LR Opens SBC Tournament Vs. Georgia Southern

Games 53: No. 3 Little Rock vs. No. 6 Georgia Southern
May 24
San Marcos, Texas • Bobcat Ballpark
Live Video | Live Stats | Game Notes

SAN MARCOS, Texas – In its first Sun Belt Conference Tournament since 2013, No. 3 Little Rock (26-26, 17-13 Sun Belt) will face No. 6 Georgia Southern (33-23, 16-14 Sun Belt) in the tournament opener at 9 a.m., on Wednesday at Bobcat Ballpark on the campus of Texas State. Wednesday's game can be viewed online at SunBeltSports.org, and beginning Thursday, all other Sun Belt Tournament games will be aired on ESPN3.
 
FIRST PITCH

• Little Rock returns to the Sun Belt Conference Tournament after a three-year absence.
• Little Rock will face Georgia Southern in a conference tournament for the first time since 1990.
• Matt McDowell will get the start for the Trojans.
• Ryan Scott is a semifinalist for the Dick Howser Trophy and the Gregg Olson Award.
• Scott is the nation's second-best hitter at .433.
• Little Rock's .305 batting average ranks first in the Sun Belt and 25th in the nation.
• Six Trojans are currently hitting over .300 for the year.
• A win on Wednesday would be the Trojan's first Sun Belt Tournament win since winning the tournament in 2011.
• Little Rock set a record for Sun Belt wins and recorded its best regular-season finish in program history after being picked ninth in the preseason.
• Scott is three RBIs shy of breaking Little Rock's single-season record.

 
SCOUTING GEORGIA SOUTHERN
The Eagles finished up the regular season by taking two of three games against Georgia State at home. After Little Rock took care of business in Statesboro, Georgia Southern went 9-6 overall and 6-3 in conference play to finish the regular season.
 
Offensively, the Eagles are hitting .256 for the year, ranking ninth in the Sun Belt. They're led by Logan Baldwin, who is hitting .306 for the year with team highs for hits (68) and stolen bases (16). Perhaps the most powerful bat in the Eagles' lineup belongs to Ryan Cleveland with a .296 batting average, 17 doubles, 15 home runs and 54 RBIs.
 
On the mound for Georgia Southern will be left-hander Evan Challenger (6-4). Challenger went 5.2 innings with six strikeouts while allowing four hits, two runs and three walks in a no-decision against Little Rock on April 22. He has a 3.05 ERA in a team-high 91.1 innings and leads the team with 67 strikeouts.
 
SERIES AGAINST GEORGIA SOUTHERN
Little Rock took two of three from the Eagles in late April in Statesboro. After losing the series opener by a run, the Trojans took the second game 3-2 and won the series finale 17-8. Georgia Southern still owns the all-time series 15-6.
 
The last time Little Rock and Georgia Southern met each other in a conference tournament was in 1990 when both were still members of the Trans America Athletic Conference.
 
ON THE MOUND FOR LITTLE ROCK
Matt McDowell (4-2) will get the start for Little Rock in the tournament opener. In his last start against the Eagles, McDowell went 5.1 innings with two strikeouts while allowing just a run on six hits and a walk. Of Little Rock's starting pitchers, McDowell has the lowest ERA at 4.26, and he has went 7.0 innings in each of his last three starts.
 
BACK AGAIN
Little Rock returns to the Sun Belt Conference Tournament for the first time since 2013, and it will be the ninth overall appearance for the Trojans since joining the conference in 1992.
 
In 2013, Little Rock took an early exit after falling to South Alabama and FIU. The Trojans were more successful two years earlier as they entered the tournament as the No. 8-seed and won the whole thing for the first time in program history.
 
DICK HOWSER TROPHY SEMIFINALIST
Ryan Scott's record-breaking season continues as he is now on numerous national award watch lists. Last week, Scott was named a semifinalist for the Dick Howser Trophy, given annually to the best player in collegiate baseball. He became the first Trojan in program history to be named a semifinalist for the award.
 
Scott was also named a semifinalist for the Gregg Olson Award, given annually to college baseball's breakout player of the year.
 
In April, Scott was named to USA Baseball's Golden Spikes Award Midseason Watch List, becoming the second Little Rock player to be named to the award's watch list in program history.
 
At 90 hits for the year, Scott has already broken the Little Rock single-season record, and with 43 doubles for his career, he has broken the program's all-time record. With the nation's second-best batting average at .433, Scott is also in line to break former Trojan Greg Taylor's single-season batting average record of .415.
 
SWING AWAY!
Little Rock remains the best-hitting club in the Sun Belt as the Trojans' team average now sits at .305 for the season, ranking 25th in the nation. Little Rock is also first in the Sun Belt for hits runs (357), slugging percentage (.432), on-base percentage (.389), runs per game (6.9) and doubles per game (2.08). Little Rock's hitters have the second-fewest strikeouts in the league this season at 341. Little Rock has accomplished all this while taking the third-fewest at-bats in the Sun Belt with 1,792.
 
Helping Little Rock's batting average is six players hitting over the .300 mark for the season in Scott (.433), Dalton Thomas (.386), Hayden Martin (.324), Cameron Knight (.323), Ty Gunter (.311) and Nik Gifford (.303).
 
MAKING SACRIFICES
Senior Hayden Martin has been the Trojans' go-to guy for sacrifice bunts this season as he leads the Sun Belt with 15. His 15 rank eighth in the nation and are a Little Rock single-season record. With his 26 for his career, Martin is Little Rock's all-time record holder with 26.
 
A WIN AGAINST GEORGIA SOUTHERN WOULD…
…be the Trojans' first Sun Belt Tournament win since winning the championship in 2011. Little Rock would then face No. 2 South Alabama or No. 7 UT Arlington at 4 p.m., on Thursday.  It would also be the Trojans' third straight win over the Eagles.
 
QUITE THE TURNAROUND
After being picked to finish ninth in the Sun Belt preseason poll, Little Rock finished third in the regular-season standings, its highest finish in program history. The Trojans' highest finish before this season was in 2000 as Little Rock came in fourth. This year, Little Rock tallied a program-record 17 Sun Belt wins.
 
UPCOMING CAREER MILESTONES

• Nik Gifford is just two runs away from 40.
• Ty Gunter is two RBIs from 30 and two hits from 40.
• Cameron Knight is two RBIs shy of 30.
• Cory Malcom is two strikeouts shy of 160.
• Matt McDowell's next out will give him 70 innings on the mound.
• Ryan Scott is just three RBIs away from recording 100 for his career. At 63 RBIs for the season, three more would also break the single-season record for RBIs (65).
• Dalton Thomas is four hits away from 90.
• Reed Willenborg is two strikeouts shy of 50.

 
ON DECK
Depending on how Wednesday goes, Little Rock will play either South Alabama or Troy on Thursday.