TAHLEQUAH, Okla. – Infielder Matt Schilling hit a grand slam and drove in six runs as University of Arkansas – Fort Smith Baseball completed the series sweep over Northeastern State with a 15-11 win Tuesday in extra innings.
With the bases loaded and one out in the 10th, Schilling drove in a pair with a two-run double to right center to put the Lions ahead, 13-11. Two batters later, outfielder Sammy Seeger singled to right for two more runs.
In his third inning of relief, lefty Grant Shankle earned the win by working around a pair of walks for a scoreless final frame.
Schilling got the scoring started for the Lions in the second when he cleared the bases with a grand slam to give the Lions a 4-2 lead.
After the RiverHawks hit a grand slam of their own in the bottom half of the second, the Lions battled back to tie the game at 6-6 on RBI singles by outfielder CJ Snowden and catcher Ryan Riggs.
Tied at 8-8 in the seventh, the RiverHawks went ahead with two runs for a 10-8 lead. The Lions then pushed across two runs in the eighth on RBIs from outfielder Cooper White and Snowden.
The Lions took the lead in the top of the ninth on a sac fly by Seeger, but the RiverHawks forced extras with a sac fly of their own.
Schilling finished 3-for-6 at the plate with six RBIs and three runs scored as the Lions pounded out 16 hits. White added three hits, three runs and two RBIs while infielders Noah Davis, Nico Patrick and Snowden all had two hits.
Shankle allowed one unearned run over the final 3.1 innings with three strikeouts, while Chase Pair had his streak of seven innings pitched snapped after allowing six runs on nine hits over 3.2 innings.
UAFS will have the weekend off before hosting Rogers State in its home finale on April 23.
