| GAMES 26-28 | SOUTH ALABAMA |
| Dates |
Friday, Apr. 9 - Sunday, Apr. 11 |
| Times |
Friday, Apr. 9 - 2 p.m.
Saturday, Apr. 10 - 6Â p.m.
Sunday, Apr. 11 - 1 p.m. |
| Location |
Little Rock, Ark. |
| Field |
Gary Hogan Field |
| Records |
Little Rock (12-13, 3-3 SBC)
South Alabama (16-10, 5-1 SBC) |
| Watch |
ESPN +
Friday | Saturday | Sunday |
| Live Stats |
StatBroadcast
Friday | Saturday | Sunday |
| Twitter |
@LittleRockBSB |
| Notes |
Little Rock | South Alabama |
LITTLE ROCK - After a tough stretch which saw the Trojans play eight of nine on the road, Little Rock returns to Gary Hogan Field for a weekend Sun Belt series against East Division leading South Alabama. Due to forecasted rain Friday evening, game one of the series has been moved to a 2 p.m. first pitch on April 9, followed by a 6 p.m. start on Saturday and a 1 p.m. first pitch Sunday afternoon.
Last Time Out
Little Rock dropped a two-game midweek series in Fayetteville to second-ranked Arkansas, falling 7-2 in game one and 10-3 in game two. The Razorbacks jumped in front early in both games and the Trojans responded in the fifth each time before late inning runs put the games out of reach.
Nathan Lyons had the hot bat in his northwest Arkansas homecoming, batting .500 with a 1.000 slugging percentage in the two games at Baum-Walker.
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.
Battle of the Best
Saturday's game is slated to have a unique showdown as the Sun Belt's preseason Pitcher of the Year (Little Rock's
Aaron Funk) will go head-to-head with the preseason Player of the Year (South Alabama's Ethan Wilson). The duo has never faced each other as Funk did not pitch in the 2019 series, which was Wilson's freshman season.
Scouting the Jaguars
South Alabama enters the weekend 16-10 overall and 5-1 in Sun Belt Conference play, sitting atop the East Division standings following a sweep of Troy last weekend in Mobile. The Jaguars are batting .230 as a team with a .367 slugging percentage as just two players are hitting over .300 on the year, led by preseason Player of the Year Ethan Wilson's .318 average with 16 RBI. But South Alabama has been strong on the mound, boasting a Sun-Belt low 3.65 ERA while limiting the opposition to just a .220 batting average. The pitching staff has combined for 257 strikeouts while allowing just 99 walks.
Series History
South Alabama has dominated the all-time series between the two schools, holding a 75-16 edge since Little Rock joined the Sun Belt in 1992. The Jaguars will be making just their second trip to Gary Hogan Field since 2015, coming off a series sweep in 2019 in Mobile. The Trojans took a 2-1 series victory in Little Rock in 2018, the lone time head coach
Chris Curry has faced the Jaguars at home. Little Rock is 8-32 all-time against South Alabama at Gary Hogan Field.
FIVE THINGS TO KNOW
1. Little Rock has taken advantage of being in front as the Trojans are 12-2 this season in games in which they have held a lead at any point in the game. Little Rock's lone losses in which it held a lead was the 10-7 defeat to 22nd-ranked Southern Illinois on Mar. 26 (Trojans led 3-0 in the 2nd) and at Arkansas State on Apr. 1 (Trojans led 1-0 in the 1st and 2-1 in the 2nd).
2. Little Rock enters the weekend as one of the nation's top double play-turning teams, leading the Sun Belt with 22 on the year. The Trojans' 22 double plays rank 19th nationally and they rank 28th in double plays per game (0.88), logging a season-high three at Southern Illinois on March 27 and again against UA Pine Bluff on March 31.
3. Little Rock enters the weekend second in the Sun Belt in batting average (.276), despite dropping 17 points from its .293 average on March 31 after hitting just .206 during its five-game losing skid.
Jorden Hussein leads the conference in batting average at .390, ranking 64th nationally, with
John Michael Russ sixth at .353. Hussein is second in the conference in on base percentage at .4672, having reached base safely in 15-straight games, with Russ right behind in sixth at .444.
4. Senior
Hayden Arnold returns to the Friday night start this week, looking to move up the Trojan record books. With his 10 strikeouts at Arkansas State last week, he upped his career total to 180, moving into eighth all-time in program history. His 9.44 strikeout per nine currently ranks seventh as well. Arnold is 0-1 all-time against South Alabama, pitching 8.2 innings with nine hits, six runs (five earned), three walks and seven strikeouts.
5. 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 (.606), at bats (99), hits (33), doubles (8), triples (2), home runs (5), RBI (27), total bases (60) and stolen bases (5). Williams had his 24-game streak of reaching base safely come to an end Wednesday in Fayetteville but he leads the team with seven multi-RBI games.
#LittleRocksTeam
