| GAMES 24-25 | ARKANSAS |
| Dates |
Tuesday, Apr. 6 - Wednesday, Apr. 7 |
| Times |
Tuesday, Apr. 6 - 6:30 p.m.
Wednesday, Apr. 7 - 4 p.m. |
| Location |
Fayetteville, Ark. |
| Field |
Baum-Walker Stadium |
| Records |
Little Rock (12-11, 3-3 SBC)
Arkansas (22-4, 7-2 SEC) |
| Watch |
SEC Network +
Tuesday | Wednesday |
| Listen |
920 AM The Sports Animal |
| Live Stats |
StatBroadcast
Tuesday | Wednesday |
| Twitter |
@LittleRockBSB |
| Notes |
Little Rock | Arkansas |
LITTLE ROCK - Little Rock concludes it six-game Natural State road swing with a two-game midweek series in Fayetteville, taking on the second-ranked Razorbacks at Baum-Walker Stadium. Game one is set for Tuesday, April 6 at 6:30 p.m. with game two at 4 p.m. Wednesday, April 7. Both games will stream on SEC Network + and will air on 920 AM The Sports Animal with Trey Schaap handling the play-by-play duties.
Last Time Out
Little Rock stumbled in a three-game sweep at the hands of its rivals in Jonesboro, falling to Arkansas State 10-2, 4-0 and 10-6 at Tomlinson Stadium. The Trojan bats struggled all weekend, batting just .192 against the Red Wolves pitching staff, including going 21.2 innings without a run - its longest stretch of the season.
Eldrige Figueroa (.400) and
Jorden Hussein (.300) were the only Trojans to bat over .300 while
Tyler Williams drove in four of Little Rock's eight runs on the weekend.
Tying Hogan
With the weekend sweep of Texas State March 19-21, 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 76-76 all-time in league play as his .500 conference winning percentage is the highest in program history as well.
Facing the Best
Heading into the midweek series at Arkansas, Little Rock has faced 25 ranked opponents during head coach
Chris Curry's tenure, posting an 8-17 record and coming off a 2-1 series victory at 22nd-ranked Southern Illinois. Little Rock is 1-4 under Curry in games against top-10 foes with the victory coming in the win over the ninth-ranked Razorbacks in 2019.
Scouting the Razorbacks
Arkansas enters the week ranked number one in the latest Baseball America poll and number two in D1 Baseball, coming off a 2-1 series win over Auburn in Fayetteville in which all three games were decided by one run. The Razorbacks are batting .280 as a team with 46 home runs on the year, ranking third nationally, and a .501 slugging percentage, ranking eighth in the nation. Six players are batting .300 or better as four have driven in 20 or more runs on the season. On the mound, the Arkansas pitching staff boasts a 3.88 ERA through 232.0 innings pitched, combining for 252 strikeouts and limiting the opposition to a .213 batting average.
Series History
Little Rock and Arkansas have met just one time previously, a 17-7 Trojan win on April 2, 2019 in Fayetteville. Troy Alexander hit a grand slam in the top of if the fifth inning to spark 13 unanswered runs for Little Rock en route to the win. The Trojans are 20-37 all-time against the SEC, including going 1-2 in a weekend series at Auburn March 12-14 which ended in a 12-6 Trojan victory, sparked by a fifth inning grand slam.
FIVE THINGS TO KNOW
1. Arkansas is the third of four teams on the slate for Little Rock that reached either the NCAA Super Regionals or College World Series in 2019. The Trojans have already faced Oklahoma State (Super Regional) and Auburn (College World Series) this season, going 1-3 in those games, and have a pair of midweek tilts remaining at Ole Miss (Super Regional) on April 20 and May 4.
2. Sophomore Tyler Williams continues to show why he is the Sun Belt's top prospect for 2022, batting .341 on the year while leading the team in slugging percentage (.637), at bats (91), hits (31), doubles (8), triples (2), home runs (5), RBI (26), total bases (58) and stolen bases (5). Williams has reached base safely in all 23 games of 2021 and boasts a team-best seven multi RBI games this season.
3. Little Rock enters the weekend second in the Sun Belt in batting average (.280), despite dropping 13 points following its .192 performance at Arkansas State. Jorden Hussein leads the conference in batting average at .413, ranking 34th nationally, with John Michael Russ fourth at .364 and Tyler Williams eighth with his .341 average. Hussein is second in the conference in on base percentage at .476, with Russ right behind in fourth at .462.
4. Little Rock begins the week as one of the nation's top double play-turning teams, leading the Sun Belt with 21 on the year. The Trojans' 21 double plays rank 21st nationally and they rank 22nd in double plays per game (0.91), logging a season-high three at Southern Illinois on March 27 and again against UA Pine Bluff on March 31.
5. Senior catcher John Michael Russ was named to the 2021 Buster Posey National Collegiate Catcher of the Year watch list last week, marking the second-straight year the Trojans have had a catcher named to the list (Kale Emshoff - 2020). Little Rock's team captain in 2021, Russ is batting .364 in the cleanup spot with 10 RBI and 12 walks, ranking second on the team with 28 hits. He has also been solid behind the plate with a 1.000 fielding percentage and just three passed balls in 21 starts.
#LittleRocksTeam
