2020 Little Rock Trojans baseball team

2020 Little Rock Trojans baseball
Conference	Sun Belt Conference
Division	West Division
Record	9–8 (0–0 SBC)
Head coach	Chris Curry (6th season)
Assistant coaches	Noah Sanders R. D. Spiehs
Home stadium	Gary Hogan Field
Seasons ← 2019 2021  →

2020 Sun Belt Conference baseball standings

v t e	Conf.							Overall
Team	W		L		PCT			W		L		PCT
East Division
Coastal Carolina  ‍‍‍	0	–	0		–			11	–	5		.688
Georgia Southern  ‍‍‍	0	–	0		–			11	–	5		.688
Appalachian State  ‍‍‍	0	–	0		–			11	–	6		.647
Georgia State  ‍‍‍	0	–	0		–			9	–	7		.563
Troy  ‍‍‍	0	–	0		–			9	–	8		.529
South Alabama  ‍‍‍	0	–	0		–			8	–	10		.444
West Division
Texas State  ‍‍‍	0	–	0		–			14	–	4		.778
UT Arlington  ‍‍‍	0	–	0		–			12	–	4		.750
Louisiana–Monroe  ‍‍‍	0	–	0		–			12	–	5		.706
Little Rock  ‍‍‍	0	–	0		–			9	–	8		.529
Louisiana  ‍‍‍	0	–	0		–			8	–	9		.471
Arkansas State  ‍‍‍	0	–	0		–			7	–	9		.438
x – Division champion ‡ – Tournament champion y – Invited to the NCAA tournament As of March 12, 2020 [1] Rankings from D1Baseball

The 2020 Little Rock Trojans baseball team represented the University of Arkansas at Little Rock during the 2020 NCAA Division I baseball season. The Trojans played their home games at Gary Hogan Field and were led by sixth year head coach Chris Curry. They were members of the Sun Belt Conference.

Preseason

Signing Day Recruits

^[2]

Player	Hometown	Previous Team
Pitchers
Matthew Davis	Selma, Alabama	Morgan Academy
Mason Hilton	Weatherford, Texas	McLennan CC
Zane Neves	Jonesboro, Arkansas	St. Johns River State
Sawyer Smallwood	Texarkana, Texas	Northeast Texas CC
Chance Vaught	Mobile, Alabama	Mobile Christian
Jacob Weatherley	Jonesboro, Arkansas	Jonesboro HS
Hitters
Bryan Muniz	Orange Park, Florida	Calvary Christian
Austin Scritchfield	Cabot, Arkansas	Cabot HS

Sun Belt Conference Coaches Poll

The Sun Belt Conference Coaches Poll was released on January 30, 2020 and the Trojans were picked to finish fourth in the West Division. ^[3]

Coaches poll (West)
Predicted finish	Team	Votes (1st place)
1	UT Arlington	58 (3)
2	Louisiana	57 (5)
3	Texas State	55 (3)
4	Little Rock	39 (1)
5	Louisiana–Monroe	25
6	Arkansas State	18

Preseason All-Sun Belt Team & Honors

• Drake Nightengale (USA, Sr, Pitcher)
• Zach McCambley (CCU, Jr, Pitcher)
• Levi Thomas (TROY, Jr, Pitcher)
• Andrew Papp (APP, Sr, Pitcher)
• Jack Jumper (ARST, Sr, Pitcher)
• Kale Emshoff (LR, RS-Jr, Catcher)
• Kaleb DeLatorre (USA, Sr, First Base)
• Luke Drumheller (APP, So, Second Base)
• Hayden Cantrelle (LA, Jr, Shortstop)
• Garrett Scott (LR, RS-Sr, Third Base)
• Mason McWhorter (GASO, Sr, Outfielder)
• Ethan Wilson (USA, So, Outfielder)
• Rigsby Mosley (TROY, Jr, Outfielder)
• Will Hollis (TXST, Sr, Designated Hitter)
• Andrew Beesley (ULM, Sr, Utility)

Roster

2020 Little Rock Trojans roster
	Pitchers 10 Keegan Westbrook - Junior 14 Eli Sievert - Senior 16 Alec Benavides - Redshirt Junior 17 Aaron Funk - Junior 18 Calvin Hunt - Freshman 25 Jose Torres - Redshirt Senior 26 Cal Beardsley - Junior 27 Luke Wallner - Junior 30 Hayden Arnold - Junior 34 Dillon Delgadillo - Senior 36 Austin Smith - Junior 37 Erik McKnight - Freshman 40 Ty Gordon - Redshirt Junior 44 Cole Evans - Junior		Catchers 7 Josh Nowak - Senior 23 Kale Emshoff - Redshirt Junior 24 Houston Parker - Junior 28 John Michael Russ - Junior 29 Ramon Padilla - Senior Infielders 1 Christian Bernabe - Freshman 2 Eldridge Figueroa - Junior 4 Ty Riche - Junior 5 Miguel Soto - Sophomore 6 Nathan Lyons - Sophomore 9 Will Spears - Freshman 12 Reed Shephard - Junior 21 Jorden Hussein - Junior 22 Garrett Scott - Redshirt Senior 31 Tucker Childers - Redshirt Junior 33 Kobe Barnum - Junior Outfielders 8 Tim Dixon - Junior 13 Tyler Williams - Freshman 20 Kenny Rodriguez - Junior

