Trojans Head to Stephen F. Austin for Midweek Matchup

Game 42: Little Rock at Stephen F. Austin
May 3
Nacogdoches, Texas • Jaycees Field
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LITTLE ROCK – Little Rock baseball (21-20) will travel to Stephen F. Austin (23-21) for its next-to-last non-conference game of the regular season on Tuesday night at 6:30 p.m., in Nacogdoches, Texas.
 
FIRST PITCH

• Right-hander Joe Corbett will make his ninth start for Little Rock on Tuesday.
• Ryan Scott is on the cusp of breaking three program records.
• Scott's batting average of .448 ranks second in the nation.
• Little Rock is the best hitting team in the Sun Belt with a combined batting average of .298.
• Dalton Thomas ranks second in the conference for batting average and hits.
• The Trojans are the 20th-best team in the country for sacrifice bunts.
• Hayden Martin ranks 11th in the nation for sac bunts.
• Little Rock's 13 saves rank second in the Sun Belt.
• A win against Stephen F. Austin would be Little Rock's third straight in Nacogdoches.

 
SCOUTING STEPHEN F. AUSTIN
The Lumberjacks come into Tuesday's game with a four-game winning streak. SFA swept Abilene Christian in Southland Conference action this weekend after taking a 6-2 win against ULM last Tuesday.
 
SFA is hitting the ball well this season with a combined .301 batting average and has six players hitting over .300 for the season. Connor Fikes, Garrett McMullen and Kyle Thornell lead the team with averages of .359, .358 and .357, respectively.
 
On the mound for the Lumberjacks will be lefty Eric Polivka (2-2). Polivka holds a 7.04 ERA in 30.2 innings with opponents hitting .366 against him this season. SFA's entire pitching staff has an ERA of 5.34.
 
SERIES AGAINST STEPHEN F. AUSTIN
Little Rock holds a 9-8 series lead over Stephen F. Austin. However, the Lumberjacks have won the past two meetings, both at Gary Hogan Field.
 
This will be the Trojans first time playing in Nacogdoches since 2013, but they have won the past two meetings there. Little Rock is 4-4 all-time when playing at Stephen F. Austin.
 
ON THE MOUND FOR LITTLE ROCK
Right-handed freshman Joe Corbett (3-1) will make his ninth start of the season on Tuesday. Corbett took his first loss in the second game of Little Rock's doubleheader against Tennessee Tech on Saturday after pitching 1.2 innings in relief. Corbett will be in pursuit of his fourth win after last picking up a victory against No. 16 Louisiana on March 20.
 
CHASING HISTORY
It should come as no surprise that Ryan Scott is on the cusp of making history at Little Rock after the season he's had. With 11 regular season games to go and a possible trip to the Sun Belt Conference tournament, Scott is just 14 hits shy of breaking the school record for hits in a single season with 73 (seventh nationally). If Scott does in fact break the record, it would take down a record that has stood for 20 years. Former Trojan Greg Taylor set the mark in 1996 as he earned 86 hits for the season.
 
Scott's batting average of .448, second-best in the nation, is currently 33 points higher than Taylor's program record of .415. With 37 doubles for his career, Scott is just five away from breaking the all-time record at Little Rock.
 
While leading the Sun Belt in six different categories, Scott also ranks eighth nationally in slugging (.718), ninth in on-base percentage (.526), 14th in total bases (117), 16th in RBIs per game (1.22), 23rd in runs per game (1.12) and 24th in RBIs (50).
 
OFFENSIVE JUGGERNAUTS
Little Rock's combined batting average of .298 is the best in the Sun Belt Conference and ranks 48th nationally. The Trojans are also the best scoring club in the conference with an average of 6.6 runs per game, ranking 52nd in the country.
 
Little Rock ranks second in the Sun Belt for double per game (1.83), third for runs scored (272), third for on-base percentage (.384), third for slugging (.411) and fourth for hits (415).
 
A SEASON OF HIS OWN
Dalton Thomas has had a season of his own to remember as the junior has the second-best batting average in the Sun Belt at .397 and ranks 31st nationally. Thomas' 69 hits also rank second in the conference and 17th nationally.
 
MAKING A SACRIFICE
Little Rock ranks 20th nationally with 43 sacrifice bunts this season. Hayden Martin has been the Trojans' best option for sacrifice bunts with 12 this season, ranking second in the Sun Belt and 11th nationally.
 
CLOSING TIME
The Trojans' bullpen has 13 saves for the season, tied for second in the Sun Belt. In conference action, Little Rock is tied for the most saves with nine.
 
A WIN AGAINST STEPHEN F. AUSTIN WOULD…
…be the Trojans' third straight win against the Lumberjacks in Nacogdoches and would extend Little Rock's series lead to 10-8.
 
UPCOMING CAREER MILESTONES

• Zach Baker's next RBI will be his 20th.
• Joe Corbett is three strikeouts shy of 30 and his next out will give him 40 innings on the mound this season.
• Cody Daylor's next strikeout will be his 30th.
• Jarrid Garcia's next strikeout will be his 70th and two more innings on the mound will give him 80.
• Nik Gifford is two hits shy of 50.
• Hayden Martin's next hit will be his 75th.
• Ryan Scott's next at-bat will give him 531, ranking sixth all-time. He is also three runs short of 100.
• Dalton Thomas' next hit will be his 70th.

 
ON DECK
Little Rock returns to Sun Belt action this weekend as it hosts seventh-place UT Arlington in a three-game series beginning on Friday at 6 p.m., at Gary Hogan Field.