TROY, Ala. — Arkansas-Little Rock ran into a wall of noise at Riddle-Pace Field on Friday, and the 6,426 fans who packed the stands made it clear this wasn’t a typical regional crowd.
The announced attendance shattered expectations for Game 1 of the Troy Super Regional, where the Trojans rolled to a 12-2 victory over UALR. It was the largest crowd the Trojans have played in front of this postseason, and according to Troy Coach Skylar Meade, the number might have actually been higher than what was reported.
“I don’t know if the numbers are totally accurate,” Meade said after the game. “I know that we have to abide by town and city ordinances, so I don’t know if we just went ahead and just stopped and said, ‘Yeah that sounds like a good number’ and more got in. I don’t know.”
The stadium was so crowded that dozens of additional fans climbed to the top of the stands at neighboring Veterans Memorial Stadium — home of Troy’s football program — to watch the game from the hill overlooking the field.
For UALR, it represented the largest crowd they’ve faced during this postseason run, surpassing the 5,331 fans who attended their regional final against Southern Miss at Pete Taylor Park in Hattiesburg, Mississippi last week.
The Trojans’ home facility, which typically hosts far smaller crowds for regular season games, was transformed into something closer to an SEC atmosphere. UALR’s players have experience playing in front of hostile SEC crowds earlier this season when they made road trips to face conference opponents, but the energy at Riddle-Pace Field provided a different kind of challenge.
Troy’s offensive explosion proved too much for the Trojans from Little Rock. The game remained competitive through the early innings before Troy pulled away, ultimately winning by a 10-run margin.
UALR entered the Super Regional round after winning the Hattiesburg Regional last weekend, defeating Southern Miss on their home field to earn the trip to Troy. That regional title marked one of the program’s most successful postseason runs in recent memory.
The crowds have grown substantially throughout UALR’s postseason run. What started as a regional in Hattiesburg with a few thousand fans has now escalated to a super regional setting where the home team drew its largest attendance of the year.
Troy, located in southeast Alabama, has built its baseball program into a consistent regional contender. The Riddle-Pace Field facility, while modest compared to major college baseball powers, created an environment on Friday that felt significantly larger than its official capacity would suggest.
For Arkansas-Little Rock, the loss puts the team in a must-win situation in Game 2 of the best-of-three series. The Trojans will need to adjust to the hostile environment and find a way to generate offense against a Troy pitching staff that limited them to just two runs on Friday.
Game 2 is scheduled for Saturday afternoon at Riddle-Pace Field. UALR will need to quiet the crowd early if they hope to extend their season and force a decisive Game 3.
Source: NWA Democrat Gazette
