LEADING OFF: The Indians of Arkansas State host the Murray State Thoroughbreds April 16 in a 6:30 p.m. non-conference game at Tomlinson Stadium and Kell Field. The Indians return to Tomlinson Stadium and Kell Field for the first time since a 10-3 loss to Southern Illinois April 2. Since that time, the Tribe has played seven consecutive road games. 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.
THE TEAMS: After defeating Southeast Missouri State 8-3 in last week's midweek action, the Tribe traveled to Hattiesburg, Miss., where it was defeated in all three games of a non-conference series against Southern Miss.
In its midweek game last week, Murray State was tripped up 6-5 at home against Evansville. Last weekend, the Thoroughbreds lost a 3-game series against Eastern Illinois, 2-1.
THE SERIES: Murray State leads the all-time series 50-39-1, but the Indians have won two straight and 17 of the last 20. Arkansas State and Murray State met twice during the 2007 season, with ASU pounding out a 12-7 win in Murray, Ky., in the first meeting. Current Indian junior Brandon Eller hit a grand slam in the eighth inning to put the Tribe on top for good in the game. In the second meeting, played at Jonesboro, current Tribe junior Jett Jones hit a walk-off home run in the ninth to give ASU a 9-8 victory.
ON THE MOUND FOR THE TRIBE: Senior Pete Pasternak will be making his first start of the season and sixth appearance overall when he takes the hill Wednesday night against the Thoroughbreds. Pasternak is currently 0-0 on the season with an ERA of 6.75.
AMONG THE BEST IN THE BELT: Arkansas State currently leads the Sun Belt Conference in team pitching, sporting an ERA of 4.95 in all games played...junior right-hander Chase Ware's ERA of 3.99 in all games played ranks him seventh in the Sun Belt...freshman Drew Benes has moved into a tie for fourth place in the Sun Belt with 13 doubles on the season...in conference games only, junior right-hander Chris Bullington is seventh in the league with an ERA of 3.71...in conference games only, the Tribe is second in team pitching with an ERA of 5.68, just behind first-place Louisiana-Monroe's ERA of 5.18.
IMPROVING AT THE PLATE: Although the Indians have dropped 13 of their last 17 games, the Tribe's team batting average has improved significantly over the 17-game stretch. Heading into the ULM series March 21-23, the Tribe was hitting just .239 as a team, with only one starter hitting over .300. Over the last 17 games, the Indians are hitting .297 as a team and have raised their season batting average to .268. Over the last 17 games, six players are hitting .300 or better, with junior catcher Lawson Hipps leading the way at .439. Redshirt freshman Cade Baxter is hitting .417, juniors Derrick Coleman and Brandon Eller are at .324, junior Jett Jones is hitting .320 and senior Ryan Hudgins goes into the Murray State game hitting .313
HIPPS ON FIRE: Junior catcher Lawson Hipps has hit .439 over the last 17 games, going 29-for-66 since the March 21-23 series with Louisiana-Monroe. He had a career-high four hits and five RBI's March 25 at Tennessee-Martin, including his first career home run, a two-out, three-run shot in the third that helped ASU to a 12-6 victory over the Skyhawks. Hipps had a 13-game hit streak snapped Wednesday night at Southeast Missouri State, which was the longest hitting streak for any Indian this season.
SUDDEN IMPACT: Freshman Drew Benes is at or near the top in several offensive categories for the Indians. Benes leads the team in RBI's (35), doubles (13) and home runs (6). Additionally, his three doubles in the Tribe's 8-3 win April 9 at Southeast Missouri State are the most for any Indian in a single game this season.
CLUTCH HITTING: Juniors Brandon Eller and Derrick Coleman are currently in a tie for second place on Arkansas State's RBI chart this season, driving in 23 runs on the year. Of those 23 RBI's, 16 of Eller's and 14 of Coleman's have come with two outs on the board.
PLUNKED: Junior Guy Brown is on pace to break the single-season hit-by-pitch record of 23 set by Derek Alferman in 1994. Brown has been hit by a pitch on 11 occasions during the 2008 season, including three times March 12 against Harris-Stowe.
