LITTLE ROCK - Little Rock closes out its 2022 home schedule with a key three-game weekend series against Georgia Southern at Gary Hogan Field. Game one is set for 6 p.m. on Friday, May 13, followed by game two on Saturday, May 14 and the home and series finale Sunday, May 15.
Home Sweet Home
Little Rock returns to Gary Hogan Field for the final time this season, riding a five-game home winning streak. The Trojans are 19-9 at home this season, its most wins at Gary Hogan Field since going 20-11 in 2014. The 19 victories at home is the most for head coach
Chris Curry, besting the 16 won in 2019, as the Trojans are 106-80 (.570) at home under Curry since 2015.
Big Bat Canyon
Graduate first baseman
Canyon McWilliams' bat has gotten hot down the stretch as he leads the team in nine offensive categories, including batting average (.372), slugging percentage (.634), home runs (nine) and runs batted in (42). McWilliams has been especially effective in Sun Belt play, batting .398 in conference games with a .667 slugging percentage with five home runs and 20 RBI, all of which lead the Trojans.
Double-Doubles
Little Rock remains one of the nation's top teams in a pair of "double" categories - doubles and double plays. The Trojans lead the Sun Belt in both total doubles (99) and doubles per game (2.30), ranking 33rd and 18th nationally, respectively. Little Rock has also been solid defensively, turning 38 double plays this season, ranking third in the Sun Belt and 33rd nationally. The Trojans are averaging 0.88 double plays per game, 23rd nationally, as combined with the 43 double plays turned in 2021, the Trojans have turned 81 in the last 94 games.
Arnold Record Watch
Fifth-year senior
Hayden Arnold heads into the weekend series looking to continue to make his mark on the Trojan record books. The reigning Sun Belt Pitcher of the Year became Little Rock's all-time strikeout leader against ULM with 292, now aiming to become the first player in program history to reach 300. Arnold also looks to move into second all-time in innings pitched this weekend while ranking third in both starts and appearances.
Big Hitters
Little Rock has a number of hitters among the league's best with
Canyon McWilliams (.372) fourth and
Noah Dickerson (.351) tied for eighth in batting average. The duo is also among the league's top-10 in slugging percentage with McWilliams seventh (.634) and Dickerson eighth (.630). Dickerson leads the Sun Belt with 17 doubles while
Tyler Williams is tied for fourth with four triples and McWilliams is eighth in RBI (42).
Race For Montgomery
Two weekends remain in the regular season as the Trojans continue their quest to qualify for the 2022 Sun Belt tournament in Montgomery. Little Rock enters this week's series as the number eight seed, holding a two and a half game lead on App State and three games ahead of ULM. The top 10 seeds qualify for the conference tournament with seeds 7-10 playing a one-game play-in game on Tuesday, May 24.
Scouting the Eagles
Georgia Southern enters the weekend at 32-16 overall and 18-6 in Sun Belt play, sitting second in the league standings. The Eagles have won four-straight Sun Belt games. Georgia Southern is batting .277 as a team with a .423 slugging percentage, led by a pair of double digit home run hitters in Noah Ledford (12) and Austin Thompson (10). On the mound, the Eagles have a combined team ERA of 4.98, holding opponents to a .257 batting average with 346 total strikeouts.
Series History
Little Rock and Georgia Southern have met 31 times previously with the Eagles holding a 23-8 lead in the all-time series. This will be the first weekend series between the two schools since 2019 and the first in Little Rock since 2018. The Trojans are seeking their first win over the Eagles at Gary Hogan Field, going 0-8 all-time against Georgia Southern on its home turf.
Pitching Probables
The probable pitching rotations for this weekend are as follows:
• Game One (Friday, May 13) - RHP
Hayden Arnold (LR) vs. LHP Ty Fisher (GS)
• Game Two (Saturday, May 14) - RHP
Hoss Brewer (LR) vs. RHP Jaylen Paden (GS)
• Game Three (Sunday, May 15) - TBA (LR) vs. TBA (GS)
Five Things To Know:
• Little Rock continues its "Last Trip Around the Sun," playing its 31st and final season as a member of the Sun Belt Conference with an overall record of 298-507.
• Little Rock enters the weekend with a number of impressive steaks, including Canyon McWilliams riding an eight-game hitting streak. Five different Trojans have reached base in at least seven-straight games, led by Jorden Hussein's nine game streak.
• Sawyer Smallwood has made 24 appearances this season with a team-best 2.93 ERA, allowing the opposition to bat .238.Smallwood is closing in on cracking the top-10 list of appearances in a season in program history as Brad Cherry (2002) and Todd Grief (1994) are tied for 10th with 27 in a season.
• Eldrige Figueroa has now played in 167 games in a Trojan uniform, ranking sixth all-time, with starts in 155 of those games. His 140 career hits is five away from matching Dalton Thomas' (2016-17) 145 for 10th all-time.
• Six Trojans will be recognized for exhausting their eligibility and playing their final home games at Gary Hogan Field prior to Sunday's game, including Cole Evans, Canyon McWilliams, Austin Smith, Jorden Hussein, Eldrige Figueroa and Hayden Arnold.
#LittleRocksTeam
