LITTLE ROCK — Little Rock baseball continues its four game road trip to the start of the 2018 season at Central Arkansas for the first game of the Rock "n" Roar Rivalry series on Tuesday at 4 p.m. at Bear Stadium.
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ROCK "n" ROAR RIVALRY
This is game one of a three-part series that will be played throughout the season. Game two will be in early-April at Gary Hogan Field while the final game will be played at Dickey Stephens Park in North Little Rock on May 15. This in-state rivalry has seen 75 meetings with the Bears edging out the Trojans 31-43-1. The Trojans will be looking for a road victory at Bear Stadium, a place that has not fared well for Little Rock in recent years. The last time the Trojans won in Conway dates back to 2011. Last season they split the first two games before facing off at Gary Hogan Field, but the Bears took the series with a 5-1 win. In the last 10 meetings between the two, the Bears have had the Trojans number winning seven of those meetings.
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LAST TIME OUT
The Trojans started off the season in Cookeville, Tenn. where they dropped the season opening series 1-2 to Tennessee Tech. In game one, the Trojans found an early lead, but after a big third inning from the Golden Eagles and a disappearance from the Trojan bats, they would lose 3-7. Saturday saw some inclement weather, forcing a doubleheader on Sunday to close the series. In game one of the doubleheader, the combination of the bullpen with the stellar hitting from the bottom of the lineup led the Trojans to a 7-4 victory to the even series. Tennessee Tech would really show its offensive firepower in game three of the series with some explosive bats taking down Little Rock 7-17 and claiming the series.
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PREVIEWING THE BEARS
2017-2018: 1-2 overall, 0-0 Southland Conference, 1-2 at home.
Last Series Out: vs. Northern Illinois, W 3-2 in game one, L 3-6 in game two, L 4-9 in game three
Hitting Leader: Tyler Smith — .545 BA, 2 RBI, 3 runs, .727 SLG%
Pitching Leader: Tyler Gray —  3.00 ERA, 6.0 IP, 5 hits, 7 Ks, 3 BBs,
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UCA LAST OUTING
Central Arkansas opened their season at home with a 3-2 victory in game one against Northern Illinois. After giving up two runs in the first inning of that game, the Bears pitching staff shutout the Huskies the rest of the game. In game two, the score was tied heading into the eighth when the Huskies scored three unanswered runs to win and even the series. The Huskies sealed the series victory with a 9-4 win over the Bears in game three. The Bears offense over the weekend was lead behind first baseman Tyler Smith who had a .545 batting average and two RBIs off 11 appearances at the plate.
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WEEKEND LOOK AHEAD
Little Rock have their home-opening series against Fort Wayne with a Friday evening game starting at 3 p.m., a doubleheader on Saturday beginning at 1 p.m. and then the series closer on Sunday at 1 p.m.
