LITTLE ROCK - Little Rock returns to Gary Hogan Field for the first home Sun Belt series of the season, hosting App State Friday through Sunday. Opening pitch against the Mountaineers is scheduled for 6 p.m. on both Friday and Saturday with a 12 p.m. scheduled start on Sunday. All three games will be streamed live on ESPN+.
Scouting the Mountaineers
App State enters the weekend at 7-12 on the year and 1-2 in Sun Belt play, dropping two of three to Georgia Southern in its league opener. The Mountaineers have series wins over Campbell and UNC Wilmington and are coming off a 4-2 loss at 13th-ranked North Carolina Tuesday. As a team, App State is batting .253 on the year, led by Hayden Cross' .348 average with a team-best 15 RBI. On the mound, the Mountaineers have a team ERA of 5.91 with a combined 182 strikeouts over 166.0 innings as the opposition is batting .276.
Series History
Little Rock and App State have met 15 times previously with Little Rock holding an 8-7 edge in the all-time series. The Trojans are 5-4 all-time against the Mountaineers in Little Rock, but have won just one of the three series played at Gary Hogan Field. The Trojans swept the 2015 series but the Mountaineers took two of three in both 2017 and 2021.
Tough Weekend in Atlanta
Little Rock stumbled in its Sun Belt-opening series in Atlanta over the weekend, dropping all three games to Georgia State at the GSU Baseball Complex. The Trojans fell 9-3 on Friday, followed by a 7-4 loss Saturday and a 12-8 defeat in the series finale Sunday. Little Rock held leads in all three games, but the Panthers came up big in the late innings, scoring 18 of their 28 runs on the weekend in the fifth inning or later.
Leading the League
Little Rock enters this week's series against App State ranked first in the Sun Belt in batting average and 15th nationally, hitting .317 as a team. The Trojans boast a .482 slugging percentage, second in the league and 48th nationally, as Little Rock has six starters hitting .300 or better on the year, led by Nathan Lyons' .414 average and a .400 from Noah Dickerson.
Swipe Right
Little Rock continues to rank among the national leaders in stolen bases, sitting 26th nationally in total steals (37) and 19th in stolen bases per game (2.06). The effort has been led by the trio of Tyler Williams (11 stolen bases), Eldrige Figueroa (10) and Miguel Soto (nine), who rank second, third and fourth in the Sun Belt, respectively, in stolen bases. Little Rock was held without a stolen base in its series at Georgia State, however, as the Trojans had just one stolen base attempt during the three-game series in Atlanta.
Strong Start For Lyons
One of the bright spots for Little Rock over the weekend was the play of Nathan Lyons, who led the team with a .600 average in the three-game series. Lyons went 6-for-10 from the plate with a pair of RBI and drew three walks for a .714 on base percentage. He leads the team in overall batting average at .414, ranking 54th nationally, and is fourth in the Sun Belt as he and teammate Noah Dickerson rank fourth and fifth, respectively.
Noah Comes Out Swinging
Noah Dickerson has been an offensive force for the Trojans in the early going, leading the team in home runs with six and is second in batting average at .400. Entering this week, he was one of only 23 players in Division I to be hitting .400 or better with at least six home runs as he ranks 23rd nationally in slugging percentage (.815), sitting third in the Sun Belt while ranking third in the league in home runs and fifth in batting average.
Arnold Record Watch
Fifth year senior Hayden Arnold heads into the weekend series with App State looking to continue to make his mark on the Trojan record books. The reigning Sun Belt Pitcher of the Year ranks among the top-nine in eight statistical categories in Trojan program history, including sitting tied for fourth in career strikeouts with 253.Â
Home Sweet Home
Little Rock returns to Gary Hogan Field for this weekend's series, a place it has become quite familiar with as 14 of the Trojans' 18 games this year have come on its home turf. Little Rock is 10-4 at home this season and are 97-72 (.574) at home under head coach Chris Curry.
Projected Weekend Rotation
The projected pitching rotation for this weekend's series is as follows:
• Friday, March 25 - RHP Hayden Arnold (LR) vs. LHP Tyler Tuthill (APP)
• Saturday, March 26 - RHP Hoss Brewer (LR) vs. RHP Xander Hamilton (APP)
• Sunday, March 27 - RHP Erik McKnight (LR) vs. RHP Trey Tujetsch (APP)
Five Things To Know:
• This weekend continues Little Rock's 31st, and final, season in the Sun Belt Conference as the Trojans begin their "Last Trip Around the Sun." Little Rock has an all-time record of 289-499 (.367) in Sun Belt play, winning the tournament title in 2011.
 • Six different Trojans have hit home runs this season, led by the six from Noah Dickerson. Jake Wright has three, including a pair of inside-the-park home runs, with Canyon McWilliams and Miguel Soto the other two Trojans with multiple round-trippers.
• Little Rock continues to be among the national leaders in double plays, turning 16 this year to rank 38th nationally and 30th in the nation in double plays per game (0.89). Coupled with the Sun Belt-best 43 in 2021, the Trojans have turned 59 double plays in the last 69 game, averaging 0.86 per game.
• Friday night's game at Gary Hogan Field will feature two of the top pitchers in the league as Little Rock's Hayden Arnold squares off against App State's Tyler Tuthill. The duo were both named to the preseason All-Sun Belt team as Arnold currently ranks fifth in the league in ERA (2.23), followed by teammate Hoss Brewer in sixth at 2.53).
• An impressive steak came to an end Friday when Hayden Arnold threw a wild pitch against Georgia State, his first since May 23, 2019 against Georgia Southern - a span of 128 innings.
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