| GAMES 4-7 | WESTERN ILLINOIS |
| Dates/Times |
Friday, Feb. 25 - 3 p.m.
Saturday, Feb. 26 - 1 p.m. (DH)
Sunday, Feb. 27 - 1 p.m. |
| Location |
Little Rock, Ark. |
| Field |
Gary Hogan Field |
| Records |
Little Rock (2-1, 0-0 SBC)
Western Illinois (1-2, 0-0 Summit) |
| Watch |
None |
| Live Stats |
StatBroadcast
Friday | Saturday (1) | Saturday (2) | Sunday |
| Twitter |
@LittleRockBSB |
| Series |
Little Rock leads, 9-4 |
LITTLE ROCK – Little Rock continues its home-heavy stretch to start the 2022 season, welcoming Western Illinois to Gary Hogan Field. The four-game series is set to begin Friday at 3 p.m., followed by a Saturday doubleheader starting a 1 p.m. and a 1 p.m. first pitch Sunday for the series finale.
Last Time Out
Little Rock rebounded from an offensive struggle in game one to score 21 combined runs in games two and three, taking the Opening Weekend series from Eastern Illinois. The Trojans hit .320 as a team over the weekend, scoring the 21 runs on 33 hits, led by
Jorden Hussein going 7-of-12 from the plate (.583) with a .750 slugging percentage.
Big Weekend For Noah
Noah Dickerson was one of five Trojans that hit .400 or better during the opening weekend, going 4-for-10 with a double and a pair of three-run homeruns, both of which put the Trojans on top for good in games two and three. Dickerson finished the weekend with seven RBI, a 1.100 slugging percentage and a .538 on base percentage, drawing three walks.
Speedy Soto
Miguel Soto had an impressive start to his senior season against Eastern Illinois, going 5-for-12 from the plate with a double and four runs scored. But where he really made his mark was on the base paths, stealing four bases in game two against the Panthers Saturday. The four stolen bases was one off the program record for a single game as he is one of just three players nationally to steal four bases in a game this season.
Where He Left Off
Junior
Tyler Williams led Little Rock in nine statistical categories in 2021, and he is picking up right where he left off in 2022. Williams batted .455 in the opening weekend series against Eastern Illinois, going 5-for-11 with a pair of doubles and three RBI for a .636 slugging percentage. Williams boasts a 1.174 OPS after drawing a pair of walks and joining Soto with four stolen bases over the weekend.
Scouting the Leathernecks
Western Illinois heads to Little Rock with a 1-2 record on the year, winning game two of a weekend series at Western Kentucky 14-7. As a team, the Leathernecks are batting .291, led by Toby Allred's .500 average with Nick Mitchell and Derek Botaletto each batting .429. Kory Olsen leads Western with five RBI, followed by four from Botaletto and here each for Allred and Mitchell. On the mound, Western Illinois has a 6.48 ERA with the opposition batting .247. Jace Warkentien and Jack Carberry both have six strikeouts on the year to lead the Leathernecks.
Series History
Little Rock and Western Illinois have met 13 times previously with the Trojans holding a 9-4 edge in the all-time series. All 13 games previously have been played at Gary Hogan Field with the Trojans taking a 2-1 series win in 2003, 2004, 2005 and 2010, winning the sole game of a 2013 series 11-3.
Probable Starters
The probable pitching rotation for this weekend's series is as follows:
•
Friday, February 25: RHP
Hayden Arnold (LR) vs. RHP Jack Carberry (WIU)
•
Saturday, February 26 – Game 1: RHP
Jacob Weatherley (LR) vs. TBD (WIU)
•
Saturday, February 26 – Game 2: RHP
Hoss Brewer (LR) vs. RHP Jacob Greenan (WIU)
•
Sunday, February 27: RHP
Erik McKnight (LR) vs. RHP Chandler Fochs (WIU)
Weather Watch
The weather in the Little Rock area is forecasted to be less than ideal for this weekend's series, especially Saturday with significant rain chances and highs in the low 40s. Any changes to the weekend's schedule will be first made available on the Little Rock Baseball Twitter account (@LittleRockBSB) with updates posted at LRTrojans.com.
Five Things to Know
• Head coach
Chris Curry registered his 39th series win as the head coach of the Trojans with the 2-1 series victory over Eastern Illinois this past weekend.
• Little Rock stole 13 total bases in the three-game series against Eastern Illinois, finishing the opening weekend of the NCAA baseball season fifth nationally. The Trojans rank fourth nationally in stolen bases per game (4.33), stealing 13 of their 14 attempts against the Panthers.
• Little Rock led the Sun Belt in double plays turned in 2021 and currently ranks ninth nationally in double plays per game at 1.33, turning four double plays in the weekend series against Eastern Illinois.
•
Ezra Gustafson picked up his first collegiate victory on the mound for Little Rock, pitching 2.0 innings of game two against Eastern Illinois and allowing just one run on two hits. Gustafson was one of five pitchers to make their Trojan debuts over the weekend, joined by
Hoss Brewer,
Joey Martin,
Evan Vanek and
Austin Stubber, with
Andrew Pickering,
Jack Stroth and
Noah Burgarello making their Little Rock debuts at the plate.
• The games against the Leathernecks this weekend continues a very home-heavy opening stretch for Little Rock as the Trojans are scheduled to play 14 of their first 15 games of the season at home with the lone road trip the drive to Conway to face Central Arkansas.
#LittleRocksTeam
