Games 30-32
ARKANSAS STATE RED WOLVES
at ULM Warhawks
April 9-11, 2010  7:00 p.m., 4:00 p.m. & 1:00 p.m.
Warhawk Field (1,800)  Monroe, Louisiana
Radio:  KBTM 1230 AM & AStateRedWolves.com
LiveStats & JumpTV Webcast Available at AStateRedWolves.com

LEADING OFF:  The Arkansas State Red Wolves return to Sun Belt Conference action this weekend when they travel to Monroe, La. to take on the Warhawks of Louisiana-Monroe.  The three-game series will get underway Friday when the teams take the field at 7:00 p.m.  Saturday's game two is scheduled for 4:00 p.m., and the Sunday finale will begin at 1:00 p.m.   All ASU games may be heard on KBTM 1230 AM and through the StateZone portion of AStateRedWolves.com.   LiveStats may also be accessed by logging on to AStateRedWolves.com. 

THE TEAMS:  Arkansas State travels to Monroe at 18-11 on the season and has won six of its last eight games.  The Red Wolves earned a series victory against No. 18 Western Kentucky last weekend when they took two of three games in the series with the Hilltoppers to improve to 8-4 in SBC action.  Western Kentucky defeated ASU 4-3 in the Friday series opener, but the Red Wolves bounced back to win 6-4 Saturday before clinching the series with a 3-1 victory Sunday afternoon.  The Red Wolves  dropped their only midweek game this week, losing 17-12 on the road against Tennessee Martin.  ULM will take the field at 12-17 overall and 3-6 in league play.  The Warhawks swept a three-game non-conference series against Binghampton last weekend, before losing on the road at Central Arkansas 15-5 in Tuesday's midweek game.  In their last conference series, the Warhawks dropped three on the road at Western Kentucky March 26-27.

THE ULM SERIES:  The Warhawks hold a 21-20 advantage in the all-time series, but Arkansas State has earned the series victory two of the last three years.  The Red Wolves took two of three games in Monroe last year ULM won two of three in Jonesboro during the 2008 season, and ASU took two out of three in Jonesboro during the 2007 season.  When the two teams met last year in Monroe, Arkansas State won the series with a 14-4 Friday victory and a 6-4, 11-inning victory in the Saturday game.  Monroe bounced back to post a 10-8, 10-inning victory in the Sunday game.

ON THE MOUND FOR ASU: Junior right-hander Andy Ferguson will get the Friday night start when the series opens April 9.  Ferguson (2-2, 5.18 ERA) has made seven appearances on the year, giving up 28 runs (23 earned) in 40.0 innings of work. He has walked eight batters, while striking out 37.  Senior southpaw Ross Humes (3-1, 3.03 ERA)  will also be making his eighth appearance on the season when he takes the mound in Saturday's game.  In 38.2 innings on the mound, Humes has given up 21 runs but just 13 earned runs.  Humes has fanned 19 batters on the season, while walking eight.  Sophomore Jacob Lee (4-2) will get the call in the Sunday finale.  Lee has logged 42.2 innings of work in seven appearances this year, giving up 16 runs (14 earned) on 36 hits with 40 strikeouts and 17 walks.  He will take an ERA of 2.95 into the weekend series.

ON DECK:  The Red Wolves will host SEMO April 14 in next week's only midweek game, then take a break from Sun Belt Conference action next weekend when they travel to Evansville, Ind. for a three-game non-conference series against the Purple Aces.

'TOPPERS SHUT DOWN:  Western Kentucky went into last weekend's series averaging 9.5 runs per game, but the Arkansas State pitching staff was solid all weekend, holding the Hilltoppers to just nine runs in the entire series.  Arkansas State held the Hilltoppers to a .232 average on the weekend, gave up just three-multi base hits, which were all doubles, and walked only 10 batters.  For the weekend, the Red Wolves' pitchers gave up just 23 hits and eight earned runs.

LEE EARNS LEAGUE HONOR: Arkansas State sophomore Jacob Lee was named Sun Belt Conference Pitcher of the Week April 5 for his performance on the mound in the Red Wolves' 3-1 victory over No. 18 Western Kentucky April 4. 
Lee, a right-hander from Jonesboro, Ark., struck out eight batters in 6.2 innings to get the win and help ASU earn the series victory in Sunday's decisive game three against the Hilltoppers.  Lee held the Hilltoppers, who came into the series averaging 9.5 runs per game, to a single run in the Sunday finale.  He surrendered just five hits, all singles, along the way.  After giving up three hits and walking in a run in the first three innings, Lee settled in and retired the next 12 batters he faced to put the Red Wolves in position to earn the win.  He threw a career-high 122 pitches and held the Hilltoppers to a .222 batting average.
"We are extremely proud of Jacob's achievement last weekend against Western Kentucky," said ASU pitching coach Justin Meccage.  "He has worked extremely hard since his arrival at Arkansas State, and he gives us a chance to win each week when he is on the mound."
Lee became a weekend starter for Arkansas State as a true freshman and has posted a 4-2 record during the 2010 season.  His ERA of 2.95 ranks second among Arkansas State pitchers, and he leads the team with 40 strikeouts. He has surrendered just 36 hits in 42.2 innings of work this season, with only seven of the hits going for extra bases.

