UA Little Rock announces 2021 baseball schedule
Little Rock head coach Chris Curry has announced the 2021 Little Rock baseball schedule, scheduled to get underway the third weekend of February. 53 games are on this year’s slate for the Trojans, including 18 games at Gary Hogan Field and at least two games against every other in-state Division I opponent.
“It’s always an exciting day when we get to announce our schedule, and this one in particular is an accomplishment in and of itself,” Curry said. “With our schedule being canceled last year, and everything we’ve been through to get to this point, I’m appreciative of our administration and my staff for everything they’ve done to get us here.”
The 2021 slate will arguably be one of the most challenging of Curry’s tenure in Little Rock as the Trojans are scheduled to face four NCAA Super Regional teams from 2019, as well as a pair of College World Series participants in Arkansas and Auburn. Traditional NCAA qualifiers such as Rice, Louisiana, South Alabama, and Sam Houston State should help provide challenging games for Little Rock this season.
“It’s a very tough schedule, and we all know that because of COVID, its scheduled to change last minute, but we like what we’ve been able to lay out,” Curry said. “It features a very good mix for us of challenging road trips, including some SEC and Big 12 schools, and we get to keep the healthy in-state rivalries going. We’ll also have some very good games at home in Sun Belt play for our fans to watch. The Sun Belt will be as tough as ever, but we like our club that we have coming back and think they’ll be up for the challenge.”
Little Rock opens the 2021 season with a challenging five-game road trip over six days, traveling to Houston Feb. 19-21 to take on Houston Baptist and a pair of games at Rice before heading north to Stillwater, Oklahoma, for two games against Oklahoma State Feb. 23-24.
The Trojans play at Gary Hogan Field for the first time with a weekend series against Eastern Illinois Feb. 26-28, followed by the first of two games against Central Arkansas on March 2. That leads into a challenging six-game road swing in Alabama, beginning with the return trip to North Alabama in Florence before continuing on for a three-game series at Auburn March 12-14.
Little Rock opens its Sun Belt schedule at home, facing Texas State at Gary Hogan Field March 19-21. That series then leads into a challenging stretch where the Trojans play nine of their next 10 games on the road, beginning with a midweek showdown with Arkansas-Pine Bluff (March 23) before a weekend series against Southern Illinois in Carbondale March 26-28.
Arkansas-Pine Bluff makes the return trip to Gary Hogan Field on March 30, starting a Natural State stretch. That carries into the following weekend when Little Rock renews its rivalry with Arkansas State in Jonesboro April 1-3. The Trojans then make the return trip to Fayetteville, facing Arkansas in a two-game series April 6-7.
Little Rock resumes Sun Belt play April 9-11, hosting South Alabama at Gary Hogan Field, leading into the yearly trip to Conway for the road game at Central Arkansas April 13. A weekend series at ULM April 16-18 is followed by a midweek showdown at Ole Miss in Oxford, Mississippi on April 20 as Little Rock then welcomes Louisiana to Gary Hogan Field for a weekend series April 23-25.
Another extended road trip begins with a trip to Louisiana Tech on April 27 as Little Rock then heads to Texas for a weekend series at UT Arlington April 30-May 2. After a midweek home game against Oral Roberts on May 4, the Trojans return to the Lone Star state for a weekend series facing Sam Houston State in Huntsville May 7-9.
Little Rock’s final home games of the season will be May 14-16, hosting Appalachian State. The regular season concludes May 20-22 in Atlanta against Georgia State. The 2021 Sun Belt Tournament will then be held May 25-30 at Riverwalk Stadium in Montgomery, Alabama.
Ticket information for the 2021 Little Rock baseball season will be announced in the coming weeks. Fans will be expected to adhere to COVID protocols during games at Gary Hogan Field, including wearing face coverings and maintaining social distancing.
