LITTLE ROCK – Little Rock gets set for its final midweek game of the 2022 season, making a return trip to Conway for the final game of the three-game series against Central Arkansas. Opening pitch is set for 6 p.m. at Bear Stadium.
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The Week That Was
Little Rock took the second game of the weekend series against Georgia Southern, taking a 7-6 win over the Eagles on Saturday afternoon at Gary Hogan Field. But the Trojans dropped the opening and closing game of the series, falling 13-2 Friday and 12-6 in a weather-shortened finale Sunday. With the conclusion of the weekend series, Little Rock closes out the year 20-11 at Gary Hogan Field, matching its most victories since 2014 and is the most wins at home in a season under head coach
Chris Curry.
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Trojan Big Bats
Graduate first basemanÂ
Canyon McWilliams'Â bat has gotten hot down the stretch as he leads the team in nine offensive categories, including batting average (.374), slugging percentage (.638), home runs (10) and runs batted in (45).
Noah Dickerson is right behind McWilliams in a number of categories, leading the team with 17 doubles while ranking second in batting average (.348), slugging percentage (.634), home runs (nine) and RBI (38).
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Figueroa Record Watch
Heading into this week's final regular season games,
Eldrige Figueroa has played in 170 career games in a Little Rock uniform, moving in to fifth all-time, while starting 143 career games. The fifth-year senior from Carolina, Puerto Rico, has 141 career hits, four away from matching Dalton Thomas (2016-17) for 10th all-time in program history.
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Final Natural State Matchup
Tuesday's game at Central Arkansas marks the final game that will be played by the Trojans inside the state lines of Arkansas as 34 of Little Rock's 47 games through Tuesday night will have been played in the Natural State. The Trojans played 31 games at Gary Hogan Field this season, followed by one game in Fayetteville and two in Conway.
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Experience is Key
Heading into Tuesday's game at Central Arkansas, four different Trojans have started all 46 games this season, comprised of
Canyon McWilliams,
Tyler Williams,
Nathan Lyons and
Miguel Soto.
Jorden Hussein has missed just one start this year, starting 45 total games, with
Eldrige Figueroa starting 43,
Jake Wright starting 42 and
Noah Dickerson 41 games. Those eight players have combined for 355 of the 368 games started this year (96.5%) among position players.
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Scouting the Bears
Central Arkansas comes into this week's game at 23-26 overall and 17-10 in the Atlantic Sun, sitting tied for second in the West Division standings. The Bears are batting .267 as a team with a .397 slugging percentage, led by Hunter Hicks' .346 average with 11 home runs and 53 RBI, slugging .667. On the mound, UCA has a team ERA of 5.65 with the opposition batting .278, combining for 401 strikeouts as a staff.
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Series History
Little Rock and Central Arkansas have met 53 times since 1979 with the Trojans holding a 30-23 edge in the series. The Bears have taken three-straight, besting Little Rock 11-5 at Gary Hogan Field back on April 12 before winning in Conway in both 2021 (4-2) and 2022 (3-1) as the six of the previous eight meetings between the two teams had been decided by two runs or fewer. The Trojans are 10-10 all-time in Conway, seeking its first win at Bear Stadium since  the 5-1 win in 2019.
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