LITTLE ROCK - Little Rock opens a six-game road swing, its longest of the season, with a two-game midweek series at second-ranked Arkansas Tuesday, March 29 and Wednesday, March 30. Game one of the series will be at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday, followed by a 4 p.m. first pitch on Wednesday, as both games will stream live on SEC Network +.Â
Scouting the Razorbacks
Arkansas enters the week ranked #second nationally by D1Baseball.com, sitting at 18-4 on the year. The Razorbacks are coming off a series win at Missouri over the weekend and have been strong at home, posting a 14-2 record at Baum-Walker Stadium this season. As a team, Arkansas is batting .272, led by a .354 from Michael Turner with a team-high 24 RBI and four homer runs. On the mound, the Razorbacks boast a team ERA of 3.29, holding the opposition to a .218 average with 237 strikeouts.
Series History
Little Rock and Arkansas have met three times previously with the Trojans earning the 17-7 win in the first-ever meeting in 2019. The Razorbacks swept the two-game midweek series in 2021, besting the Trojans 7-2 in game one before prevailing 10-3 in game two.
The Week That Was
Little Rock played three highly contested games against App State over the weekend, but the Mountaineers took two of three at Gary Hogan Field, beginning with a 14-inning 5-2 loss in which Little Rock scored the game-tying run down to its last strike in the bottom of the ninth. The Trojans rebounded to take game two 7-4 and held a 4-0 lead early in game three before late runs proved costly in a 10-5 loss Sunday.
Leading the League
Little Rock enters this week ranked first in the Sun Belt in batting average and 19th nationally, hitting .311 as a team. The Trojans boast a .462 slugging percentage, second in the league and 65th nationally, complemented by a .391 on base percentage, also sitting second in the Sun Belt and 66th in the nation.
Natural State Showdown
Little Rock's weekend series in Fayetteville will have a little extra meaning for a number of Trojans which hail from the Natural State. Little Rock's roster boasts 15 players from 11 different cities in the state of Arkansas with five of those Trojans expected to make the start Tuesday - C Jake Wright (Bryant), SS Aidan Garrett (Benton), 3B Nathan Lyons (Bentonville), C/DH Jack Stroth (Conway) and RHP Jacob Weatherley (Jonesboro).
Facing the Best
Heading into the midweek series at Arkansas, Little Rock has played 27 games against ranked opponents during head coach Chris Curry's tenure, posting an 8-19 overall record. The Trojans went 2-3 against ranked opponents in 2021, taking two of three from #22 Southern Illinois before dropping a pair in Fayetteville against the second-ranked Razorbacks. Little Rock is 1-6 under Curry in games against top-10 foes with the victory coming in the 17-7 win over the ninth-ranked Razorbacks in 2019.
Strong Start For Lyons
Bentonville native Nathan Lyons makes his return to Northwest Arkansas leading the Trojans in batting average at .405, ranked 56th nationally and fourth in the Sun Belt. Little Rock boats three of the top-nine hitters in the league, joined by Jorden Hussein (.365) in sixth and Noah Dickerson (.362) in ninth.
Breakout Season For Dickerson
Junior Noah Dickerson has emerged as one of the top offensive threats for Little Rock early in 2022, leading the team in eight statistical categories, including slugging percentage (.713), RBI (23), doubles (eight), home runs (six), total bases (57) and walks (12).
Projected Starters
The projected starters for the midweek series are as folllows:
• Tuesday, March 29: RHP Jacob Weatherley (LR) vs. RHP Mark Adamiak (ARK)
• Wednesday, March 30: TBA (LR) vs. TBA (ARK)
Quick Hitters
• Little Rock is 0-2 in midweek games this season, falling at Central Arkansas 3-1 on March 9 before dropping an 18-3 decision to Oral Roberts at home on March 16.
• Heading into the two-game midweek series, Little Rock has played 18 of its 21 games this season within the Arkansas state lines. 17 of those games have been played at Gary Hogan Field with the 18th the easy road trip to Conway to play UCA.
• Eldrige Figueroa is questionable for this week's games with a back injury. If he does play in the games this week, he will hold the distinction as being the only player to have played in every Trojan vs. Razorback game in the series history.
• Little Rock has lost seven-straight against in-state opponents, dating back to the 7-2 win over UA-Pine Bluff on March 31, 2021. Little Rock is also looking for its first win away from Gary Hogan Field since the 7-3 win at Georgia State on May 20, 2021, a span of eight games.
• As a team, Little Rock is batting .335 with two outs in an inning as 62 of the Trojans' 131 runs have come with two outs.
• The Trojans have been efficient at the beginning of games, outscoring the opposition 57-25 in innings one through three. But Little Rock opponents have taken advantage late in games, outscoring the Trojans 61-38 from the sixth inning on.
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