Trojans Ready for Second Consecutive SBC Tournament

Game 55: Little Rock vs. Texas State
Date	Tuesday, May 23, 2017
Time	5:30 p.m. (CT)
Location	Statesboro, Ga.
Stadium	J.I. Clements Stadium
Stats	StatBroadcast
Video	WatchESPN/ESPN3
Full Notes	Little Rock | Texas State

LITTLE ROCK – For the first time since the 2000 and 2001 seasons, ninth-seeded Little Rock baseball will be making its second consecutive Sun Belt Conference Tournament appearance when it faces eighth-seeded Texas State on Tuesday at 5:30 p.m. (CT), at J.I. Clements Stadium in Statesboro, Georgia.
 
Every game of the tournament will air live on WatchESPN/ESPN3.
 
The Trojans (21-33, 11-18 Sun Belt) last faced the Bobcats (27-29, 13-17) on April 7-9 at Gary Hogan Field and came away with a series win. The series victory was the fourth consecutive against Texas State — something Little Rock had never accomplished against any Sun Belt opponent. Little Rock has the all-time series lead against Texas State at 9-3.
 
The Trojans will throw senior right-hander Cory Malcom (4-5, 3.53 ERA) on Tuesday night. Not only will Malcom be looking for the win, he'll also be looking to break the program's single-season strikeout record. At 102 Ks for the year, Malcom is just seven away from breaking the current record of 108 set by Brad Cherry in 2003. In his last start against the Bobcats, Malcom struck out 11.
 
The Bobcats will go with freshman right-hander Nicholas Fraze (5-2, 4.71 ERA). Fraze took the no-decision against Little Rock in the series finale on April 9 and threw 6.1 innings, struck out four and allowed three runs on six hits and two walks.
 

• A win for Little Rock would be its first in the Sun Belt Conference Tournament since defeating No. 2 FIU in 2011's championship game as the No. 8 seed.
• A win would put the Trojans into the double-elimination portion of the tournament, and they would face Coastal Carolina or UT Arlington on Wednesday.
• Little Rock has won five of the last six game against Texas State.
• This will be the first meeting between the Trojans and Bobcats in the Sun Belt Conference Tournament.
• Little Rock has an all-time record of 8-14 at the Sun Belt Conference Tournament and will be making its 10th appearance at the tournament.
• Little Rock finished the regular season with the most doubles in the Sun Belt at 109 while Dalton Thomas accounted for a league-leading 20.
• Hunter Owens comes into the tournament with the ninth-best batting average in the league at .330.
• Riley Pittman's 15-game hitting streak is the longest by a Little Rock player this season.
• The Trojans' pitching staff broke the single-season record for strikeouts this past weekend at Arkansas State as they tallied 456 for the year. The previous record of 438 was set in 2003.
• Cory Malcom is seven strikeouts away from breaking the program's single-season record of 108 set by Brad Cherry in 2003.
• This is the first time since the 2000 and 2001 seasons that Little Rock has advanced to two consecutive Sun Belt Conference Tournaments.
• Shortstop Zach Baker has made 108 consecutive starts since joining the team last season.