Trojans Look to Earn Fourth Sun Belt Series Win

Games 33-35: Little Rock at Texas State
April 15-16
San Marcos, Texas • Bobcat Ballpark
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LITTLE ROCK – With sole possession of fourth place in the Sun Belt Conference standings entering this weekend, Little Rock baseball (15-17, 8-7 Sun Belt) will look to gain some ground on second-place Texas State (21-13) in a three-game series beginning on Friday at 3 p.m., in San Marcos, Texas.
 
Due to the high threat of rain on Sunday in San Marcos, Texas, Little Rock baseball and Texas State will now play a doubleheader on Friday beginning at 3 p.m., and will wrap up the series on Saturday at the original time of 3 p.m.
 
FIRST PITCH

• Little Rock holds a 4-2 series lead over Texas State.
• The Trojans will start Matt McDowell, a pitcher to be named and Cory Malcom this weekend.
• Little Rock maintains the second-best batting average in the conference at .299.
• The Trojans have earned at least seven hits in 30 of its 32 games this season.
• One victory this weekend will match last year's overall win total.
• A Sun Belt series win would give Little Rock it's fourth of the year, the most since 2014.
• A sweep would give Little Rock its best record through 18 Sun Belt games in program history.
• Ryan Scott ranks second in the nation for batting average and hits, and has reached base safely in 28 straight games.
• Dalton Thomas ranks second in the Sun Belt for hits and third in batting average.
• With a combined 112 hits, Scott and Thomas are tied for the third-most hits in the nation by any duo.
• Hayden Martin ranks fifth in the nation for sacrifice bunts.

 
SCOUTING TEXAS STATE
Texas State comes into the weekend series with losses in three of its last four games. Before losing to No. 19 Rice at home on Tuesday, the Bobcats lost two out of the three in their non-conference series against Nevada at home last weekend.
 
Offensively, Texas State is hitting .289 overall and .278 in Sun Belt play. Jonathan Ortega and Granger Studdard both lead the team with a .333 batting average. Ortega leads the team with 48 RBIs and 10 doubles while Studdard leads the team with 28 walks and a .453 on-base percentage.
 
The Bobcats will throw right-handers Lucas Humpal (5-2) and Jeremy Hallonquist (3-2) on Friday before giving lefty Cory Geisler (3-0) the ball on Saturday. Texas State has a 3.76 ERA for the year and a 2.41 ERA in conference play.
 
SERIES AGAINST THE BOBCATS
Little Rock holds the series lead with Texas State at 4-2. Last season, the Trojans took two out of three at home to win the season series. The first meeting between the two programs occurred in San Marcos in 2014 as Little Rock won two out of three.
 
ON THE MOUND FOR LITTLE ROCK
Right-hander Matt McDowell (1-1) will get the start in the first game of Friday's doubleheader. McDowell took the loss in last Friday's series opener against Georgia State after throwing six innings with three strikeouts while allowing nine hits, four runs and a walk.
 
The starter for the second game of Friday's doubleheader will depend on the outcome of the first game.
 
Right-hander Cory Malcom (2-3) will make his eighth start of the year on Saturday. Malcom picked up his second win in last Saturday's 15-2 shellacking of Georgia State as he recorded a season-high six strikeouts in 5.0 innings while only allowing three hits and three walks.
 
OFFENSIVE PROWESS
Little Rock's offense continues its fantastic year at the plate with a .299 batting average, second-best in the Sun Belt. The Trojans rank third in slugging (.406), on-base percentage (.388), walks (146) and hits (316) while ranking fourth in RBIs (191), doubles (56) and total bases (441).
 
The Trojans have been patient hitters too as they rank next to least in the Sun Belt for strikeouts with 213.
 
Little Rock has helped its batting average by getting at least 10 hits in 17 of its 32 games this season and have earned at least seven hits in 30 of the 32. When outhitting opponents this season, Little Rock is 13-6.
 
A WIN AGAINST TEXAS STATE WOULD…
…ensure Little Rock stays at .500 or above in conference play entering next weekend's series at Georgia Southern. A victory would also match the Trojans' win total from last season with 16 wins.
 
A SERIES WIN AGAINST TEXAS STATE WOULD…
…be the Trojans' fourth Sun Belt series win of the season, the most since 2014. It would also be the Trojans third straight series win over Texas State. Two wins would ensure Little Rock ties the best start to conference play in program history.
 
A SWEEP OF TEXAS STATE WOULD…
…make the Trojans 11-7 in conference play, the best mark through 18 games in program history. Little Rock would be back over .500 for the year, and it would leave the Trojans just one win shy of matching last year's conference win total.
 
GREAT SCOTT!
Ryan Scott continues to knock the cover off the ball as he's second in the nation with 58 hits and has the second-best batting average at .465. Scott ranks in the top 15 nationally for on-base percentage (.546), RBIs (43), slugging (.756) and total bases (96). Scott's proficiency has allowed him to lead the Sun Belt in six different offensive categories.
 
Scott can break the program's single-season record for hits (86) if he can average just over a hit per game for the rest of the season.
 
A SEASON OF HIS OWN
Dalton Thomas is having a year to remember with the third-best batting average in the conference at .398, which ranks 49th in the nation. Thomas is just behind Scott with 53 hits (22nd in the nation) and 32 RBIs for the season. Thomas had a 21-game hitting streak, the longest of any Trojan since at least 1998.
 
Combined, Thomas and Scott have 112 hits this season, tied for the third-most among any duo in Division I.
 
GETTING DOWN THE BUNT
With 33 sacrifice bunts this season, Little Rock ranks 17th in the nation and fourth in the Sun Belt. No other Trojan has more sacrifice bunts than Hayden Martin as his 10 rank fifth in the nation and are the second-most in the Sun Belt.
 
UPCOMING CAREER MILESTONES

• Zach Baker's next RBI will be his 20th.
• Joe Corbett's next strikeout will be his 25th.
• Jarrid Garcia is three strikeouts shy of 70.
• Nik Gifford is three hits from 40.
• Kyle Kirk is two hits shy of 70.
• Cameron Knight is two RBIs short of 20.
• Cory Malcom's next out will give him 150 innings on the mound and his next strikeout will be his 120th.
• Preston Oberling is two strikeouts away from 30.
• Hunter Owens is four hits shy of 40.
• Ryan Scott is six at-bats away from 500, two runs shy of 90, and three RBIs from 80.
• Reed Willenborg's next strikeout will be his 40th.

 
ON DECK
Little Rock will return home to Gary Hogan Field on Tuesday to face Stephen F. Austin at 6 p.m. The Trojans will then take their talents to Georgia Southern for a three-game Sun Belt series in Statesboro, Ga.