LITTLE ROCK - Little Rock enters the 2020 baseball season with high expectations, built on the sustained growth of the program the past five seasons under the leadership of head coach Chris Curry.
The Trojans are coming off a 29-win season, the most for the program since 2010 and the fourth-most in a season. Little Rock won18 Sun Belt games, a new program record, and finished with the second-best finish in the league. The Trojans also qualified for the Sun Belt tournament for the fourth-straight year, also a program record.
Its easy to see why optimism is the name of the 2020 campaign, although it will come with some challenges. The success of last season came at the cost of experience as the Trojans will have to replace seven regular starters and nine pitchers from 2019. But for Curry, he is excited about the foundation that has been set by the successes of the last few seasons as he keeps a focus on the larger goals for the program.
"What consumes me is making it to a (NCAA) regional and doing the things that will make it possible for us to be there ," Curry said. "I think this team has learned what it takes to have a great regular season, so now the next part of the process is making it to a regional and learning the small things that it takes to put is in that position."
CATCHERS
One of the biggest storylines heading into Little Rock's 2020 season is the return of catcher Kale Emshoff. The redshirt junior missed the entire 2019 season recovering from Tommy John surgery, but remained active handling first base coaching duties as well as mentoring young players.
Emshoff's return is already starting to be felt as he was named to the Sun Belt's preseason All-Conference team. In 2018, he started all 56 games behind the plate and batted .273 with 26 RBI as well as a .988 fielding percentage. But the impact he continues to make off the field is one that has set him apart.
"Kale and I had a conversation before the season where he expressed to me that he felt he hadn't done all he could do for the program and wanted to come back and play his best year as a Trojan," said Curry. "The leadership and the loyalty he has shown since day one arriving on campus will mean the world to me and my staff and I think he's poised to have a phenomenal year."
Depth will also be an option for Curry as the Trojans return a pair of experienced catchers in seniors Ramon Padilla and Josh Nowak. Padilla started 33 of the 36 games he played in, serving as the Trojans primary catcher in the second half of the season. He batted .254 with 21 RBI and 20 runs scored, posting a .990 fielding percentage.
Nowak was a constant in the first half of the season, playing in 27 games with a .250 average and nine RBI. His .993 fielding percentage was tied for the highest on the team among position players.
A pair of newcomers will bolster the depth at catcher with the additions of junior college transfers Houston Parker (Meridian C.C.) and John Michael Russ (Northeast Texas C.C.).
INFIELDERS
The biggest question mark heading into the 2020 season arguably will be among the Trojan infield as Little Rock will need to replace 66% of its start from last season from a senior-laden class consisting of first team All-Sun Belt selection and program home run king Riley Pittman, along with James Gann, Nick Perez, Christian Reyes and Chase Coker.
One of the key returners will be preseason All-Sun Belt third baseman Garrett Scott, who started 38 games at third base, along with 10 at catcher. Scott hit .240 with 27 RBI and 12 doubles for the Trojans from the plate.
Eldrige Figueroa is also expected to shift back into the infield for the Trojans in 2020 after spending the majority of last season in center field. Figueroa was consistent at the plate, batting .259 with 41 hits and 12 RBI, and will also be the top returning base stealing threat after swiping seven bases in 2019.
Other key returners across the infield for the Trojans will be Miguel Soto and Nathan Lyons, both of which gained valuable experience last season. Soto started 11 games at short and two games each at second and third while Lyons started nine games late in the season at second as the two combined for 16 hits and 14 RBI.
With the lack of returning experience, the Trojans will rely on a handful of newcomers to help step up and fill the vacated void. A pair of junior transfers in Kobe Barnum and Tucker Childers should both factor heavily into the Trojan lineup this spring at first base.
They will be joined by fellow transfers Jorden Hussein, Ty Riche and Reed Shepherd, along with freshmen Christian Bernabe and Will Spears - all of which will have opportunities to make an impact early.
OUTFIELDERS
No position on the field will have more new faces for the Trojans than the outfield as Little Rock lost a pair of every day starters in Troy Alexander and Ryan Benavidez. With Figueroa making the switch to the infield, Little Rock is looking at three brand new starters when the first pitch of 2020 is thrown.
Curry addressed the need with a pair of JUCO transfers and a talented freshman. Tim Dixon and Kenny Rodriguez head to Little Rock from Florida after spending time as teammates at Seminole State College.
They will be joined by freshman Tyler Williams out of the Atlanta area who is already making a name for himself as arguably the fastest player on the team.
The depth in the outfield will also be aided by Keegan Westbrook, a transfer from Meridian College, who will be looked to to help provide relief out of the bullpen as well when needed.
PITCHERS
It's always a major challenge for any program when a team has to replace its Friday starter, especially one that has been in the rotation for the past three seasons. That is the task Little Rock will face in 2020 in replacing Chandler Fidel, a first team All-Sun Belt selection that left Little Rock among the program's all-time greats in wins, strikeouts and innings pitched.
Luckily for Little Rock, three players still remain that have a number of collegiate starts between them in Hayden Arnold, Jose Torres and Aaron Funk. Arnold is the most experienced pitcher returning for the Trojans, pitching 69.0 innings over 20 appearances with 10 starts, notching a 4.17 ERA with 68 strikeouts, and is expected to challenge for the role of the Trojans' Friday starter.