Coaching staff

2020 Little Rock Trojans coaching staff
Chris Curry – Head Coach – 6th year Noah Sanders – Assistant Head Coach and Recruiting Coordinator – 3rd year R. D. Spiehs – Assistant Head Coach – 2nd year Nick Piraino – Director of Operations/Player Development – 1st year Jacob Caples – Volunteer Assistant Coach

Schedule and results

Legend
	Little Rock win
	Little Rock loss
	Postponement/Cancelation/Suspensions
Bold	Little Rock team member

2020 Little Rock Trojans baseball game log
Regular season (9-8)
February (7-5) Date Opponent Rank Site/stadium Score Win Loss Save TV Attendance Overall record SBC record Feb. 14 Illinois State Gary Hogan Field • Little Rock, AR W 6-0 Arnold (1-0) Johnson (0-1) Torres (1) 257 1-0 Feb. 15 Illinois State Gary Hogan Field • Little Rock, AR W 7-6 Smith (1-0) Gilmore (0-1) None 239 2-0 Feb. 16 Illinois State Gary Hogan Field • Little Rock, AR L 2-4 Salata (1-0) Torres (0-1) Huffmanm (1) 312 2-1 Feb. 19 Grambling State Gary Hogan Field • Little Rock, AR W 6-4 Delgadillo (1-0) Peters (0-1) None 125 3-1 Feb. 21 at Nicholls Ben Meyer Diamond at Ray E. Didier Field • Thibodaux, LA W 8-6 (10 inns) Torres (1-1) Balado (0-2) None YouTube 277 4-1 Feb. 22 vs. McNeese State Ben Meyer Diamond at Ray E. Didier Field • Thibodaux, LA L 2-14 (7 inns) Dion (2-0) Sievert (0-1) None 123 4-2 Feb. 22 at Nicholls Ben Meyer Diamond at Ray E. Didier Field • Thibodaux, LA W 11-2 Smith (2-0) Evans (0-1) None 237 5-2 Feb. 23 vs. Southern Ben Meyer Diamond at Ray E. Didier Field • Thibodaux, LA W 7-4 Evans (1-0) Allen (1-3) None 77 6-2 Feb. 25 at Oklahoma State O'Brate Stadium • Stillwater, OK L 1-9 Bowman (1-0) Beardsley (0-1) None ESPN+ 462 6-3 Feb. 26 at Oklahoma State O'Brate Stadium • Stillwater, OK L 0-12 (7 inn) Varela (2-0) Smith (2-1) None 188 6-4 Feb. 28 North Alabama Gary Hogan Field • Little Rock, AR L 4-8 Davidson (1-2) Arnold (1-1) None 225 6-5 Feb. 29 North Alabama Gary Hogan Field • Little Rock, AR W 7-3 Sievert (1-1) Laws (0-2) Evans (1) 176 7-5
March (2-3) Date Opponent Rank Site/stadium Score Win Loss Save TV Attendance Overall record SBC record Mar. 1 North Alabama Gary Hogan Field • Little Rock, AR W 2-1 Funk (1-0) Best (1-2) None 235 8-5 Mar. 3 at Oral Roberts J. L. Johnson Stadium • Tulsa, OK L 3-4 (11 inns) Swift (2-0) Delgadillo (1-1) None 612 8-6 Mar. 6 at Southern Miss Pete Taylor Park • Hattiesburg, MS L 4-11 Powell (3-0) Sievert (1-2) None 3,667 8-7 Mar. 7 at Southern Miss Pete Taylor Park • Hattiesburg, MS L 1-4 Ethridge (3-0) Wallner (0-1) Stanley (2) 3,920 8-8 Mar. 8 at Southern Miss Pete Taylor Park • Hattiesburg, MS W 5-1 Funk (2-0) Best (0-2) None 3,776 9-8 Mar. 13 UT Arlington Gary Hogan Field • Little Rock, AR Season suspended due to COVID-19 pandemic Mar. 14 UT Arlington Gary Hogan Field • Little Rock, AR Season suspended due to COVID-19 pandemic Mar. 15 UT Arlington Gary Hogan Field • Little Rock, AR Season suspended due to COVID-19 pandemic Mar. 17 Mississippi Valley State Gary Hogan Field • Little Rock, AR Season suspended due to COVID-19 pandemic Mar. 18 Mississippi Valley State Gary Hogan Field • Little Rock, AR Season suspended due to COVID-19 pandemic Mar. 20 at Troy Riddle–Pace Field • Troy, AL Season suspended due to COVID-19 pandemic Mar. 21 at Troy Riddle–Pace Field • Troy, AL Season suspended due to COVID-19 pandemic Mar. 22 at Troy Riddle–Pace Field • Troy, AL Season suspended due to COVID-19 pandemic Mar. 24 Arkansas–Pine Bluff Gary Hogan Field • Little Rock, AR Season suspended due to COVID-19 pandemic Mar. 27 Appalachian State Gary Hogan Field • Little Rock, AR Season suspended due to COVID-19 pandemic Mar. 28 Appalachian State Gary Hogan Field • Little Rock, AR Season suspended due to COVID-19 pandemic Mar. 29 Appalachian State Gary Hogan Field • Little Rock, AR Season suspended due to COVID-19 pandemic
