| GAMES 14-16 | TEXAS STATE |
| Dates |
Friday, Mar. 19 - Sunday, Mar. 21 |
| Times |
Friday, Mar. 19 - 4 p.m.
Saturday, Mar. 20 - 4 p.m.
Sunday, Mar. 21 - 1 p.m. |
| Location |
Little Rock, Ark. |
| Field |
Gary Hogan Field |
| Records |
Little Rock (6-7, 0-0 SBC)
Texas State (8-10, 0-0 SBC) |
| Watch |
ESPN+
Friday | Saturday | Sunday |
| Live Stats |
StatBroadcast
Friday | Saturday | Sunday |
| Twitter |
@LittleRockBSB |
| Notes |
Little Rock | Texas State |
LITTLE ROCK - Little Rock opens its 2021 Sun Belt Conference schedule at home, hosting Texas State in a weekend series at Gary Hogan Field. Due to a cold front that has moved through the state, start times for Friday and Saturday have been pushed to 4 p.m. instead of the originally scheduled 6 p.m. Sunday's game is still scheduled for 1 p.m.
Gary Hogan Field Making ESPN+ Debut
The series against Texas State will mark Little Rock's first-ever ESPN+ broadcasts from Gary Hogan Field. The Trojans are planning on broadcasting the 12 Sun Belt Conference games as part of the league's contract with ESPN, doing all three games of the Texas State, South Alabama, Louisiana and Appalachian State series.
Patrick Walsh will handle the call of the Friday and Saturday games against the Bobcats with
Jonathan Farrar calling the action on Sunday.
Last Time Out
After falling in the first two games at Auburn, Little Rock responded with 11 runs and 14 hits over the final five innings to rally past the Tigers 12-6 at Plainsman Park Sunday. It was a stark contrast to the beginning of the series when Little Rock managed just one run and eight hits in the first 22 innings against Auburn, being shut out 7-0 Friday and 6-0 Saturday.
Another Year in the Belt
2021 marks Little Rock's 30th year as a member of the Sun Belt Conference, joining the league in the 1992 season. The Trojans have posted an all-time league mark of 268-477, but are 73-73 in conference play since head coach
Chris Curry took the reigns of the program. Picked fourth in the west in the preseason poll, the Trojans are coming off a program-best 18-11 mark in Sun Belt play in 2019, the most conference wins in program history.
Scouting the Bobcats
Texas State is 8-10 on the season heading into the weekend, coming off a dominating 16-5 win over Rice Wednesday night in San Marcos. The Bobcats dropped a weekend series against Houston, going 1-2, and have wins over #9 TCU, Sam Houston State and BYU. Texas State's batters are hitting .277 on the season, second in the Sun Belt, while ranking first in runs scored, runs batted in and triples and second in home runs. The Bobcats have six players hitting .300 or better, led by Justin Thompson's .418 average with 28 hits and 21 RBI, both of which lead the league. On the mound, Texas State has a 5.81 ERA with opponents batting .244 and a combined 155 strikeouts, led by 26 from Friday starter Zachary Leigh.
Series History
Little Rock is 13-7 all-time against Texas State since the Bobcats joined the Sun Belt in 2014. The Trojans are 6-3 against the Bobcats at Gary Hogan Field, winning four of the last five meetings in Little Rock. Head coach
Chris Curry has always found success against Texas State, posting an 11-6 mark against the Bobcats since joining the program in 2015. He has never lost a series to Texas State, going 2-1 in 2015, 2017, 2018 and 2019 while sweeping the three-game series in 2016.
Weather Forecast
The forecast for the weekend is looking very good for baseball as rain should not be an issue for the series. Friday is calling for highs in the upper 50s with Saturday's high in the lower 60s. Lows for both nights are expected to be in the upper 30s to low 40s, hence the reason for the shift in game times to 4 p.m. Sunday should be perfect baseball weather - sunny and highs in the mid 60s.
FIVE THINGS TO KNOW
1. Heading into this weekend's series against Texas State, Little Rock head coach
Chris Curry has posted 73 Sun Belt Conference victories and has a .500 winning percentage in league play. He sits three wins shy of matching Hall of Fame coach Gary Hogan for the most conference victories as his .500 winning percentage in conference games is already tops in program history.
2. Sophomore center fielder
Tyler Williams is building on the success of his freshman season. The top Sun Belt prospect for 2022 by D1 Baseball, Williams leads the Trojans in slugging percentage (.592), runs batted in (13), doubles (four), triples (two), home runs (two) and total bases (29). Williams was home run shy of hitting for the cycle Sunday at Auburn, going 3-for-5 with four RBI and has reached base in all 13 games this season.
3. Since joining the starting lineup in the Eastern Illinois series, senior
Jorden Hussein has been a key member of the Trojan lineup. He leads the team with a .429 batting average and has at least one hit in eight of the 10 games, including five multi-hit games. Hussein went 3-for-5 in the Sunday win over Auburn, scoring three times and ranking second on the team with eight runs.
4. Graduate transfer
Aaron Barkley has been a force out of the bullpen for the Trojans this season, posting a 3-0 record with a save in five appearances on the year. Barkley has posted a1.72 ERA in 15.2 innings pitched with 14 strikeouts, building on the 136 Ks he had in two seasons at Mississippi Valley State. Barkley pitched the final 4.2 innings at Auburn Sunday, earning the win for Little Rock after retiring 11 of the first 12 batters he faced.
5. Junior
Nathan Lyons' bat is starting to heat up for the Trojans as the Bentonville native enters the weekend with a team-best five game hitting streak while his eight-straight games of reaching base is second to
Tyler Williams' 13. Lyons ranks third on the team with a .349 average with four doubles, tied with Williams and
Eldrige Figueroa for the team lead.
#LittleRocksTeam
