First Place at Stake as Trojans Host Ragin' Cajuns in Weekend Series

GAMES 34-36 | LOUISIANA
Dates	Friday, Apr. 23 - Sunday, Apr. 25
Times	Friday, Apr. 23 - 2 p.m. Saturday, Apr. 24 - 6 p.m. Sunday, Apr. 25 - 1 p.m.
Location	Little Rock, Ark.
Field	Gary Hogan Field
Records	Little Rock (16-17, 7-5 SBC) Louisiana (21-15, 7-5 SBC)
Watch	ESPN+ Friday | Saturday | Sunday
Live Stats	StatBroadcast Friday | Saturday | Sunday
Twitter	@LittleRockBSB
Notes	Little Rock | Louisiana

LITTLE ROCK - Little Rock returns to Gary Hogan Field with a crucial weekend series, welcoming Louisiana to Gary Hogan Field in a battle for first place. The Trojans and Ragin' Cajuns are scheduled to play three games, beginning Friday at 2 p.m. in a game that was moved up due to the expected rain later that evening. Saturday's game is slated for a 6 p.m. first pitch with the series finale scheduled for 1 p.m. as all three games will be streamed on ESPN+.

This weekend's series is Fan Appreciation Weekend with activities scheduled throughout the weekend. Little Rock baseball logo laptop stickers will be handed out at the gate and yard games will be available for Saturday's game with Loblolly ice cream making an appearance at Gary Hogan Field on Sunday.

Due to the uncertain weather forecast, fans are encouraged to follow @LittleRockBSB for the most up-to-date information regarding adjustments to start times for this weekend's series.

Battle For the Top
This weekend will go a long way towards determining a front runner to win the West as Little Rock and Louisiana enter the weekend in a three-way tie for first with UT Arlington at 7-5 in league play. The Mavericks play a non-conference series at McNeese this weekend, so the winner of the series between the Trojans and Cajuns will sit atop the West standings on Sunday.

Home Sweet Home
Gary Hogan Field truly has been the friendly confines for Little Rock this season as the Trojans are 9-2 in home games to date in 2021. Little Rock enters this weekend on a nine-game home winning streak, dating back to the 6-5 win over Eastern Illinois on February 27, which is the longest for the program since an 11-game run in 2006.

Accolades For Arnold
Senior right handed pitcher Hayden Arnold was named the Sun Belt's Pitcher of the Week Wednesday, following his stellar Saturday performance at ULM. Arnold allowed no runs, scattering four hits over seven innings of work with one walk and tied a season-high with 10 strikeouts. It is the first weekly honor of Arnold's career and the second for Little Rock this season as Kobe Barnum was named the Player of the Week on March 9.

Scouting the Ragin' Cajuns
Louisiana heads to Little Rock with a 21-15 overall record and is 7-5 in Sun Belt play, coming off an 0-3 sweep in Mobile against South Alabama and a midweek win against McNeese. The Ragin' Cajuns are batting .259 as a team with a .416 slugging percentage, belting 36 home runs with 164 RBI as three players are batting .300 or better. On the mound, Louisiana boasts a Sun Belt-low 3.50 ERA, striking out 359 batters as opposed to 126 walks while allowing teams to hit just .218 against it.

Series History
Little Rock and Louisiana have met 82 times previously, ranking as the fourth-longest active rivalry in program history behind Arkansas State (124 games), South Alabama (92 games) and ULM (84 games). Louisiana holds a 66-20 edge in the all-time series as the Trojans are 14-30 against the Ragin' Cajuns at Gary Hogan Field. Little Rock last won a home series against Louisiana in 2015 as head coach Chris Curry is 6-9 in his tenure against the Cajuns.

FIVE THINGS TO KNOW

1. Entering the weekend, senior Hayden Arnold ranks seventh in program history in career strikeouts with 194, sitting just six shy of becoming the seventh player in program history to reach 200 for his career. Next on the list is sixth-place Randall Clayton, who tallied 230 from 1986-90.

2. Since entering the lineup in the final game of the Auburn series, Kenny Rodriguez has been an offensive spark for the Trojans. Rodriguez has been the Trojan's most productive bat in Sun Belt play, batting .364 with a .682 slugging percentage with five doubles and three home runs in league play. Rodriguez leads the team in slugging percentage (.597), is tied for second on the team with five home runs and is second in RBI (21), despite having over 30 less at bats than the rest of the starters.

3. Little Rock has won nine of its last 12 Sun Belt series, dating back to the 2019 season, and six-straight home conference series since Louisiana won two of three at Gary Hogan Field on March 15-17, 2019.

4. Junior Nathan Lyons is settling into his role as the Trojans' leadoff hitter, entering the weekend with a 10-game hitting streak and a 12-game reached base streak, both of which lead the team. Lyons is tied for second on the team with five home runs and is the team leader in runs scored at 24, starting all 33 games for the Trojans at third base in 2021.

5. Aaron Barkley continues to be a force out of the bullpen for the Trojans this season, posting a 5-2 record with five saves in 39.0 innings pitched over 15 appearances. Barkley's five wins is tied for third in the league and his five saves is tied for second as the grad transfer ranks 10th nationally in WHIP (0.790, 11th in walks per nine (0.92) and 14th in strikeout-to-walk ratio (8.50), leading the Sun Belt in all three categories.

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