April (0-0) Date Opponent Rank Site/stadium Score Win Loss Save TV Attendance Overall record SBC record Apr. 3 at Georgia State Georgia State Baseball Complex • Decatur, GA Season suspended due to COVID-19 pandemic Apr. 4 at Georgia State Georgia State Baseball Complex • Decatur, GA Season suspended due to COVID-19 pandemic Apr. 5 at Georgia State Georgia State Baseball Complex • Decatur, GA Season suspended due to COVID-19 pandemic Apr. 7 at No. 14 Arkansas Baum–Walker Stadium • Fayetteville, AR Season suspended due to COVID-19 pandemic Apr. 9 Louisiana–Monroe Gary Hogan Field • Little Rock, AR Season suspended due to COVID-19 pandemic Apr. 10 Louisiana–Monroe Gary Hogan Field • Little Rock, AR Season suspended due to COVID-19 pandemic Apr. 11 Louisiana–Monroe Gary Hogan Field • Little Rock, AR Season suspended due to COVID-19 pandemic Apr. 14 at Central Arkansas Bear Stadium • Conway, AR Season suspended due to COVID-19 pandemic Apr. 17 at Louisiana M. L. Tigue Moore Field at Russo Park • Lafayette, LA Season suspended due to COVID-19 pandemic Apr. 18 at Louisiana M. L. Tigue Moore Field at Russo Park • Lafayette, LA Season suspended due to COVID-19 pandemic Apr. 19 at Louisiana M. L. Tigue Moore Field at Russo Park • Lafayette, LA Season suspended due to COVID-19 pandemic Apr. 21 Central Arkansas Gary Hogan Field • Little Rock, AR Season suspended due to COVID-19 pandemic Apr. 24 at Texas State Bobcat Ballpark • San Marcos, TX Season suspended due to COVID-19 pandemic Apr. 25 at Texas State Bobcat Ballpark • San Marcos, TX Season suspended due to COVID-19 pandemic Apr. 26 at Texas State Bobcat Ballpark • San Marcos, TX Season suspended due to COVID-19 pandemic Apr. 28 at Grambling State Ralph Waldo Emerson Jones Park and Wilbert Ellis Field • Grambling, LA Season suspended due to COVID-19 pandemic
May (0–0) Date Opponent Rank Site/stadium Score Win Loss Save TV Attendance Overall record SBC record May 1 South Alabama Gary Hogan Field • Little Rock, AR Season suspended due to COVID-19 pandemic May 2 South Alabama Gary Hogan Field • Little Rock, AR Season suspended due to COVID-19 pandemic May 3 South Alabama Gary Hogan Field • Little Rock, AR Season suspended due to COVID-19 pandemic May 5 vs. Central Arkansas Dickey–Stephens Park • North Little Rock, AR Season suspended due to COVID-19 pandemic May 8 at Coastal Carolina Springs Brooks Stadium • Conway, SC Season suspended due to COVID-19 pandemic May 9 at Coastal Carolina Springs Brooks Stadium • Conway, SC Season suspended due to COVID-19 pandemic May 10 at Coastal Carolina Springs Brooks Stadium • Conway, SC Season suspended due to COVID-19 pandemic May 14 Arkansas State Gary Hogan Field • Little Rock, AR Season suspended due to COVID-19 pandemic May 15 Arkansas State Gary Hogan Field • Little Rock, AR Season suspended due to COVID-19 pandemic May 16 Arkansas State Gary Hogan Field • Little Rock, AR Season suspended due to COVID-19 pandemic
Post-season (0–0)
SBC Tournament (0–0) Date Opponent Seed/Rank Site/stadium Score Win Loss Save TV Attendance Overall record SBC record May 20 Montgomery Riverwalk Stadium • Montgomery, AL Championship Series suspended due to COVID-19 pandemic

Schedule Source: ^[4]

*Rankings are based on the team's current ranking in the D1Baseball poll.

References

1. "Sun Belt Conference baseball standings, teams, and schedules". D1Baseball. Retrieved April 12, 2020.
2. "Curry Adds Eight in Fall Signing Period". Little Rock Athletics. Retrieved March 4, 2021.
3. Conference, Sun Belt. "South Alabama, UTA Tabbed as Favorites in Sun Belt; USA's Wilson, Nightengale Highlight Preseason All-Sun Belt Baseball Team". sunbeltsports.org. Retrieved February 23, 2021.
4. "Little Rock Announces 2020 Trojan Baseball Schedule". Little Rock Athletics. Retrieved March 4, 2021.