Memphis Pays Visit to Gary Hogan Field for Midweek Matchup

GAMES 14 | Memphis
Dates/Times	Tuesday, Mar. 14 - 3 p.m.
Location	Little Rock, Ark.
Field	Gary Hogan Field
Records	Little Rock (9-4, 0-0 OVC) Memphis (8-8, 0-0 AAC)
Watch	ESPN+
Live Stats	StatBroadcast Tuesday
Twitter	@LittleRockBSB
Series	Memphis leads, 40-13
Game Notes	N/A

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. – Coming off a weekend series against Grambling that resulted in the first sweep of 2023, the Trojans now turn their attention to a midweek game against Memphis. First pitch will be at 3 p.m. on Tuesday at Gary Hogan Field.
 
Last Time Out
Little Rock took all three games over Grambling last weekend, improving to 9-4 on the season and extending the winning streak to five games. Friday was a game in which the Trojans found themselves down early, but quickly rallied to a 9-5 victory on the back of timely hits and a three-run homerun by junior Ryan Lee. Strong pitching highlighted Saturday's win, Jackson Wells made the start and pitched five innings of shutout baseball. Bullpen arms Noah Burkey and Jacob Weatherley pitched the final four innings without allowing a hit as Little Rock cruised to. 6-0 win. The Trojans got up early on Sunday and cruised to a 15-9 win in which many Trojans saw action. Skyler Trevino had six RBI in the game including four on a grand slam in the first inning.
 
Scouting the Tigers
Memphis enters Tuesday's game with a record of 8-8 and was swept at home last weekend by a visiting Indiana State squad. The Tigers and Trojans have one common opponent this season as each team has played Central Arkansas. Memphis defeated the Bears on February 26 by a score of 8-6 in Conway but has since lost six of seven games including six straight. Senior Anthony Hansen has gotten off to a hot start with a batting average of .389 and OPS of 1.209. The Columbia, Missouri native also leads the team in homeruns and is reaching base at a clip of .522, walking significantly more than he is striking out with 15 walks to six strikeouts. On the mound, reliever Dalton Kendrick has made nine appearances, throwing 15 innings with a 3.60 ERA. Opposing batters are hitting just .212 off of the junior lefty and he has struck out 22 and walked just four hitters.
 
Series History
Little Rock and Memphis have a series history that dates back to 1978 as the Tigers soundly defeated the Trojans in their first ever meeting by a score of 13-0 on April 25 in Memphis. Although the Tigers have dominated the series as a whole, leading 40 wins to 13 losses, a majority of those games took place nearly 40 years ago in the 80's. In the seven most recent matchups which are the only games to take place in the 21^st century, Little Rock leads 4-3 with the most recent contest being won by the Trojans on March 10, 2018, by a score of 4-1 in Memphis. This game saw Troy Alexander bring in three runs with a double and walk as well as an extended save from Donovan Buck who pitched the final 3.1 innings while striking out four.
 
Trevino Wins OVC Player of the Week
Little Rock infielder Skyler Trevino was named the Ohio Valley Conference Player of the Week for his performances against Central Arkansas and Grambling over the last seven days. The Whitehouse, Texas native had a monster day on Sunday in the series finale against Grambling, going 2-for-3 and driving in six runs on a double and grand slam, his second of the season. In that same game Trevino nabbed two bags on as many attempts and helped the Trojans to their first series sweep of 2023. Trevino currently leads the team in many offensive categories including runs batted in (21), on base percentage (.481), and on base plus slugging (1.231).
 
Both Sides of the Ball
The Trojans sit at the top of the Ohio Valley Conference in both team batting average as well as ERA. Little Rock is hitting at a clip of .295 which is 15 points higher than the next closest team. The offense also leads the OVC in slugging percentage and on base percentage at .488 and .404 respectively. On the mound Little Rock boasts a team ERA of 4.58 and is limiting opposing batters to an average of just .251. The Trojan pitching staff has also hurled two combined shutouts so far this season standing alone at the top of the conference.
 
Three Things to Know

• Right-handed pitcher Jackson Wells has continued his strong start to the year, in his most recent outing he brought his season ERA down to 0.42 with five scoreless innings versus Grambling. His ERA is good for the fifth best in all of Division I baseball and he has thrown 21.2 innings so far in four starts.
• Senior Tyler Williams leads both the team and the Ohio Valley in batting average at .395. The Lilburn, Georgia native hit his first homerun of the season on Saturday, an inside the park round-tripper off of the center field wall that saw him make his way around the bases in just over 14 seconds.
• Following Tuesday's game against Memphis, Little Rock will go on the road for the first time in 2023. The Trojans have played their first fourteen games at Gary Hogan field and will finally play at away series when they travel to Natchitoches, Louisiana for a three game set against Northwestern State.

 
Noah Burkey is expected to get the start for Little Rock in Tuesday's matchup against Memhpis.
 
For the latest information on Little Rock Baseball, make sure to check out LRTrojans.com. You can also find the team on social media at @LittleRockBSB on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.
 
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