FOUR “K's” IN ONE INNING FOR BULLINGTON: Junior reliever Chris Bullington had to put in extra work to get out of the seventh inning during ASU's 7-4 victory at Memphis March 26. Bullington struck out four Tigers in the inning, but it wasn't enough. Bullington struck out Tiger center fielder K.K. Chalmers for the third out of the inning, but Chalmers reached on a dropped third strike and eventually scored on a single from shortstop Chad Zurcher to cut the Arkansas State lead to 6-3. Bullington then struck out right fielder Trey Weidman for his fourth strikeout of the inning, but again the third strike was a wild pitch, and got past ASU catcher Lawson Hipps. Zurcher came home and cut the Indian lead to 6-4 before Bullington got left fielder Robby Graham to fly out in the next at-bat.
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, and has a team-high seven appearances in 2008. He recorded his second career save March 12 against Harris-Stowe State and his third March 15 against Middle Tennessee. Lambert notched his fourth save March 26 at Memphis.
SAVES ADDING UP: After recording just six saves as a team during the 2007 season, the Tribe already has eight to its credit in 2008. Juniors Chris Bullington and Nick Lambert have earned all of ASU's saves, recording four each. The ASU single-season saves record is seven, set by Randy Walker in 1981.
OUTTA HERE: The Indians have hit 20 home runs thus far in 2008, and 12 of the Tribe's homers have come from newcomers. Freshman Drew Benes leads the way with six home runs, junior transfer Derrick Coleman has four and junior transfer Lawson Hipps has one. Freshmen Todd Baumgartner and Joey Hoffman have one each, while juniors Ryan Hudgins, Guy Brown and Brandon Eller are the only veterans to have notched home runs. Hudgins has put five out of the park while Eller has two and Brown has hit one out. Hipps and Hoffman hit back-to-back home runs March 25 at Tennessee-Martin, the only time this season that the Tribe has logged consecutive home runs.
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 30 strikeouts in five appearances this season (34.1 innings) and has compiled a 2.62 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.”
BAUMGARTNER OUT OF ACTION: Arkansas State freshman Todd Baumgartner will be out of action for at least six weeks after breaking his right index finger during practice March 13 at Tomlinson Stadium.
Baumgartner was hit in the finger with the ball during routine drills leading into the Indians' home series with Sun Belt rival Middle Tennessee State.
At the time of the injury Baumgartner was the reigning Sun Belt Conference Player of the Week after leading the Tribe to a victory over No. 2 Ole Miss and a series sweep of preseason SBC favorite Louisiana-Lafayette. For the week, Baumgartner went 9-for-20 at the plate 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.
“We are obviously extremely disappointed to lose a talented player like Todd but I am sure that he will do all that he can to be back in the lineup as soon as possible,” said ASU Head Coach Keith Kessinger. “Knowing Todd the way that I do, I know that he will be a tremendous teammate on the bench during the time that he is injured.”
Through the first 15 games this season, the freshman from Edwardsville, Ill., was second on the team with 18 hits, and second on the team with four doubles. He led the Indians with six multi-hit games, had slugged a team-leading two triples, and his batting average of .290 ranked third on the ASU hitting charts.
FAST START IN SBC PLAY: When Arkansas State defeated Louisiana-Lafayette three 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 was 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 March 7-9, 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.
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.
WOLVES ON THE WAY: March 13, at 11 a.m. on the east side of the Student Union, a roll-out ceremony for Arkansas State University's newly adopted mascot, the Red Wolves, revealed the new face of ASU athletics.
The decision to bid farewell to ASU's Indians and Indian Family was not an easy one, but it was a collaborative decision at every level. The decision-making process was begun about a year ago in response to NCAA sanctions.
At the urging of administrators, notably ASU Chancellor Dr. Robert L. Potts, a Mascot Selection Steering Committee was appointed and charged with gathering ideas for a mascot change from an extremely broad-based constituency that included current students, alumni, representatives from student athletics, athletic administration representation, and members of the community. Jim Pickens, emeritus trustee, was appointed committee chair to oversee the process and keep it representative of all constituencies.
