| GAMES 17-19 | SOUTHERN ILLINOIS |
| Dates |
Friday, Mar. 26 - Sunday, Mar. 28 |
| Times |
Friday, Mar. 26 - 6 p.m.
Saturday, Mar. 27 - 2 p.m.
Sunday, Mar. 21 - 1 p.m. |
| Location |
Carbondale, Ill. |
| Field |
Itchy Jones Stadium |
| Records |
Little Rock (9-7, 3-0 SBC)
Southern Illinois (18-1, 3-1 MVC) |
| Listen |
TuneIn |
| Live Stats |
SIUSalukis.com |
| Twitter |
@LittleRockBSB |
| Notes |
Little Rock | Southern Illinois |
LITTLE ROCK - Little Rock takes its four-game winning streak on the road for a tough challenge, facing 22nd-ranked Southern Illinois in a weekend series at Itchy Jones Stadium in Carbondale, Illinois. There will be no video of the series, but fans can listen to each game through the Tune-In app with live stats available as well.
Last Time Out
Little Rock continued its dominance over Texas State, sweeping the Sun Belt West Division preseason favorites in a weekend series at Gary Hogan Field. The Trojans earned a walk-off 2-1 11th inning win Friday, then dominated in a 12-0 decision on Saturday. Little Rock trailed early in the Sunday finale, but outscored the Bobcats 7-2 over the final five innings to claim the sweep. Little Rock has never lost a series to Texas State, going 16-7 against the Bobcats since they joined the league in 2014.
Tying Hogan
With the weekend sweep of Texas State, head coach
Chris Curry sits at 76 Sun Belt Conference wins, moving him into a tie with Hall of Fame coach Gary Hogan for the most conference victories in program history. Curry is 76-73 all-time in league play as his .510 conference winning percentage is the highest in program history as well.
Playing With the Lead
Little Rock has taken advantage of being in front as the Trojans are 9-0 this season in games in which they have held a lead at any point in the game. On the season, Little Rock has relinquished the lead just once after it has claimed it, trailing Eastern Illinois 5-4 after a two-run Panther sixth inning on Feb. 27 before scoring once in both the sixth and seventh innings to claim the 6-5 win.
Scouting the Salukis
Southern Illinois enters the weekend as one of the nation's hottest teams, sitting at 18-1 overall and ranked 22nd nationally. The Salukis are one of the nation's best offensive teams, ranking second nationally in home runs (35) and runs (178), third in batting average (.329), slugging percentage (.561) and runs per game (9.4) and fourth in hits (217) and on base percentage (.430). SIU has eight players batting .300 or better and 11 with a slugging percentage of .500 or better. On the mound, the Salukis boast a 3.62 ERA, allowing just 68 earned runs on the season with a combined 172 strikeouts and limiting the opposition to just a .247 batting average.
All-Time Series
Little Rock and Southern Illinois have met just once previously, a 2-0 Saluki win on March 13, 2002 in San Antonio, Texas. In all, Little Rock is 20-37 all-time against current members of the Missouri Valley Conference as this weekend's series at SIU will mark the third-straight season the Trojans will face a member of the Valley.
Weather Forecast
Weather should be near ideal for the weekend series in Carbondale with mostly sunny skies forecasted through the weekend. Friday night may be slightly on the chilly side with lows in the mid 40s, but Saturday afternoon's high is looking to be in the mid 70s with Sunday afternoon in the mid 60s.
FIVE THINGS TO KNOW
1. Little Rock's offense is starting to heat up as the Trojans are now batting .283 as a team, ranking second in the Sun Belt Conference, and .348 through the first weekend of league play to sit first. During its four-game winning streak, Little Rock is batting .355 with a .566 slugging percentage and 18 extra base hits with seven starters batting .300 or better during that span.
2. A major factor in the Trojans' success has been the efficiency of the Little Rock bullpen. As a unit, the Trojan relievers have posted a 3.78 ERA this season, allowing just 29 earned runs in 69.0 innings of work with a combined 71 strikeouts as opponents are batting just .227.
3. Sophomore
Tyler Williams continues to show why he is the Sun Belt's top prospect for 2022, batting .333 on the year while leading the team in slugging percentage (.619), doubles (5), triples (2), home runs (3) and RBI (15), reaching base in every game of 2021. Over the weekend, Williams batted .429 with a .714 slugging percentage, including the walk-off home run in the bottom of the 11th on Friday.
4. Graduate transfer
Aaron Barkley has been a force out of the bullpen for the Trojans this season, posting a 4-0 record with two saves in seven appearances on the year. Over the weekend, Barkley pitched the final four innings Friday, earning the win, then came on to record the final four outs Sunday to earn the save. He is tied for fifth nationally with four wins on the year with a 1.29 ERA and 18 strikeouts.
5. Since joining the lineup in the final game of the Auburn series, senior
Kenny Rodriguez has added some firepower to the Trojan offense. Rodriguez is batting .375 with a double and a grand slam, driving in a team-high eight runs during the stretch. His first career hit was a grand slam in the fifth against the Tigers that gave Little Rock the lead, and he delivered in another bases loaded situation on Sunday, singling through the left side to add a pair of insurance runs in the 7-4 win over Texas State.
#LittleRocksTeam
