Trojans Open Natural State Stretch Hosting Golden Lions Wednesday

GAME 20 | ARKANSAS-PINE BLUFF
Date	Wednesday, Mar. 31
Time	4 p.m.
Location	Little Rock, Ark.
Field	Gary Hogan Field
Records	Little Rock (11-8, 3-0 SBC) UA Pine Bluff (2-13, 2-5 SWAC)
Live Stats	StatBroadcast
Twitter	@LittleRockBSB

LITTLE ROCK – Little Rock returns home for a quick midweek showdown with in-state foe Arkansas-Pine Bluff, facing the Golden Lions Wednesday at 4 p.m. at Gary Hogan Field. The game was moved from Tuesday, March 30, due to the forecasted rain in the central Arkansas area.
 
Last Time Out
The Trojans are coming off a big road series victory, taking two of three from 22nd-ranked Southern Illinois in Carbondale. The two teams battled to six ties and seven lead changes over the weekend with the Salukis taking game one 10-7, followed by 11-5 Little Rock victories on Saturday and Sunday. It was Southern Illinois' first series defeat of the season and the Trojans' first series win over a ranked opponent since defeating 24th-ranked Coastal Carolina in 2019.
 
Back at Home
Little Rock returns to Gary Hogan Field where the Trojans are 5-2 this season. Little Rock has posted a winning mark at home in six of head coach Chris Curry's seven seasons, registering 80 wins on its home turf during that span.
 
Scouting the Golden Lions
Arkansas-Pine Bluff is 2-13 on the year heading into the week, losing three over the weekend to Southern in Frisco, Texas. The Golden Lions are batting .236 as a team with a .357 slugging percentage, led by Edwin DeLaCruz's .389 average. Nick Kreutzer leads the team in both home runs (three) and RBI (10), batting .333. The pitching staff has a 13.40 ERA over 88.0 innings pitched with 69 strikeouts and 107 walks with opponents batting .349.
 
Series History
Little Rock is 21-4 all-time against UAPB, winning the last two meetings – a 12-3 decision in 2019 and a 12-6 victory in 2018, both of which were in Little Rock. The Trojans are 17-1 against the Golden Lions in Little Rock, dating back to the start of the series in 1997.
 
Trojans Against the SWAC
Little Rock has seen success against the Southwestern Athletic Conference, posting a 126-31 (.803) record against current members of the league. The Trojans' last game against a member of the conference came in 2020, a 6-4 win over Grambling State at Gary Hogan Field on February 19.
 
FIVE THINGS TO KNOW

1. Little Rock has taken advantage of being in front as the Trojans are 11-1 this season in games in which they have held a lead at any point in the game. Little Rock's lone loss in which it held a lead was the 10-7 defeat to 22nd-ranked Southern Illinois on Mar. 26. The Trojans jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the second, then fell behind and tied the game on three occasions before giving up three runs in the eighth to suffer the setback.

2. The series win over 22nd-ranked Southern Illinois vaulted the Trojans in the latest RPI poll as Little Rock jumped 90 spots with the series win, going from number 148 to number 58 over the weekend. The Trojans currently sit at number 57 in the latest RPI rankings heading into its game against Arkansas-Pine Bluff.

3. Little Rock has been efficient against the Natural State in recent years as the Trojans have won 10-straight against in-state foes. Little Rock's last defeat against a Natural State opponent was the 4-1 loss to Arkansas State at Gary Hogan Field on May 18, 2018. The Trojans were 8-0 against teams from the state of Arkansas in 2019, including defeating all four in-state teams.

4. Aaron Barkley continues to be a force out of the bullpen for the Trojans, picking up a win Sunday against Southern Illinois after pitching the final 4.0 innings. His five wins on the year are tied for third nationally as Barkley is 43rd nationally in strikeout-to-walk ratio at 7.67.

5. Little Rock's bats remained hot over the weekend as the team batted .349 against the Salukis with 12 extra base hits. Little Rock scored 16 runs in the seventh inning or later and scored three or more runs in three differrent innings in Carbondale, upping its season total to 16 innings of scoring three or more runs. The Trojans scored six times in the ninth on Saturday, tying its fifth inning at Auburn for the most runs scored in an inning in 2021.

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