MONTICELLO, Ark. – The East Central University baseball team journeyed to Arkansas for the Great American Conference opening weekend. Despite falling behind early in their initial two games and mounting a comeback effort in the third, the Tigers could not clinch the victory, ultimately losing the series to the University of Arkansas at Monticello at Weevil Field on Sunday afternoon.
 
In the first two games, the Boll Weevils maintained control, securing victories of 11-1 and 14-0, respectively. However, the third contest saw a competitive performance from ECU as they seized the lead in the fifth inning before UAM rallied back.
 
After an RBI single in the first inning gave UAM the early 1-0 lead, strong pitching from Clayton Solomon kept the Boll Weevils scoreless for the next four innings, giving the Tigers a chance to make their mark on the scoreboard.
 
In the top of the fifth, Tyler Akers, Nick Blankenship, and Jarett Johnson loaded the bases from a combination of walks and hit-by-pitch. After a failed double-play conversion from the Boll Weevils, Christian Whitaker was able to reach on a fielder's choice while Akers and Blankenship scored, giving ECU a 2-1 lead.
 
However, in the bottom of the sixth inning, UAM regained control with a three-run homer, taking a 4-2 lead. Although ECU made an effort to rally in their final at-bats, including Whitaker's RBI double that brought the score to 4-3, they ultimately fell short, resulting in UAM's game-three victory and series sweep.
 
Nick Blankenship, Christian Whitaker, and Britton Sperry each collected two hits in the weekend series, with Whitaker leading in RBIs with three.
 
The ECU baseball team will return to Ada and gear up to host Southern Arkansas University on Feb. 23^rd and 24^th for their next GAC matchup.