Little Rock will travel to Fayetteville on April 7 to play against No. 22 Arkansas at Baum-Walker Stadium, continuing its series of games against top-ranked teams.
This matchup is significant as Little Rock has recently won eight out of its last eleven games and is currently tied for second place in the Ohio Valley Conference standings. The team’s recent victories include sweeping Tennessee Tech and winning two out of three games against both Southern Indiana and Western Illinois.
The all-time series between the two teams favors Arkansas, which leads 7-2. Little Rock last defeated Arkansas in 2023 with a score of 11-4, while their first win came in 2019 by a margin of 17-7.
“We’re looking forward to the opportunity Tuesday to play against another ranked team,” Little Rock head coach Chris Curry said. “The game always creates a lot of excitement for baseball in the state of Arkansas, and tomorrow night should be a good game. It’s important for us to continue to play well because we have a very important series this weekend against the team in front of us.”
Several players have contributed significantly for Little Rock recently. Blake Simpson delivered an RBI double and hit a game-tying grand slam during last week’s series at Western Illinois, maintaining a .368 batting average this season. Pitcher Gage Haley earned both a win and save during Saturday’s doubleheader, ranking fourth in the conference with five saves so far this year. Kade Smith also stands out with ten doubles (fifth-best) and forty-four hits (sixth-best) among conference players.
Arkansas enters the contest after losing six out of its last seven games but remains ranked No. 22 by Baseball America following earlier success in Southeastern Conference play this season. Camden Kozeal leads their offense with a .310 batting average and eight home runs, while Ryder Helfrick has twelve home runs over thirty-two starts with a .306 average.
Looking ahead, both teams are preparing for key upcoming matchups within their respective conferences as they aim to improve their standings.