MORE HONORS FOR LEE:  Arkansas State sophomore Jacob Lee was named to the CollegeBaseball360.com Primetime Performer Weekly Honor Roll April 6 for his performance on the mound in leading the Red Wolves to a 3-1 victory over No. 18 Western Kentucky April 4.
Lee, one of just 16 players from across the nation to be named to the list, struck out eight batters in 6.2 innings to get the win and help ASU earn the series victory in Sunday's decisive game three against the Hilltoppers. 
Lee held the Hilltoppers, who came into the series averaging 9.5 runs per game, to a single run in the Sunday finale.  The Jonesboro, Ark. native surrendered just five hits, all singles, along the way.  After giving up three hits and walking in a run in the first three innings, Lee settled in and retired the next 12 batters he faced to put the Red Wolves in position to earn the win.  He threw a career-high 122 pitches and held the Hilltoppers to a .222 batting average.
 
GET THE BROOMS:  Arkansas State earned its first-ever series sweep over UNO and its first weekend sweep of an opponent since taking three games at Louisiana-Lafayette to open Sun Belt Conference play during the 2008 season.  The Red Wolves defeated the Privateers 14-7 in Friday's opener, before clinching the series victory with a 7-6 win Saturday afternoon.  Arkansas State wrapped up the sweep with a 17-3, seven-inning victory in the Sunday finale.

OFFENSIVE EXPLOSION:  The Red Wolves' 17 runs and 16 RBIs in their March 28 win over UNO matched their season-high totals set March 9 at Murray State, and ASU's 38 runs during the March 26-28 series were its most in a three-game series since a 42-run series against Western Kentucky during the 2006 season.

MEGA-WATTS:  Junior first baseman Murray Watts went 4-for-5 with a career-high seven RBIs to lead the Arkansas State Red Wolves to a 17-3 March 28 victory over New Orleans.  Watts drove in at least one run in each of his five trips to the plate, and his seven-RBI afternoon was the second-most in ASU history.  For the week, Watts hit .438 with two doubles, two home runs, 10 RBIs and six runs scored.  He posted a slugging percentage of .938, drew three walks, had one sacrifice and was 1-for-1 on stolen base attempts.

FRESHMAN COMES THROUGH:  With ASU clinging to a 7-5 lead March 27 against UNO John Koch went to the mound in the bottom of the ninth with the bases loaded and just one out on the board.  Koch allowed one runner to score but recorded an out on a fielder's choice on the play, then got the final batter to fly out, giving the true freshman his first career save.  Koch repeated the effort March 30 against Memphis.  With ASU leading 6-5 after seven innings of play, Koch went to the mound and retired all six Tigers he faced, striking out three, to earn his second save of the season.  He again preserved the win in Saturday's game two against Western Kentucky when Hilltoppers managed to get the tying run aboard in the top of the ninth, but Koch went to the mound for Arkansas State and retired all three batters he faced, striking out the first two, to earn his third save in his last three appearances.

STREAKING:  Junior third baseman Jordan Castaldo emerged from the Western Kentucky series with an 18-game hit streak, singling in his final at-bat in two of ASU's four games last week to keep the streak alive.  He then extended the streak to 19 games when he hit his first career home run against Tennessee-Martin Tuesday night.  Castaldo is hitting  a team-best .375 on the season, is the team leader with 12 doubles and is second on the team with 23 RBIs on the year.  First baseman Murray Watts will take a 12-game hit streak into this weekend's series at ULM.

ASU PITCHING SHINES:  Arkansas State's pitchers combined to post a combined ERA of 2.60 over five games during the week of March 14-20.  The Red Wolves' pitching staff combined to give up just 13 earned runs over the five-game stretch, with three of those games against the explosive Middle Tennessee lineup.  Each of ASU's five starters worked a minimum of 6.2 innings and none of the starters had an ERA higher than 4.05 - with four of the starters recording an ERA of 3.00 or lower.  With the strong week, Arkansas State moved to the top of the Sun Belt Conference pitching chart and leads the league with a team ERA of 3.47.