Torres made 14 starts in 2019 with 65.0 innings pitched, striking out 59 with a 5.40 ERA. He, along with Funk, will compete for a spot in the weekend rotation as Funk is looking to build off a strong showing in summer ball this offseason.
A number of other returners will look to assume important roles either in the rotation or out of the bullpen. Dillon Delgadillo was a solid addition to the Trojans in primarily a set-up role in 2019, posting a 3.56 ERA in 26 appearances with 34 strikeouts and a pair of saves.
Eli Sievert saw limited action in 2019 but made the most of his 3.1 innings pitched, striking out three and not allowing an earned run. He had impressive performances during the fall season and both coach Curry and pitching coach R.D. Spiehs expect him to battle for a spot either in the weekend rotation or the midweek starter role.
Ty Gordon is the only other Trojan that saw significant action out of the bullpen last season, making 14 appearances with a pair of starts, and posting a 3-1 record. He struck out 18 and posted a 4.43 ERA in his first season.
Following the old adage that you can never have enough arms, Little Rock loaded up with a balance of junior college transfers as well as freshmen in the offseason. Among the JUCO transfers are Cal Beardsley (Salt Lake C.C.), Cole Evans (Seward County C.C.), Austin Smith (Howard College), Gage Trahan (LSU-Eunice), Luke Wallner (Meridian) and Westbrook, all of which saw progress and strong performances during the fall season.
They will be looked to to help mentor pair of true freshmen on the staff, compiled of Calvin Hunt and Erik McKnight. Curry and Spiehs both have been impressed with their velocity and control and mentioned the potential for both of them to possibly work their way into significant roles right off the bat.
"What I like about our pitching staff this season is the mix we have up and down the board," Curry said. "We've got some young freshmen with explosive arms and a tremendous amount of potential, interwoven with a number of seasoned junior college transfers and upperclassmen that have been in those big game situations. In a league as competitive as the Sun Belt, we will need all of those in various situations to help either fill in five innings or face five batters."
THE SCHEDULE
As the Trojans get set to embark on the 2020 campaign, it knows it will once again face a challenging slate with no "gimmie" games against some of the region's best programs. Which is exactly how Curry wants it.
"In building this schedule, we did it to help us prepare for the grind of Sun Belt play, and hopefully, ultimately, for an NCAA regional," said Curry. "With over 20 new players, it will be a test right out of the gate, and they will have to learn their roles quickly. We're not here to rack up easy wins. We're here to face quality teams that will challenge us and hopefully help prepare us to be able to play in a regional come June."
In all, the Trojans will face six teams that qualified for the NCAA tournament last season, including a Super Regional program and a College World Series participant.
The challenge begins right off the bat with an opening weekend series against Illinois State at Gary Hogan Field against a Redbird team that came within a whisker of knocking off preseason number one Louisville and advancing to a Super Regional in 2019.
The Trojans will also have non-conference road tests at NCAA Regional foes McNeese (Feb. 22-23) and Southern Miss (March 6-8), along with Super Regional opponent Oklahoma State (Feb. 25-26) in Stillwater.
One year after making history, Little Rock will make a return trip to Baum-Walker Stadium in Fayetteville on April 7 to take on a Razorback team that made its second-straight College World Series appearance in 2019.
Little Rock will also renew its Governor's I-40 Showdown rivalry with Central Arkansas with another three game series, including one game in Conway (April 14), one at Gary Hogan Field (April 21) and the finale at Dickey-Stephens Park in North Little Rock (May 5).
Those games were designed to prepare the Trojans for another challenging Sun Belt schedule against what is shaping up to be one of the deepest leagues in recent memory. The Trojans' five home series include the preseason favorites to win both the west (UT Arlington, Mar. 13-15) and east divisions (South Alabama, May 1-3), as well as showdowns with Appalachian State (Mar. 27-29), ULM (Apr. 9-11) and rival Arkansas State (May 14-16).
The road slate for the Trojans will be a tall order as well, beginning with trips to Troy (Mar. 20-22) and Georgia State (Apr. 3-5). Little Rock's final three road series will all be against league contenders, traveling to Louisiana (Apr. 17-19), Texas State (Apr. 25-26) and reigning tournament champion Coastal Carolina (May 8-10).
Little Rock aims to qualify for the Sun Belt Conference Championship for the fifth-straight year in 2020, which would extend the program record. This year's tournament will be in Montgomery, Alabama, with a new pool-play format, one which will bring a new and exciting element in the quest to qualify for the NCAA tournament.
Which at the end of the day is the ultimate goal for coach Curry and his staff as they look to take the Trojan baseball program to the next level.
"We are year-in and year-out a competitor in the league, something we weren't a few years ago," Curry said. "Now the next step is to put ourselves in the best position we can to make a deep run in both the Sun Belt tournament and ultimately on to the NCAA Regional. That is the sole focus for this team this season."
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Season tickets for the 2020 Little Rock baseball season are now on sale by contacting the Trojan Ticket Office at 501-565-8257. Little Rock plays 26 home games at Gary Hogan Field this season, beginning this weekend with a three-game series against Illinois State February 14-16.
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