GAMES 13, 14 & 15
ASU INDIANS vs. MEMPHIS TIGERS
March 11, 2008 - 6:30 p.m.
ASU INDIANS vs. HARRIS-STOWE STATE UNIV. HORNETS
March 12, 2008 - 3:00 p.m. (Doubleheader)
Tomlinson Stadium & Kell Field (1,200) - Jonesboro, Arkansas
Radio: KJCF 103.9 Earl FM & ASUIndians.com
Live Stats on ASUIndians.com (Broadcast & Media Link)
LEADING OFF: The Indians of Arkansas State University return to Tomlinson Stadium and Kell Field in Jonesboro to take on the Tigers of Memphis and the Hornets of Harris-Stowe State University. The Indians play host to Memphis March 11 at 6:30 p.m., before taking on Harris-Stowe in a 3 p.m., March 12 double-header. Every ASU Indian baseball game can be heard live on 103.9 Earl FM in Northeast Arkansas. The live audio broadcast can also be accessed through the StateZone portion of the Arkansas State athletics website, ASUIndians.com. Live Stats may also be accessed by logging on to ASUIndians.com and clicking the link on the left sidebar.
THE TEAMS: Arkansas State returns to Jonesboro following one of the most successful weeks in program history. The Indians started last week with a 7-5 victory over previously unbeaten and nationally No. 2 ranked Ole Miss, then closed out the week with a sweep in its first Sun Belt Series of the season. In that series, ASU swept Louisiana-Lafayette, handing the Ragin' Cajuns their first home SBC sweep since the 2000 season. Arkansas State defeated the unanimous preseason SBC favorite 3-0 and 9-5 in a March 8 double-header, then closed out the series with a 9-2 victory in the Sunday, March 9 series finale.
Memphis travels to Jonesboro at 5-8 overall and has lost four of its last five games. The Tigers traveled to Athens, Ga. last weekend for a series with Georgia, losing two of three to the Bulldogs. Georgia defeated Memphis 8-1 and 8-2 in the first two games of the series, but Memphis bounced back to avoid the sweep with a 7-6 win March 9.
THE SERIES: Memphis leads the series 85-47-1, including two victories over the Tribe during the 2007 season. Memphis defeated ASU 10-5 when the two teams met in Jonesboro May 8 and topped the Indians 8-7 when the team met then next night in Memphis, giving the Tigers three straight wins in the series. The last ASU victory in the series came during the 2006 season when ASU posted a 5-3 victory in Jonesboro, getting eight shutout innings from current Indian junior Brandon Eller.
Arkansas State and Harris-Stowe State University have never met on the baseball field.
ON THE MOUND FOR THE TRIBE: Junior Jett Jones is scheduled to get the start Tuesday night against Memphis. Jones is 0-2 on the season after appearing in five games and starting one. He has worked 11.2 innings, surrendering eight runs (five earned) on 13 hits, with six strikeouts and a walk, with an ERA of 3.86.
Freshman Andy Ferguson will start against Harris-Stowe Wednesday. Ferguson has appeared in three games on the season, drawing the start in one. He has given up just two hits in seven innings and has not surrendered a run. Ferguson has fanned six opposing batters, walked three, has an ERA of 0.00, and is 1-0 on the year.
Senior Joel Boeschen will start in the second game against Harris-Stowe. Boeschen has three starts in three appearances, with an ERA of 5.93. At 1-1 on the year, Boeschen has given up 13 runs (9 earned) on 18 hits in 13.2 innings of work. He has walked four batters and has nine strikeouts to his credit.
WARE WINS SBC PITCHER OF THE WEEK AWARD: Arkansas State junior Chase Ware was named the Sun Belt Conference Pitcher of the Week March 10 for his performance in game one of the Indians' three-game sweep of preseason Sun Belt Conference favorite Louisiana-Lafayette March 8 & 9. The series sweep was the Indians' first-ever against the Ragin' Cajuns.
Ware threw a complete-game shutout against the Ragin' Cajuns, giving up just three hits as he led the Tribe to a 3-0 victory in game one. Striking out six batters while walking two, Ware improved to 2-0 in three appearances on the season. Ware held the Cajuns to a .100 batting average while surrendering just two singles and a double in the game. He now has 19 strikeouts in three appearances this season (21.0 innings) and has compiled a 1.71 ERA.
“I am extremely pleased that both Chase and Todd Baumgartner won the player and pitcher of the week awards,” said ASU Head Coach Keith Kessinger. “Chase was at his best against the Ragin' Cajuns in a dominating performance that got our weekend off to a great start.”
BAUMGARTNER WINS SBC PLAYER OF THE WEEK AWARD: Arkansas State freshman Todd Baumgartner was named as the Sun Belt Conference Player of the Week March 10 for his performance in the Indians' four games in the week ending March 9. Baumgartner led Arkansas State at the plate during the week, batting .450 as the Tribe handed previously undefeated and No. 2-ranked Ole Miss a 7-5 defeat in Oxford, Miss., to open the week's play, then traveled to Lafayette, La., where they swept three games from the preseason Sun Belt Conference favorite Louisiana-Lafayette Ragin' Cajuns. The series sweep was the Indians' first-ever against the Cajuns.