Pickens remarked, “It was a pleasure playing a small role in the future of our university, and all concerned played a significant part in helping our institution move forward. On behalf of the Mascot Selection Committee, we wish to thank the administration, Board of Trustees, and various constituencies for the trust, confidence, and support we received as we went about this historic process of selecting a new mascot and mark for our university. I commend the Mascot Selection Committee for their dedication, professionalism, and hard work as we attempted to select a new mascot that is in keeping with the highest standards of our great university. Hopefully, the new mascot and imagery will serve to broaden and unify our base as together we strive for continued excellence in all aspects of our students' experience at Arkansas State University. I'm thankful for the opportunity to participate in what I hope is a great new beginning for A-State."
As Chancellor Potts noted at the historic Friday, March 7 ASU Board of Trustees meeting, “on Jan. 30, the Mascot Selection Steering Committee concluded its work by recommending that ASU adopt Wolves or a variation thereof, such as Red Wolves, as the new mascot and nickname for our athletic team.” After ascertaining that the nickname “Red Wolves” was unique among four-year universities, Potts brought it before the trustees, who ratified his selection. Potts remarked, “The Red Wolf is a noble species of wolf that once inhabited Arkansas and still exists in small numbers in other states. They are vicious and very aggressive, and they run in packs. I believe that Red Wolves is the best choice...”
ASU Board of Trustees chair Mike Gibson addressed the Mascot Selection Steering Committee's work at the historic board meeting marking the ratification of the adoption of Red Wolves as the new mascot. Gibson noted of the committee's recommendation to the chancellor, “It was done with class; it was done well, it was a tough job done well. On behalf of the Board of Trustees, I want to thank Jim Pickens, who agreed to serve as chairman of this committee and did a wonderful job, Dr. Robert L. Potts, chancellor of the Jonesboro campus who worked so hard to bring us to this point and to those committee members who were there and offered their input...they all loved ASU...everybody wanted the best, and I feel like...you have come up with the best selection that anybody could find.” Shortly after these comments, and as the meeting broke up, Gibson led the assembled company of ASU administrators and their legal counsel, board members, and members of the media, in a rousing wolf howl, in a satisfactory conclusion of the laborious process.
Gibson and the assembled company weren't the only ones howling with joy. Kim Wheeler, executive director of the Red Wolf Coalition, a nonprofit conservation group based in eastern North Carolina, wrote the following message to Chancellor Potts.
Wheeler wrote, “The Red Wolf Coalition, Inc., and the many supporters of red wolf conservation are thrilled and send their “howling” congratulations to ASU on your choice of the red wolf as your mascot. I have passed along your mascot announcement to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's Red Wolf Recovery Program and to the captive management facilities across the United States with great enthusiasm. We consider our red wolf supporters and captive management facilities to be one big family, and we welcome the students, staff, and alumni of Arkansas State University to the family.”
Wheeler “can't wait” to see the imagery, either, but she won't have to wait much longer. The team from ASU's Publications and creative Services department is ready to roll out the imagery that they created in-house for the new visage of ASU.
According to Ron Looney, director, Department of Publications and Creative Services, all four of the department's staff artists collaborated in the creation of the Red Wolves imagery. Initial sketches of the wolf mascot were created by art director Mark Reeves and designer Mary Williams. Graphic designer Heath Kelly developed a unique lettering style, and staff artist Michael Johnson assisted with conceptual suggestions and digital manipulation of the art forms. The staff then combined their efforts to create the versions necessary for production of various types of university media. The Publications and Creative Services team look upon the project as entirely collaborative, and as a great experience for them all.
ASU will promote that ASU-generated Red Wolves imagery, according to Gleen Hart, assistant athletic director for marketing and promotions, in many ways. Hart says, “We will try to be as visible as possible with the new imagery being displayed via billboards, the student body, print material, commercials, newspaper ads, and merchandising. The new imagery will be a vital part of the new student group. We will continue to provide prizes, promotions, and incentives to increase student involvement in athletic-related activities.”
Doug Doggett, associate athletic director for external operations and Indian Club director, says that the name change, even for his own organization, “obviously represents a significant impact on the athletic program and the university. We will continue to give thorough consideration to the switch from Indian names and imagery to Red Wolves throughout the process.”
ASU's athletic teams will begin competing as Red Wolves next fall at the beginning of the academic year.
