BEAUMONT, TX ? The Arkansas State baseball team ran its winning streak to three straight games as the Indians downed Southeast Conference foe Kentucky, 7-3 on Friday afternoon in the first game of the Lamar Cardinal Classic at Vincent-Beck Stadium. Senior third base man
Michael Williams Jr. was the catalyst of the Tribe attack as he drove in four runs and tallied three hits in the victory.
“I am proud of our guys as we came down here and played very well this afternoon to pick up the win over a very good Kentucky team,” head coach Keith Kessinger said. “This was probably our best all-around performance this afternoon as we did a lot of good things.”
The Indians (5-1) rode the left arm of starter Joel Boeschen to the victory as he worked seven strong innings to pick up his first win of the year and first as an Indian. Boeschen allowed three runs on six hits while notching a career-high 10 strikeouts on the afternoon. He becomes the first Indian this season to reach double figures in strikeouts and the first since Taylor Fowler struck out 10 against Arkansas-Little Rock last season.
“Joel had an exceptional game and really competed hard as he simply refused to come out of the game,” Kessinger added. “This is a great way for him to earn his first career victory as an Indian by beating a strong program in Kentucky.”
The Indians fell behind of the Wildcats in the bottom of the first inning as Kentucky took advantage of a lead off walk from Boeschen to Antone DeJesus. Dejesus moved into scoring position with a stolen base and come home with the first run of the game on Brian Hastings' run scoring double.
The Tribe pulled even in the top of the fourth inning against Kentucky ace Aaron Tennyson. Senior Kevin Kull Jr. started things off by reached base as he was hit by a pitch and moved into scoring position on a Josh Yates single. The Indians plated their first run of the game was junior right fielder Tyler Doke lifted a sacrifice fly to center field to bring home Kull with the tying run.
Kentucky (3-1) re-took the lead in the bottom of the fourth inning as it put together three consecutive hits against Boeschen. Shaun Lehmann led off with a single and moved to third on Ryan Wilkes' double. DeJesus again came through as he dropped down a perfect bunt single that plated Lehmann and gave Kentucky a 2-1 lead.
The game continued to move along as both pitchers settled into the flow of the game. The Indians finally broke through against Tennyson in the top of the seventh inning as they plated three runs in the frame. The inning started at shortstop Todd Boucher drew a walk and sophomore catcher Drew Rogers single to put two aboard. Williams followed with his first RBI of the afternoon as he ripped a double down the left field line to plate Boucher with the game tying run and chase Tennyson from the game.
The Tribe welcomed Wildcat reliever Dewayne Oxford quickly as senior second baseman Brett Kinning lifted a sacrifice fly down the right field line to plate Rogers with the go ahead run. The Indians were not done as they added an insurance run as junior Hudson Smart ripped a run scoring single up the middle to give ASU a 4-2 lead.
The Wildcats were able to pull within one run and force Boeschen out of the game in the bottom of the eighth inning. Kentucky right fielder Collin Cowgill led off the inning with a solo home run that ended Boeschen's afternoon. ASU reliever Tim Egart come on and quickly closed the door on any Wildcat rally in the eighth inning.
The Tribe came up to bat in the top of the ninth inning looking for an insurance run and wound up plating three runs in the inning to secure the victory. Senior first baseman Elliot Jacobs led off with an infield single and Rogers picked up third hit of the afternoon as he singled to center field to put runners at the corners. Williams came up to the plate in the clutch and delivered as he crushed a three-run home run over the left field wall to give the Tribe a 7-3 lead.
Egart came back out in the bottom of the ninth inning and worked a perfect closing frame to pick up his first career save. He combined with Boeschen to limit Kentucky to just six hits while striking out 11 batters. The Indian pitching staff has notched double figures in strikeouts in the past two games.
The Indians finished the day with 12 hits as a team including a career-high three hits by Rogers. Jacobs, Yates and Smart each added a pair of hits in the victory but the main damage was done by the Tribe's leadoff batter in Williams. He finished the day with three hits and drove in a career high four runs in the victory.
Tennyson (1-1) picked up the loss as he allowed four runs in 6.1 innings of work. He was charged with eight hits and just two strikeouts in the afternoon while the Kentucky bullpen surrendered three runs in 2.2 innings of relief.
The Indians will be back in action on the second day of the Lamar Cardinal Classic Saturday afternoon as the Tribe is slated to play two games. The Indians are set to face Big Ten foe Michigan State at 10 a.m. with Nathan Gates taking the hill and will see a rematch with Kentucky at 7 p.m. with Taylor Fowler going to the mound.
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