Trojans Head To Stillwater For Two Against Cowboys

Little Rock at Oklahoma State
Location	Stillwater, Okla.
Stadium	Allie P. Reynolds Stadium
Game One	Tuesday, Feb. 27 - 4 p.m.
Game Two	Wednesday, Feb. 27 - 4 p.m.
Records	Little Rock (4-3) Oklahoma State (4-1)
Watch	OKState.com/Live
Stats	OKState.com
Preview	Oklahoma State

LITTLE ROCK - Little Rock baseball heads to Stillwater, Oklahoma for a two-game, midweek battle against Big-12 opponent Oklahoma State at Allie P. Reynolds Stadium. Game one is Tuesday, February 27 at 4 p.m. followed by game two Wednesday, February 28 with a 4 p.m. first pitch.
 
Trojans to Watch for:
Junior outfielder Troy Alexander continues to dominate at the plate, currently on a seven game hitting streak that has seen Alexander bat .448 in 28 plate appearances.  He has recorded seven RBIs while registering multiple hits in five of the first seven games of 2018.
 
Senior right-handed reliever Justin Garcia holds ERA of 0.00 in 6.2 innings pitched over two games. In game two against Tennessee Tech, he went two and two-thirds innings for the save with four strikeouts. Against rival Central Arkansas Garcia entered a tied game in the sixth with a runner on second and two outs, registering the strikeout to end the inning. He continued on the mound through the ninth and kept the game tied including striking out the side in the seventh. Garcia's strikeout total on the season has reached 12 while only giving up four walks and three hits. With both starting pitchers getting complete-game wins on Sunday in the doubleheader, Garcia will be well rested going into Stillwater.
 
Scouting Oklahoma State:
The Cowboys began their season on the road facing Sun Belt opponent Texas State and went 2-1 against the Bobcats. After two rained out games, OSU then took a pair from Marist.
 
Jonathan Heasley has led the Cowboys to two victories on the mound, dealing five or more innings in both appearances. He has a 2.31 ERA on the year while throwing 15 strikeouts with only six walks. In the season-opener, he held the Bobcats to six scoreless innings and only four hits.
 
Reza Aleaziz has been solid in relief for OSU with an 0.00 ERA in 5.2 innings pitched in four appearances.
 
At the plate, the Trojan pitching staff will be tested against the Cowboys' Andrew Rosa, Matt Kroon and Colin Simpson, who lead the team in hitting. Rosa is batting .545 in 11 at-bats while Simpson leads the team with eight RBIs, hitting .400 off of 20 appearances at the plate. Kroon caps it off for the trio hitting .383 off 17 at-bats with five RBIs and a homerun.
 
Series Against Oklahoma State:
Oklahoma State has held the upper hand in the all-time series against the Trojans, winning 43 of the 45 meetings between the two. Back in 1987, the Trojans split the two-game series with the then #1 ranked Cowboys, taking game one 7-4 in one of the most memorable moments in Little Rock's sports history. The other win came in 1983 when the Trojans won one of four games played.
 
Last Time Out:
The Trojans are going into the Oklahoma State series with a well-rested bullpen thanks to starting pitchers Chandler Fidel and Cole Townsend. The two led Little Rock in a doubleheader sweep on Sunday with Fidel throwing a complete game and Townsend throwing a complete-game shutout.
 
In game one of the doubleheader, the Trojans won 2-0 with both RBIs coming from the hot hitting of Troy Alexander. In game two, the hitting gave Fidel a little insurance on the mound, putting seven runs on the board and limiting the Mastodons to just one run. Fidel nearly threw a shutout himself, but gave up a homerun in the bottom of the eighth that broke up that bid. Over the past 35 innings, Little Rock's pitching staff has given up just four runs.
 
On Deck:
After the trip to Stillwater, the Trojans return to Gary Hogan Field for a weekend series against Northwestern State out of the Southland Conference. Game one against the Demons is scheduled for Friday at 3 p.m., followed by a game two on Saturday at 2 p.m.and wrapping up Sunday with a 1 p.m. first pitch in game three.

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