ALLEN STRONG ON THE MOUND:  Arkansas State starter Brad Allen threw six and one-thirds innings of no-hit baseball, before the Missouri State Bears finally broke through with their first hit in the seventh inning of the Red Wolves' game at Springfield March 17.  Allen (3-0) retired 19 of the first 20 batters he faced on the afternoon, striking out six on the day while walking none to earn the win.  He gave up three runs on three hits in the seventh.  Before that, Missouri State's only baserunner reached on an error in the third.

OUTSTANDING WEEK FOR CACERES:  Arkansas State junior Andres Caceres was exceptional on the mound in two appearances during the week of March 14-20.  In 8.2 innings of work, Caceres did not give up an earned run, striking out nine opposing batters against four hits and four walks.  He worked seven innings on the road at Missouri State March 16, striking out seven Bears.  He returned to the mound four days later and shut down the explosive Middle Tennessee State offense for 1.2 innings, striking out two batters without giving up a run or a hit.

FERGUSON EARNS WIN OVER MTSU:  Junior starter Andy Ferguson went eight and two-thirds innings to earn the win against preseason league favorite Middle Tennessee, holding the Blue Raiders to two earned runs on nine hits with seven strikeouts.  Ferguson left the mound after throwing a season-high 126 pitches and walking just one batter on the night.  Of the nine hits given up by Ferguson, six were singles.

CLOSE LOSSES:  Four of the Red Wolves' nine losses on the season have been by a single run, and three others have been by three runs or less.  Arkansas State lost by one run to 17th-ranked Ole Miss (3-2), Portland (5-4), IPFW (2-1) and Missouri State (2-1).  The Red Wolves remaining nail-biters were against Middle Tennessee and SEMO, with ASU falling 2-0 and 8-5 against the Blue Raiders and 6-4 on the road at Southeast Missouri State.

SERIES COMEBACK:  After dropping the Friday opener in their series at ULL last weekend, the Red Wolves bounced back to take the series 2-1 with wins in the Saturday and Sunday games.  The series victory marked the first time since the final week of the 2007 season that Arkansas State has recovered from a loss in the opening game and come back to win the series. 

OFFENSIVE BREAKOUT:  The Red Wolves enjoyed their best offensive day of the season March 9 in their 17-8 victory at Murray State.  The Red Wolves set season highs for runs (17), hits (20), RBIs (16), doubles (5), total bases (33) and at-bats (47).  Juniors Murray Watts and Jordan Castaldo both notched four hits in the game, which was the most for any player in a single game this season.  Senior Kyle DeGrace drove in a season-high five runs against the Thoroughbreds, and Castaldo belted a season-high three doubles in the game.  Castaldo remains among the league's leaders in doubles and leads ASU with nine on the season.  He leads the Red Wolves with a .380 batting average.

HOT START:  With their 7-1 start on the season, the Red Wolves got off to their best start since the 2006 season, when ASU began the year at 6-1.  Prior to that, the 2005 ASU squad began the season at 8-2, on its way to a 33-23 finish.

ANOTHER EARLY MARCH SHUTOUT:  With their 7-0 shutout against Portland in the series opener March 5, the Red Wolves posted their first shutout victory since a 3-0 victory over ULL March 6 of last season.  During the first weekend in March, Arkansas State has shut out an opponent in each of the last four seasons, blanking ULL again in 2008 by a score of 2-0 and Bradley in 2007 by a 7-0 margin.

FERGUSON SHUTS DOWN PORTLAND:  Junior Andy Ferguson was outstanding March 5 in his third Friday night start of the season.  Ferguson threw seven shutout innings against Portland to earn the win in the series opener against the Pilots.  Ferguson struck out nine batters in his seven innings on the mound, giving up just five hits along the way.  He did not issue a walk in the game, throwing 103 pitches on the night and holding the Pilots' batters to a .185 average.

ASU IN SEASON OPENERS:  With its opening-day 14-5 victory over Southern Illinois, Arkansas State is now 32-30 all-time in season openers.  The Red Wolves are now 2-0 in season-openers under second-year head coach Tommy Raffo after picking up a 4-3, 10-inning victory over Texas State in the season-opener a year ago.  Raffo joins former head coach Bill Bethea (1992-2002) as the only ASU coach to win the season openers in their first two seasons as head coach at Arkansas State.

RARE FOUR-GAME SWEEP - With their sweep of the four-game series against Wisconsin-Milwaukee Feb. 26-28, the Red Wolves completed their first four-game sweep of an opponent since the Red Wolves swept four games from Eastern Illinois during the 1997 season. 

GIO IN THE CLUTCH:  Senior second baseman Giovanni Garcia came up with two clutch hits in ASU's 6-5 victory over Wisconsin-Milwaukee.  Garcia went to the plate in the eighth inning with the Red Wolves trailing 5-4 and hit a solo home run to tie the game.  In the ninth, he delivered a two-out walk-off base hit to send home the winning run. 

