Trojans Return Home, Hosting Lions in Four-Game Weekend Series

GAMES 11-14 | NORTH ALABAMA
Dates/Times	Friday, Mar. 11 - 1 p.m. Saturday, Mar. 12 (DH) - 1 p.m. Sunday, Mar. 13 - 1 p.m.
Location	Little Rock, Ark.
Field	Gary Hogan Field
Records	Little Rock (6-4, 0-0 SBC) North Alabama (5-5, 0-0 ASun)
Watch	None
Live Stats	StatBroadcast Friday | Saturday (Game 1) | Saturday (Game 2) | Sunday
Twitter	@LittleRockBSB
Series	Little Rock leads, 5-2

LITTLE ROCK – Little Rock returns to Gary Hogan Field to continue its home-heavy stretch to start the season, opening up a five-game home stand. That home stint begins with a four-game series against North Alabama, beginning Friday at 1 p.m. Saturday will feature a doubleheader, beginning with a nine-inning game at 1 p.m., followed by a seven-inning game 30 minutes after and concluding with the series finale Sunday at 1 p.m.
 
Last Time Out
Little Rock and Central Arkansas engaged in a pitcher's duel in Conway Wednesday, but it was the Bears that got the timely hits when they needed them, outlasting the Trojans 3-1 in Little Rock's first road game of the season. The loss overshadows a stellar effort from reliever Sawyer Smallwood, who allowed just two hits over 5.1 innings with six strikeouts and retiring 11-straight UCA batters to keep Little Rock in the game. But the Trojans scattered six hits on the afternoon with only a double from Noah Dickerson to lead off the seventh going for extra bases.
 
Leading the League
Little Rock's offense has been efficient through the first part of the season as the Trojans lead the Sun Belt in batting average (.324), ranking 17th nationally. The Trojans are second in the league in doubles with 28, one back of Troy's 29 despite playing three fewer games than the Alabama Trojans, leading the Sun Belt in both slugging percentage (.494) and on base percentage (.411). Little Rock's pitching staff has been on point as well as the Trojans are second in the conference in team ERA (3.34), ranking 43rd nationally.
 
Fast Start For Dickerson
Junior Noah Dickerson has been one of the key components of the Trojan offense early as he leads the qualifying players on the team in batting average (.395), slugging percentage (.921), on base percentage (.511), home runs (five) and RBI (15), tying for first with five doubles. Dickerson enters the weekend on a five-game hitting streak, the longest on the team, ranking 20th nationally in slugging percentage and 24th in home runs.
 
Speed on the Base Paths
Junior Tyler Williams continues to show off his speed on the base paths, stealing his ninth base of the season at Central Arkansas Wednesday. His nine stolen bases is 17th nationally and first in the Sun Belt Conference, just ahead of the seven stolen bases from Miguel Soto, ranking 41st nationally and second in the league. As a team, Little Rock's 26 stolen bases is 24th in the nation and second in the Sun Belt, ranking 12th nationally with 2.6 stolen bases per game.
 
Arnold Record Watch
Fifth year senior Hayden Arnold heads into the weekend series with North Alabama looking to continue to make his mark on the Trojan record books. He currently ranks among the top-eight in program history in eight different statistical categories as he looks to make his 35th appearance Friday, which would move him into a tie for sixth all-time with Adam Champion (2007-10). He enters the weekend 10 strikeouts behind former teammate Chandler Fidel (2017-19), which would give him 253 to move into a tie for fourth all-time.
 
Scouting the Lions
North Alabama heads to Little Rock with a 5-5 record on the year, coming off a 9-5 win against Alabama in Tuscaloosa Wednesday night. The Lions notched their first series win of the year, taking two of three from UT Martin, with victories over Cincinnati and Austin Peay as well. As a team, North Alabama is batting .252, led by Luke Harper's .407 average and five doubles with Drew Hudson hitting both of the team's home runs and Reid Homan driving in a team-high nine runs. On the mound, North Alabama has a 6.41 ERA with the opposition batting .288, combining for 92 strikeouts on the year.
 
Series History
This will be the third-straight year the Trojans and Lions will square off in a weekend series with Little Rock winning two of three in the previous two and holding a 5-2 edge head-to-head. The Trojans took two of three at Gary Hogan Field in 2020 before winning the final two of a weekend series in Florence, Alabama last season, as Little Rock dropped the opener before winning the final two in each series. The other game between the two came in 1982, a 12-11 Trojan win in Little Rock.
 
Pitching Probables
The projected pitching rotation for this weekend's series is as follows:
 
• Friday, March 11: RHP Hayden Arnold (LR) vs. RHP Jacob Bradshaw (UNA)
• Saturday, March 12 (Game 1): RHP Jacob Weatherley (LR) vs. RHP Will Haberstock (UNA)
• Saturday, March 12 (Game 2): RHP Hoss Brewer (LR) vs. RHP Brycen Parrish (UNA)
• Sunday, March 13: RHP Erik McKnight (LR) vs. TBA (UNA)
 
Weather Forecast
As is the case with spring in Little Rock, we should get a little bit of everything weather-wise at Gary Hogan Field this weekend. Friday's game one has been moved up to a 1 p.m. start due to forecasted snow set to begin in the evening hours.  Saturday looks to be chilly but sunny while Sunday should be warmer and pleasant. Follow Little Rock Baseball on Twitter (@LittleRockBSB) for the most up-to-date schedule changes, as well as LRTrojans.com.
 
Five Things to Know
 
• Little Rock is 44-48 (.478) all-time against current members of the Atlantic Sun Conference, with the most meetings coming against Central Arkansas as the Trojans are 30-22 against the Bears. Little Rock is 0-1 against Austin Peay, 9-21 against Jacksonville and 0-2 against Stetson in addition to the 5-2 mark against North Alabama.
 
• Little Rock turned its 11th double play against Central Arkansas Wednesday, ranking 23rd nationally and first in the Sun Belt, while ranking ninth in the nation at 1.10 per game. Combined with the Sun Belt-best 43 turned in 2021, the Trojans have registered 54 double plays in the last 61 games, averaging 0.88 per game.
 
• The Trojans have five players among the top-20 in the Sun Belt in batting average, the most of any team in the league. Noah Dickerson (.395) and Jorden Hussein (.378) rank fourth and seventh, respectively, with Miguel Soto (11th - .368), Jack Stroth (15th - .357) and Eldrige Figueroa (20th - .343) all among the top-20.
 
• Additionally, Little Rock has four pitchers among the top-12 in the Sun Belt in ERA on the year among qualifying pitchers, including the one-two punch of Hoss Brewer (0.87) and Hayden Arnold (0.93) ranking one-two in the league. Sawyer Smallwood checks in at eighth following his performance Wednesday at 2.38 with Erik McKnight 12th at 2.84.
 
• Little Rock continues a home-heavy stretch to begin the 2022 season, playing 14 of its first 15 games at Gary Hogan Field. The Trojans are 6-3 on its home turf this season with an overall home record of 93-71 (.567) under head coach Chris Curry.
 
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