Costly errors, big innings doom Bulldogs on Sunday

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – The Bryant University baseball team committed six errors and the University of Arkansas took advantage, scoring 15 runs over its final three at-bats to complete a three-game sweep of the Bulldogs, 16-6, on Sunday afternoon at Baum Stadium.

With the loss, the Bulldogs (2-5) have now lost five-straight games for the first time since 2015 and have given up 10+ runs in four-straight games. The Razorbacks (6-0) scored eight unearned runs off of the six Bryant errors. In all, the Black and Gold committed 14 errors in the three games.

Bryant held a 5-1 lead after 5 1/2 innings on Sunday but the Razorbacks would score five runs in each of their final three at-bats to earn the win. In the sixth, the Hogs had runners on first and third with two outs when Jax Biggers hit a ground ball in the hole at second. Senior Cole Fabio (Mahwah, N.J.) fielded it cleanly but his throw to first was wild, allowing a run to score and the inning to continue. The Hogs took advantage as Jaxon Williams singled home two and Jake Arledge followed with a two-run home run to left center to give Arkansas a 6-5 lead.

The Bulldogs would tie the game in the top of the seventh but Arkansas broke the tie with five more runs on just one hit in the bottom half of the inning. A single and two walks loaded the bases with no outs and a ground ball to short broke the tie. A walk and a sac fly made it 8-6 before three-straight infield errors led to the final three runs of the inning.

Bryant and Arkansas traded runs in the second inning of Sunday's game. The Bulldogs struck first as freshman Jimmy Titus (Stafford, Conn.) launched his first-career home run into the Hog Pen in left field.

Arkansas quickly answered with a quirky run in the bottom of the second. A hit by pitch loaded the bases with two outs and Hunter Wilson hit what appeared to be a routine ground ball to second. No one covered first, however, and it allowed a run to score. Bryant got out of the inning on the same play as they alertly through behind the runner at third and tagged him out in a rundown.

The Bulldogs retook the lead in the third with a single run. Freshman James Ciliento (Mahwah, N.J.) was hit by a pitch, Fabio moved him to third with a single through the left side and sophomore Nick Angelini (Bedford, N.H.) walked to load the bases with no outs. After a strikeout, junior Mickey Gasper (Merrimack, N.H.) ripped a single through the right side to score Ciliento. Fabio was thrown out at the plate, however, and a fly out to right ended what could have been a big inning.

Bryant's lead remained at one until the sixth when the Black and Gold put up three to make it 5-1. Titus opened the inning with a single to left and freshman Chris Wright (Cumberland, R.I.) followed with a two-run home into the Bryant bullpen, his second of the weekend, to make it 4-1. Freshman Ryan Ward (Millbury, Mass.) added the final run of the inning as he knocked a two-out RBI single up the middle to score Fabio.

The loss overshadowed a strong start by junior Ross Weiner (Woodbridge, Conn.). The right hander allowed two runs (one earned) on six hits over five-plus innings. He walked one and struck out two. Weiner retired the Hogs in order in the first and fourth innings and snared a hard comebacker in the fifth to strand a runner on third. Bryant's relievers combined to allow 14 runs on just eight hits in three innings.

Offensively, Titus finished 3-for-4 with two runs scored, Wright went 2-for-2 with a home run and Ciliento reached base three times with two walks and a hit by pitch.

Dominic Taccolini picked up his second win of the weekend with 1 1/3 innings of relief. Grant Koch had four hits for the Hogs, while Williams drove in five and Alredge and Biggers each scored three times.

The Bulldogs continue their season-opening 22-game road trip next Friday when they travel to Lynchburg, Va., to face Liberty. First pitch is scheduled for 3:00 p.m. on Friday.