacks tied the game at 2 in the seventh when Carson Shaddy walked and moved all the way to third on a base hit to left by Hunter Wilson. Shaddy came in to score on a wild pitch. Hunter Wilson moved to second on a wild pitch and took third on a ground out. However, an error by Tiger relief pitcher
Daniel Wilson plated Hunter Wilson to give Arkansas a 3-2 lead.
Grambling State answered in the top of the eighth as Taylor singled to second and advanced to second when
Richard Ortiz was hit by a pitch. Rafael Ramirez III followed with a base hit through the right side to plate Taylor, tying the game at 3.
Khaalis King, who pinched ran for Ortiz, scored the go-ahead run on a sacrifice fly by
Isaiah Torres. Still with two outs, Macaay delivered a two-run double as
Phil Adams Jr., who pinch ran for Ramirez, and
Nick Wheeler scored as the Tigers extended the lead to 6-3.
Arkansas plated four runs on four hits to give the Razorbacks a 7-6 lead.
Dominic Fletcher opened the frame with a double to right center and scored on Jordan McFarland's single to left field. Casey Martin reached on an infield hit. Shaddy walked to load the bases with no outs. After a pitching change,
Ryan Evans fanned Garrett Koch, but Jax Biggers plated McFarland from third on a sacrifice fly to center. Eric Cole delivered a two-run single to right as Shaddy and Martin scored to give Arkansas the slim lead.
Inside The Numbers
* Grambling State registered six runs on eight hits, committed one error and left five on base.
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Marshawn Taylor went 2-for-4 with two runs scored and one RBI, while
Drexler Macaay was 2-for-4, with two RBIs and one run scored.
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Ace Felder,
Richard Ortiz, Rafael Ramirez and
Nick Wheeler each had one hit.
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Elijah Saunders was one of eight pitchers who saw action on mound against the Razorbacks.
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Elijah Saunders worked two innings and scattered just one hit, walked two and fanned one.
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Kaelin Woodard,
Christian Marquez,
Andy Escano,
Ryan Huntington,
Daniel Wilson, Raul Badual (2-2) and
Ryan Evans pitched in relief.
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Raul Baduel took the loss as he was tagged four run runs on three hits, with one walk.
* Arkansas finished with seven runs on 10 hits and stranded eight baserunners.
* Dominic Fletcher paced the Razorback offense by going 3-for-4 with one RBI and one run scored.
* Caleb Bolden started on the hill for the Razorbacks and didn't figure into the decision.
* Caleb Bolden surrendered two runs on four hits, struck out six and walked two in five innings.
* Kole Ramage, Jackson Rutledge (3-0) and Matt Cronin (seventh save) pitched in relief.
News and Notes
* Grambling State has played two SEC ranked opponents this season (#14 LSU and #2 Arkansas).
* Arkansas came into the game ranked No. 2 and matched the highest ranked opponent the Tigers have faced in school history (No. 2 LSU in 2013 and 2015).
* The attendance for Tuesday's game was 8,470.
* The Razorbacks are 6-0 all-time in the series, and 1-0 in the matchup in North Little Rock, Ark. (2010: 19-7; 2014: 4-3, 8-0; 2016: 14-4, 3-2; 2017: 7-6).
* The last time these two teams met was in 2016 when No. 13 Arkansas defeated Grambling State, 14-4 and 3-2.
* The last time Grambling State defeated a ranked opponent was March 24, 2012 against No. 7 Rice (5-4 win).
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Marshawn Taylor was named the Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC) Hitter of the Week and the Louisiana Sports Writers Association Hitter of the Week on Monday.
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Marshawn Taylor ranks 10th nationally in hits and 16th in hits per game; 11th toughest to strikeout and 17th in batting average.
* Grambling State came into the game having dropped its last two, while Arkansas had won four straight and remain unbeaten in the month of April.
* The Tigers has games against Louisiana-Monroe (April 17 and May 1), Alcorn State (April 24) and Northwestern State (May 8) remaining on their non-conference slate.
* Grambling State has four home games left on its schedule (three against Arkansas-Pine Bluff and one versus Louisiana-Monroe).
Up Next
Grambling State returns to SWAC play starting on Friday when Arkansas-Pine Bluff comes to town.
The Tigers currently sit two games back of first-place leader Texas Southern and one game back of UAPB in the SWAC standings. Grambling State and Arkansas-Pine Bluff met earlier this season with the Tigers taking two of three in the series.
First pitch for the series opener on Friday is set for 6 p.m. at Wilbert Ellis Field at R.W.E. Jones Park. Saturday's game will be played at 4 p.m. and the series will conclude with a 1 p.m. game on Sunday.
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