UALR vs. South Alabama
WHEN 2 p.m. today; 6 p.m. Saturday; 1 p.m. Sunday
WHERE Gary Hogan Field, Little Rock
RECORDS UALR 12-13, 3-3 Sun Belt Conference; South Alabama 16-10, 5-1
SERIES South Alabama leads 75-16
INTERNET ESPN-Plus
PROBABLE STARTERS
TODAY UALR: RHP Hayden Arnold (3-3, 4.30); South Alabama: RHP Jeremy Lee (2-1, 2.75)
SATURDAY UALR: RHP Aaron Funk (0-3, 5.58); South Alabama: RHP Matt Boswel (2-0, 4.11)
SUNDAY UALR: TBD; South Alabama: RHP JoJo Booke (3-0, 3.12)
SHORT HOPS
First pitch for today’s game was moved from 6 p.m. to 2 p.m. due to expected rain. … UALR has lost five consecutive games following two midweek losses at No. 2 University of Arkansas and last weekend’s sweep at Arkansas State University. The Trojans enter the weekend in a three-way tie with ASU and Texas-Arlington for second place in the Sun Belt West Division. … South Alabama arrives in Little Rock atop the Sun Belt East Division following a sweep over Troy last weekend. … Trojans Coach Chris Curry has 76 career Sun Belt wins, which is tied with former UALR coach Gary Hogan for the most in school history. … South Alabama carries a conference-low staff ERA of 3.65. … UALR sophomore outfielder Tyler Williams saw a 24-game on-base streak end in the Trojans’ 10-3 loss to Arkansas on Wednesday. He leads the Trojans in slugging percentage (.606), hits (33), doubles (8), triples (2), home runs (5) and RBI (27). … South Alabama junior Ethan Wilson leads the Jaguars with a .318 batting average and 28 hits.
— Eli Lederman
Arkansas State at Louisiana-Lafayette
WHEN 6 p.m. today; 4 p.m. Saturday; 1 p.m. Sunday
WHERE Moore Field, Lafayette, La.
RECORDS ASU 8-14, 3-3 Sun Belt Conference; Louisiana-Lafayette 19-11, 5-1
SERIES Louisiana-Lafayette leads 83-41
RADIO KNEA-FM, 95.3, in Jonesboro
INTERNET ESPN-Plus (today and Saturday)
PROBABLE STARTERS
TODAY ASU: RHP Brandon Hudson (2-0, 4.76); Louisiana-Lafayette: RHP Spencer Arrighetti (5-1, 0.90)
SATURDAY ASU: RHP Will Nash (1-2, 4.84); Louisiana-Lafayette: TBA
SUNDAY ASU: RHP Carter Holt (1-2, 6.48); Louisiana-Lafayette: TBA
SHORT HOPS
The Red Wolves’ midweek game against the University of Central Arkansas was canceled due to covid-19 protocols within the Bears program. … ASU enters the weekend tied with the University of Arkansas at Little Rock and Texas-Arlington for second place in the Sun Belt West Division following last weekend’s three-game sweep of the Trojans. … The Ragin’ Cajuns have won six consecutive games and sit atop the Sun Belt West. … ASU junior catcher Liam Hicks hit 7-13 (.538) against UALR and begins the weekend with a team-high batting average of .442. Junior outfielder Jaylon Deshazier enters with a career-long nine game hitting streak. … Louisiana-Lafayette sophomore Spencer Arrighetti is scheduled to start for the Ragin’ Cajuns today. The right-hander from Katy, Texas, leads the Sun Belt in wins (six), ERA (0.96) and strikeouts (54). … Red Wolves sophomore Brandon Hudson earned his second win of the season against the Trojans, striking out 3 while allowing 4 hits and 2 earned runs over 6 innings in a 10-2 win. … Ragin’ Cajuns freshman outfielder Carson Roccaforte set a program-record with five stolen bases in a victory over Louisiana-Monroe on April 1.
— Eli Lederman