Against Ole Miss, Baumgartner doubled, drove in a run and scored a run, and in game two of the ULL series, he went 3-for-5 with a home run, two runs scored and two RBI. In game three against the Cajuns, Baumgartner went 3-for-6 with an RBI and two runs scored. For the week, Baumgartner went 9-for-20 with a home run, a double, four RBI and five runs scored. In addition, he posted a 1.000 fielding percentage, starting all four games in left field and was 1-for-1 on stolen base attempts.
“I am extremely pleased that both Todd and Chase Ware won the player and pitcher of the week awards,” said ASU Head Coach Keith Kessinger. “Todd is a very talented player who really had a break-out week in helping us to our 4-0 record on the road this past week.”
FAST START IN SBC PLAY: When Arkansas State defeated Louisiana-Lafayette 3 games to none on the opening weekend of conference play, the Indians opened league play with a three-game sweep for the first time since 2003 - and their 8-4 overall record is their best through 12 games since a 10-2 start in 2005.
FIRST SWEEP OF CAJUNS: ASU's three-game sweep of ULL March 8 & 9 was the first time that the Indians have earned a series sweep against the Cajuns. The last ASU three-game series win against ULL came during the 2001 season when ASU dropped the first game of the series before bouncing back to win the final two. The Tribe also won the series with ULL during the 2004 season, but ASU won the series 2-0 when game three was rained out.
RARE SWEEP AT LAFAYETTE: With their three-game sweep of ULL last weekend ASU became the first Sun Belt Conference team to sweep Louisiana-Lafayette in a three-game series on the Ragin' Cajuns home field since the 2000 season
KESSINGER VS. RANKED TEAMS: Following the March 5 win over #2 Ole Miss, the Indians have now knocked off seven ranked teams in five-plus seasons under Head Coach Keith Kessinger. In 2003, Kessinger's first season at ASU, the Indians defeated #25 South Alabama twice. In 2004, the Indians defeated #10 Ole Miss 10-7, and later in the season after the Rebels had risen to #6 in the polls, ASU handed Ole Miss a second loss, posting a 7-6 win over Kessinger's alma-mater. In 2005, the Tribe defeated ULL 6-2 and Ole Miss fell victim to ASU again in 2006 when the Indians won 14-9. With this year's win over Ole Miss, the Indians have now defeated the highest ranked team they have played with Keith Kessinger as head coach.
MAGGARD BOUNCES BACK: Less than a year after undergoing Tommy John surgery, ASU right-hander Jacob Maggard has bounced back strong in the early going of the 2008 season. Maggard has given up just two earned runs in 18.1 innings pitched. The junior from Monticello, Ark., has notched 12 strikeouts against 12 hits. He has given up just one multi-base hit this season, that being a Michigan State triple in the second inning, but the hit did not result in an earned run. His ERA of 0.98 is currently the best in the Sun Belt Conference.
BREAKOUT GAME FOR HUDGINS: After batting just .188 in the first eight games this season, senior Ryan Hudgins, a 2007 second team All-Sun Belt selection, came up big for the Tribe in its 7-5 win over #2 Ole Miss March 5. Hudgins went 3-for-5 at the plate against the Rebels, with two RBI's, a run scored and two stolen bases.
LAMBERT EARNS FIRST SAVE: After setting the record for appearances and relief appearances in a single season a year ago, junior right-hander Nick Lambert earned his first career save against Ole Miss March 5. Lambert pitched the final inning against the Rebels, did not allow a baserunner, and struck out one batter. Lambert made 32 relief appearances for the Indians in 2007.
GOING YARD: A pair of newcomers lead the Indians in home runs on the season. True freshman Drew Benes leads the way with three home runs, while junior transfer Derrick Coleman has launched two out of the park this season. Both players hit home runs against Seton Hall - ASU's second game of the season - while Coleman hit his second against Navy and Benes hit his second against Williams Baptist and his third against ULL.
MORE RENOVATIONS AT TOMLINSON STADIUM: As part of an ongoing effort to improve the game-day experience for Indian baseball fans, 206 field-level seats have been added at Tomlinson Stadium and Kell Field. Included in the expansion is the addition of 26 handicap-accessible seats, with ramps for wheelchair access.
The addition of the field-level seats at Tomlinson Stadium will bring fans over 20 feet closer to home plate than in the past. Front-row seating at the venue is now just 37 feet behind home plate. The chair-back seats are 21 inches wide with 41 inches between rows, providing ample legroom for fans.
In addition to the new seating area, party boxes have been added to the stadium to accommodate groups or corporate events, and plans are in place for future expansion that will include private suites.
Fans throughout the stadium also have an improved view of the game with the addition of a new Dyneema backstop net. Dyneema backstop netting is used in most Major League parks throughout the nation, and gives the most unobstructed view while providing maximum protection.
The renovation marks the second major seating area improvement at Tomlinson Stadium in as many years. Last year, the Barton's Baseball Deck was added. The deck, located down the right field line, features picnic tables and barbeque grills for use by fans before and during ASU's home games.
Other recent improvements at the stadium include the addition of brick columns under the grandstand and the replacement of the infield turf following last season.
