Natural State Series Kicks Off Against Trojans
FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – Tuesday night will mark a historic night in Arkansas Baseball history as the ninth-ranked Razorbacks will face the Little Rock Trojans at Baum-Walker Stadium at 6:30 p.m. It will be the first-ever meeting between the two programs in the regular season and will be the first of two games Arkansas will play against in-system schools.
Arkansas (22-6, 6-3 SEC) is looking to get back on the winning track after dropping two-of-three against then-No. 21 Ole Miss last weekend. The series loss snapped a streak of 18-consecutive home series wins dating back to 2017, but now the Hogs have their sights set on earning a win on Tuesday to take momentum into their weekend series at Auburn.
Freshman Patrick Wicklander will take the hill for his fifth-consecutive midweek start. The San Jose, California native got the nod last week at Missouri State and was unhittable for two innings, striking out the final five batters he faced. In his five starts this year, Wicklander has a 2.84 ERA and a 4.67 strikeout-to-walk ratio.
The bats of Dominic Fletcher and Casey Martin come into the eighth week of the season hot as both players hit well over .400 last week with Fletcher leading all Razorbacks with a .438 average over the last four games. Three of Fletcher’s seven hits went for doubles last week and his 14 doubles this season ties Mississippi State’s Jake Mangum for the SEC lead.
Martin hit his team-leading sixth home run of the year on Sunday against Ole Miss, extending his hit streak to six games. Against the Rebels last week, Martin went 6-for-13 (.462) with two multi-hit games and has 10 hits during his six-game streak.
Follow Live
Tuesday’s game with the Trojans will be available via SEC Network+ and the ESPN app. Brett Dolan (PxP) and Troy Eklund (Analyst) will have the call.
Fans can listen to the radio call via the Razorback Gameday app and locally on KQSM 92.1 FM as Phil Elson and Bubba Carpenter will have the call from Baum-Walker Stadium. Pregame coverage begins 30 minutes prior to first pitch. There will also be a live radio link available on ArkansasRazorbacks.com.
Important Links
Live Video – WATCH
Live Stats – VIEW
Live Audio – LISTEN
Probable Starters
TUE. : (ARK) LHP Patrick Wicklander (2-1, 5.11 ERA, 37 K, 15 BB) vs. (LR) RHP McKinley Moore (0-2, 9.00 ERA, 12 K, 10 BB)
Razorback Prime Nine
>> For the first time in school history Arkansas will take on an in-state school when it faces Little Rock on Tuesday at Baum-Walker Stadium. It will also take on Arkansas-Pine Bluff on April 16.
>> Arkansas is 16-3 this season in non-conference games and is hitting .306 in those games, while the pitching staff ERA is at 3.13.
>> The Razorbacks defeated Missouri State, 8-2, in their last midweek contest after getting eight unanswered runs over the course of the final four innings.
>> Freshman Patrick Wicklander will make his fifth-consecutive midweek start on Tuesday. In those starts, Wicklander has a 2.84 ERA and a 4.67 strikeout-to-walk ratio.
>> Junior outfielder Dominic Fletcher is coming off one of his strongest weeks of the season after going 7-for-16 (.438) at the plate, which led all Razorbacks, with three of his hits going for doubles.
>> For the fifth-straight start, redshirt junior Isaiah Campbell went six or more innings after going seven against No. 21 Ole Miss last week. He only allowed four earned runs and five walks in March.
>> Redshirt freshman Jacob Nesbit saw his 15-game hitting streak come to a close last Friday against the Rebels. Nesbit hit .412 during the streak with 15 RBIs and slugged .529.
>> Outfielder Dominic Fletcher is tied for first in the SEC in doubles (14) heading into the fourth week of conference play. He matched his career-best of two doubles in Friday’s series opener vs. Ole Miss.
>> Closer Matt Cronin had his longest outing of the year last Friday against Ole Miss, going 1.2 innings for his seventh save of the year, striking out three. The save total is second most in the SEC.
Up Next
Arkansas hits the road for its first Thursday-Saturday series in conference play when it travels to 10th-ranked Auburn at Plainsman Park. Game one is set for Thursday at 6:30 p.m. on ESPNU, while game two will be at 6 p.m. on SEC Network+. The series finale will have first pitch at 2 p.m. and be broadcast on SEC Network+ as well.
For more information on Razorback Baseball, follow @RazorbackBSB on Twitter.
