Trojans Prep for Pair of In-State Midweek Games

GAMES 38-39 | UCA & Arkansas State
Dates/Times	Tuesday, Apr. 25 - 2 p.m. Wednesday, Apr. 26 - 6 p.m.
Location	Conway, Ark. Little Rock, Ark.
Field	Bear Stadium Gary Hogan Field
Records	Little Rock (23-14, 10-5 OVC) UCA (16-23, 7-11 ASUN) ASU (14-22, 5-11 SBC)
Watch	Tuesday | Wednesday
Live Stats	StatBroadcast Tuesday | Wednesday
Twitter	@LittleRockBSB
Series	Little Rock leads, 32-23 Arkansas State leads, 83-48

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. – Coming off of a sweep of SIUE at Gary Hogan Field over the past weekend, the Trojans will now turn their attention to a pair of midweek games against Central Arkansas and Arkansas State.
 
Last Time Out
Over the weekend Little Rock improved its overall record to 23-14 on the year and 10-5 in Ohio Valley Conference play with three wins over the Cougars of SIUE. On Friday, sophomore Jackson Wells threw a complete came shutout and stuck out nine while scattering nine hits and walking none in the 2-0 victory. Senior Tyler Williams etched his name in the Little Rock record book on Saturday when he surpassed Miguel Miranda for the most total bases in a career with 305 on a single in the seventh inning. He would score the eventual game-winning run later in the inning as the Trojans pulled away late in a 10-5 win. The offense started off hot in the series finale on Sunday, scoring 13 runs in the first four innings including a six run third that saw three Trojans homer, and held on through a ferocious comeback by SIUE to eventually win 13-11, securing the sweep.
 
Scouting the Bears
The Bears enter Tuesday's game with an overall record of 16-23 and are currently on a six game losing streak. Last week UCA fell to Arkansas in a midweek game by a score of 6-3 before being swept at home by Stetson. Central Arkansas currently sits in 11^th place in the ASUN with a conference record of 7-11. Kolby Johnson is putting together a pretty nice season for the Bears, hitting .286 with 10 homeruns on the year and leads the team in total bases with 87. As a team the Bears are hitting .273 and have two regular players that are at or above the .300 mark for batting average. On the mound UCA has a team ERA of 5.15 and opposing hitters are batting .264 against the Bears pitching staff. Jesse Barker has been excellent for the Bears this season, pitching to a 2.45 ERA in 65.1 innings pitched over 10 starts. Twice this season he has pitched a complete game and has struck out 73 batters to just 19 walks.
 
Scouting the Red Wolves
Arkansas State will play a game on Tuesday prior to the Wednesday game but currently holds an overall record of 14-22 and has won two straight games. Last week the Red Wolves dropped a 6-3 decision to Ole Miss before beating ULM in two out of three games at home. ASU currently has a record of 5-11 in the Sun Belt and is in 12^th place in conference play. The Red Wolves are hitting .277 as a team this season and have three qualified hitters batting above .300. Brandon Hager is leading the way for the offense as the junior from Festus, Missouri is batting .323 with an OPS of 1.038. He has clubbed seven homeruns for the Red Wolves and leads the team in total bases with 70. On the mound A-State has a team ERA of 6.66 and is allowing opposing hitters to bat at a .290 clip on the year. The pitching staff has been susceptible to the long ball this season, allowing 49 homeruns through 36 games. Junior righthanded pitcher Arlon Butts has been solid out of the bullpen in 18 appearances, pitching to an ERA of 4.01 and has struck out 35 in 33.2 innings pitched.
 
UCA Series History
Little Rock holds the advantage in the all-time series between the two programs with a record of 32-23 and is currently on a two game winning streak that includes a win earlier this season. In the last matchup the game was knotted up at two entering the ninth inning before four consecutive walks allowed Skyler Trevino to cross the plate for the walk-off victory at Gary Hogan Field. Little Rock typically performs better against UCA when playing at home, but still has an above .500 record when playing in Conway at 11-10. Tuesday's game will be the second of three Governors I-40 Showdown games this season as the final game is scheduled for May 16 at Dickey-Stevens Park in North Little Rock.
 
A-State Series History
Arkansas State is leading the all-time series against the Trojans with a record of 83-48 and games dating all the way back to 1975. The series has been marked with long winning streaks for each side and Arkansas State is currently on one of those streaks having not lost to Little Rock since 2019 and have been winners of five straight matchups. Wednesday will be the first time in a long time that the two sides have met as nonconference opponents with Little Rock leaving the Sun Belt to join the OVC and being in its first season in the new conference.
 
Three Things to Know

• Head Coach Chris Curry is rapidly approaching his 200^th win as the head coach for Little Rock as he is currently sitting at 197 wins. He will be able to accomplish this feat as early as Friday in the first game of a nonconference weekend series against a visiting New Orleans squad.
• Senior Tyler Williams set a new bar for total bases in a career on Saturday when he passed a record that has stood since the beginning of the 21^st century. Williams is just the second Trojan to pass 300 career total bases and now holds the record with 305, he also accomplished this feat in 66 less games than the previous record holder.
• Rogers native Jackson Wells pitched the first complete game shutout for Little Rock since Hayden Arnold blanked Louisiana-Lafayette last season. Wells set career highs in innings pitched (9) and strikeouts in a game (9) and earned OVC Pitcher of the Week honors in the tenth week of the season for his efforts on Friday. He currently holds the second best ERA in the nation at a mark of 1.07. 

Freshman right-hander Malcolm Brown is slated to get the start on Tuesday against Central Arkansas and Wednesday's starter against Arkansas State to be announced for the Trojans.
 
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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