GAMES 1-3 | South Dakota State |
Dates/Times |
Friday, Feb. 24Â - 3 p.m.
Saturday, Feb. 25Â - 2 p.m.
Sunday, Feb. 26 - 1 p.m. |
Location |
Little Rock, Ark. |
Field |
Gary Hogan Field |
Records
 (2022) |
Little Rock (3-1, 0-0 OVC)
Bradley (1-2, 0-0 MVC) |
Watch |
Friday | Saturday | Sunday |
Live Stats |
StatBroadcast
Friday | Saturday | Sunday |
Twitter |
@LittleRockBSB |
Series |
Bradley leads, 5-3 |
Game Notes |
None |
LITTLE ROCK, Ark. – The Trojans continue their home-heavy beginning to the 2023 season by welcoming Bradley University to Gary Hogan Field. The three-game set is scheduled to begin on Friday, with first pitch being at 3p.m., followed by games on Saturday at 2 p.m. and Sunday at 1 p.m. for the series finale.
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Last Time Out
Little Rock had its first in-state game of the season this past Tuesday when Arkansas-Pine Bluff made the trip to Gary Hogan Field. Another early offensive explosion allowed the Trojans to take care of business against the visiting Golden Lions, scoring all eight runs in the first four innings enroute to an 8-3 victory to improve to 3-1 on the season. Little Rock collected seven hits in the competition and did damage with them, having five of the seven go for extra bases including two triples and two homeruns. In addition, the bullpen for the Trojans combined for five innings pitched, allowing just one hit in those innings while striking out nine.
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Welcome to the Party
Many Trojans made their season and Little Rock debuts on Tuesday. Perhaps most impressive was righthander
Nelson Smith, coming in to relieve starter
Noah Burkey and throwing three innings of shutout baseball allowing one hit and striking out six. Other bullpen arms in
Calvin Hunt and
Scott McDonough made their 2023 debuts as well, combining to throw the final two innings in the win. On the offensive side of things,
Christian Bernabe saw his first action of the year in a pinch hit appearance that resulted in a single. Freshman
Trey Hill also made his collegiate debut taking over catching duties for
Jake Wright in the eighth, he walked in his lone plate appearance.
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Early and Often
The Trojan offense has gotten off to blistering starts early on in the 2023 campaign. Out of the 27 runs that Little Rock has scored so far in the season, 25 have come in the first four innings of the game. Little Rock has been able to put pressure on the opposition quickly and have achieved four innings in which the Trojans scored three or more runs.
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Scouting the Braves
Bradley competes in the Missouri Valley Conference where they finished fourth last season and have been picked for a fifth place finish in this year's coach's poll. The Braves are entering the weekend with a record of 1-2 after losing the opening weekend series against the Trojans former Sun Belt opponent Louisiana Monroe. Bradley was shut out in the opening game of the season before winning on Saturday 8-6, but then dropped the rubber match and did not play a midweek game this past week. Ryan Vogel and Connor Manthley combined for half of the Braves hits in their opening weekend, the duo went 11-for-23 while no other players could manage to get more than two hits in the first three games. On the mound, Travis Lutz had an impressive first start of the year, pitching seven innings and only giving up two earned runs while striking out seven. Preseason All-Conference selection Connor O'Brien was 2-for-11 in his first three games, the sophomore first baseman is coming off a great 2022 campaign where he hit .392 on the season with 10 homeruns and 44 RBI, leading the team.
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Series History
Little Rock and Bradley have met on the diamond a total of eight times with the Braves holding the advantage in the all-time series 5-3. The two teams last played against each other when Bradley came down to the Capital City for a three-game series back in 2014 in which Little Rock won the opener before dropping the next two games to lose the series.
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Projected Starters
The expected pitching rotation for this weekend's series is as follows:
- Friday, February 24: RHP Jackson Wells (LR) vs. RHP Jacob Kisting (BU)
- Saturday, February 25: RHP Preston Davis (LR) vs. RHP Travis Lutz (BU)
- Sunday, February 26: TBA (LR) vs. RHP Dalton Mall (BU)
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Weather Watch
The weather in the Little Rock area is forecasted to be less than ideal for this weekend's series with chances of rain and cold temperatures on Friday and Saturday. Any changes to the weekend's schedule will be first made available on the Little Rock Baseball Twitter account (@LittleRockBSB) with updates posted at LRTrojans.com.
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Three Things to Know:
- Tuesday's win was highlighted by a grand slam from junior Skyler Trevino, his third homerun of the year and the first grand slam for Little Rock since March 14, 2021, against the Auburn Tigers. Trevino also leads the team in OPS at 1.412 with four of his five hits going for extra bases.
- The Trojans continue to sit at the top of the OVC in team batting average at a mark of .264, collecting seven team hits against Arkansas-Pine Bluff on Tuesday. Alex Seguine leads the team in hits so far with seven, while Nico Baumbach and Trevino each have five for Little Rock.
- Over the last three games, the Trojan bullpen has pitched a total of 16 innings while only giving up five earned runs for a 2.81 ERA over that span. Relievers have struck out 20 batters during that time for a rate of 11.3 strikeouts per nine innings.
For the latest information on Little Rock Baseball, make sure to check outÂ
LRTrojans.com. You can also find the team on social media at @LittleRockBSB onÂ
Facebook,Â
Instagram andÂ
Twitter.
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