Little Rock will play Troy in the NCAA Super Regional beginning Friday at 4:00 p.m. at Riddle-Pace Field in Troy, Alabama, with Game 2 slated for 2 p.m. Saturday and a possible Game 3 on Sunday to be announced later; the winner advances to the College World Series.
The matchup is the biggest in Little Rock program history: the Trojans reached the Super Regional for the first time ever by winning the Hattiesburg Regional, knocking off the No. 9 overall seed Southern Miss and beating Jacksonville State twice. Little Rock has carried that momentum into an eight-game winning streak entering Troy and arrives having won five straight after falling into the elimination bracket of the Ohio Valley Conference Tournament.
Coach Chris Curry, who has led the program for 12 years, framed the run as earned rather than accidental: "We’re not a fluke, we’re not a Cinderella," he said, and later added that postseason success is becoming an expectation for the program. That belief matters now because a series win at Troy would send the Trojans to Omaha for the first time in school history.
Little Rock’s roster and staff also carry Arkansas ties that have shaped the club’s turnaround. Pitching coach Evan Lee was a two-way contributor for the Razorbacks in 2017-18; Tag Andrews redshirted with Arkansas last year and says the surge "started in the fall," adding that the team has long been told it was the most talented in school history and finally showed up. Kade Smith, who redshirted as a freshman in Fayetteville before transferring to Division II Harding, is another player with Razorback connections.
The recent run has had its signature moments. Brody Bunting, a senior from North Little Rock, delivered the winning pitch last weekend to complete the Hattiesburg Regional; his parents described the small rituals that followed his streak — the same breakfast, the same seat, the same shirt and the same energy drink — and Rebecca Bunting said watching him "be there for his team in these last two outings" has been "amazing to watch." Jimmey Bunting added, "He just amazes me every time he gets out there on the field."
The Trojans’ ascent carries an obvious counterpoint. Last season Little Rock came within one game of reaching a Super Regional but lost a winner-take-all elimination contest to eventual national champion LSU in Baton Rouge. That defeat left the program with both the experience of playing on a national stage and the memory of falling short, a contrast that sharpens the stakes this weekend.
Practical details matter for fans and the teams alike: Game 1 starts Friday at 4:00 p.m., Game 2 at 2 p.m. Saturday, both at Riddle-Pace Field, with a Sunday Game 3 time to be announced if the series goes the distance. The site and schedule give Troy the home-field edge, but Little Rock’s eight-game streak and the postseason resilience that carried it through Hattiesburg are the traits the Trojans will lean on.
What to watch when the series begins is simple and specific: whether Little Rock’s pitching depth and hot offense can sustain the run that started after the OVC Tournament loss, and whether the Trojans can translate their Hattiesburg momentum into wins on the road. Tag Andrews called the feeling "surreal" and said the team is "super excited" after a season in which players were told all year they were the most talented group the school has had.
The most consequential unanswered question heading into Troy is whether Little Rock can finish what this surge began — turn an eight-game streak and a first-ever Super Regional appearance into the first College World Series berth in program history. The answer will arrive no later than this weekend in Troy, and it will decide whether the Trojans’ breakout season becomes a singular achievement or a near miss that adds to last year’s heartbreak in Baton Rouge.
