Little Rock And ORU Game Pushed to 2 p.m. Tuesday

LITTLE ROCK - Little Rock rounds out its four-game home stand with a game against Oral Roberts on Tuesday, March 27 at Gary Hogan Field. Due to possible inclement weather forecasted in the area, the start time of the game has been pushed up to 2:00 p.m.
 
Trojans to Watch For:
Chase Coker is coming off a red hot weekend at the plate going 8-for-13 with five RBIs and three runs scored in the series win over UT Arlington. He is second on the team in hitting and third in Sun Belt with a .378 average and is currently tied with a list of Trojans for the program record of triples in a season with four on the year just 23 games in.
 
Troy Alexander continues to lead the team in countless batting statistics. He is atop in batting average hitting .387 which ranks second in the Sun Belt all while also producing the team's most RBIs with 25. Alexander holds a tie in home runs with Matt Merino with five and is even with Kale Emshoff for the most doubles with nine. His total bases sits at 60 which is just two shy from the Sun Belt's highest and ranks in the top-50 nationally.
 
Matt Merino is coming off back-to-back games with a home run which he also did earlier this year when he did it in three straight games.
 
Aaron Funk will get his second start on the year for the Trojans but has seen the mound in seven appearances. He has yet to have a decision on a game and holds a 4.26 ERA.
 
The Sun Belt leader in strikeouts is held by Little Rock's own Justin Garcia with 46 in just 27.2 innings. He holds 4 saves and has appeared in 15 games all while holding a 2.60 ERA.
 
Scouting Oral Roberts:
The Golden Eagles sit at 13-9 on the year and have started off 4-2 in the Summit League. Earlier this month, Oral Roberts defeated 22nd-ranked Wichita State in Tulsa, then turned around and faced 25th-ranked Dallas Baptist in a three-game series, taking one of three from the Patriots.
 
Scheduled on the mound for Oral Roberts will be senior left-handed pitcher Taylor Varnell.
In Varnell's four starts, he is 2-0 in 19.0 innings pitched with a 2.37 ERA, giving up just 16 hits. He is a high volume strike thrower getting 26 strikeouts to his only four walks
 
Series Against Oral Roberts:
Little Rock has struggled in the past against the Oral Roberts program going 3-16 all time with the Golden Eagles winning nine of the last 10 meetings. Last season, Little Rock was swept in a season opening series at Oral Roberts and then bested in a midweek game at Gary Hogan Field. The last time the Trojans have beaten the Golden Eagles at Gary Hogan Field dates back to 1996.
 
Last Time Out:
Little Rock completed a dramatic come-from-behind victory Sunday against UT Arlington to win their third series in a row. The Trojans were down one in the eighth in when Merino hit a home run to tie it up, followed by an Emshoff double and a Coker's game-winning RBI as Justin Garcia shut down all six Mavericks he faced to get the win.
 
This came after a wild finish on Saturday when the Trojans nearly stormed back from a 15-7 deficit in the ninth inning, scoring six runs before the rally ran out in a 15-13 victory.
 
 
On Deck:
The Trojans will resume Sun Belt Conference play this weekend as they travel down to San Marcos, Texas to face Texas State for a three game series at Bobcat Ballpark. Little Rock has won three-straight series and is currently 4-2 in the Sun Belt's West Division, tied with UT Arlington for first overall, with the Bobcats one game back at 3-3.
 
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