Little Rock Returns To Gary Hogan Field For A Weekend Series Against Illinois State

LITTLE ROCK- The Little Rock Trojans (2-2) return to Gary Hogan Field for the second weekend series of the year, this time against the Illinois State Redbirds (1-2). Game one is set for Friday at 3 p.m., followed by a Saturday start time of 2 p.m., and the series finale Sunday at 1 p.m.

Series History
The Redbirds come to Little Rock for the first time since the inaugural meeting between the two clubs in the 2020 season. The Trojans would go 2-1 on the weekend earning the all-time series lead. Little Rock has managed to outscore Illinois State 15-10 through three games after winning the first two with scores of 6-0 and 7-6 and conceding game three 2-4.

Scouting Illinois State
Illinois States enters this weekend after going 1-2 at the Snowbird Class in Port Charlotte, FL. The Redbirds earned their lone victory against St. Thomas on opening day crossing the plate 18 times for a final score of 18-12. The rest of the series took a different path as Illinois State lost to Saint Louis on Saturday with a final score of 8-13 and St. Thomas on Sunday with a final score of 8-20. 6 Redbirds have posted a .400 batting average or better through the first weekend including Noah Rabin who is hitting .538 on 13 at bats. 

About the Trojans

• Nico Baumbach leads all Trojans with a .500 batting average with Noah Brewer (.429), Skyler Trevino (.400), and Jake Wright (.364) hitting over .350
• Thomas Kuykendall recorded his first win as a Trojan after pitching the final four innings against Memphis
• Hoss Brewer (3.68) leads all pitchers in ERA (MIN 5 innings pitched) and Jack Cline (7.2) leads in innings pitched
• Skyler Trevino (12) leads all fielders in assists and Jake Wright (37) leads the team in putouts

Building the Bullpen
The Trojans have begun to solidify the bullpen and pitching rotation. Erik McKnight, Austin Stubber, and Jacob Weatherley proved to be vital bullpen assets in the Trojans' 5-4 win over Wichita State. Stubber (1-0) was the pitcher of record entering the game in the top of the 5th conceding no runs and only one hit. Weatherley (1) earned his first save of the year and eighth of his career. Jack Cline and Thomas Kuykendall (1-0) tag teamed their way past the Memphis Tigers splitting the game at just over 4 innings a piece - each conceding a single earned run. 

First pitch of the series will be Friday, February 23 at 3 p.m. The game will be live streamed on ESPN+.

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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