KOCH-ING WITH HEAT:  True freshman John Koch (pronounced Cook) was outstanding for Arkansas State out of the pen during the week of Feb. 23-28.  In the Red Wolves' 6-5 series-opening victory over Wisconsin-Milwaukee, Koch went to the mound in the sixth inning with ASU trailing 5-4 and shut down the Panthers.  Working the final 3.2 innings, Koch struck out eight of the 12 batters he faced  - including the final six.  He gave up just two hits and no runs to earn his first career victory.  In his only other appearance on the week, Koch worked one inning against 17th-ranked Ole Miss and did not give up a run or a hit, while striking out one batter.  For the week, he struck out nine in 4.2 innings of work, while giving up just two hits and no runs, without walking an opposing batter.

RED WOLVES vs. NON-CONFERENCE FOES:  With their 8-4 start on the season, the Red Wolves saw their record  land at 19-17 against non-conference opponents under head coach Tommy Raffo. Arkansas State has been impressive at home against foes from outside the Sun Belt, going 15-4 under Raffo.  

HUMES SHINES IN DEBUT:  A former two-time Pac-10 Player of the Week and the Washington State single-season saves record-holder with 12, senior Ross Humes made his Arkansas State debut Saturday against Southern Illinois.  In his first start in over two years, Humes threw five scoreless innings to get the win against the Salukis.  Humes gave up just two hits - both infield singles - and struck out five batters without issuing a walk.  Both of the infield singles came in the third inning and in the remaining four frames, Humes did not allow a baserunner.  In five innings on the mound, only one of the 17 batters Humes faced was able to put the ball in play into the outfield.

BAUMGARTNER, WATTS NAMED ALL-SBC:  Arkansas State juniors Todd Baumgartner and Murray Watts have been named to the preseason All-Sun Belt Conference baseball team, the league office announced Feb. 12.
Watts (Jonesboro, Ark.) was named to the team as a designated hitter, while Baumgartner (Edwardsville, Ill.) was named as an outfielder.  Middle Tennessee's Bryce Brentz was named Preseason Player of the Year, while MTSU's Kenneth Roberts was named as the Preseason Pitcher of the Year.
"We are extremely happy that Murray and Todd have been named to the preseason All-Sun-Belt team," said ASU head coach Tommy Raffo.  "It is an honor not only for Murray and Todd but for our entire program. This honor certainly reinforces the expectations we have for both during the upcoming season.  We expect both to be in the middle of our line-up, and they have worked very hard and continue to show a passion to improve every day."
Watts, a 6-7, 250-pound left-hander, earned his second All-SBC honor after earning All-Sun Belt second-team honors as a utility player following the 2009 season in which he led Red Wolves with 44 RBIs, 16 doubles and 10 home runs.  His 16 doubles ranked 12th in the league at the end of the regular season and his on-base percentage of .440 led ASU and was 14th in the Sun Belt.  Watts started 50 of the 51 games he appeared in a year ago and hit .305 on the season - a jump of over 50 points from the previous year.  He led the SBC at the end of the regular season with 44 walks and was the ASU team leader with a .572 slugging percentage.  He notched 14 multiple-hit games on the season, including one four-hit performance and two three-hit games.  Watts was also the team leader in multiple RBI games with 12 and drove in four runs on two occasions.
Baumgartner, a 6-1, 180-pound right-hander, started all 53 games for ASU in 2009, leading the Red Wolves with a .350 batting average, an increase of over 100 points from his sophomore season.  He delivered a team-high 84 hits, which also ranked fifth in the SBC at the end of the regular season and posted a team-high 26 multiple-hit games, including 10 with three or more hits.  Baumgartner scored a team-high 54 runs including 33 in SBC action.  He drove in multiple runs in 10 games, including one five-RBI game and two four-RBI performances.  Baumgartner struck out just 24 times in 240 at-bats and led ASU with 129 total bases, three triples and 13 stolen bases to rank 10th in the SBC.  He delivered 15 doubles, eight home runs and 43 RBIs with a slugging percentage of .538 to rank second on the ASU team in all three categories.
The Red Wolves were picked 10th in the SBC preseason poll, while Middle Tennessee was picked as the conference favorite heading into the season.  The poll and All-SBC team were voted on by the league's 11 head coaches.

2009 HIGHLIGHTS:  Although the Red Wolves finished 23-30 a year ago, the 2009 season did provide some notable performances, both on a team and individual level.  As a team, the Red Wolves hit .296, which ranked third all-time in ASU history.  Arkansas State belted out 557 hits during the year which was the fifth-most ever for an ASU team.  The Red Wolves' 242 walks was the sixth-most in team history, and ASU's 337 runs and 291 RBIs were both the seventh-most ever at ASU.  A-State's 786 total bases ranked as the ninth-most in school history.  On an individual level, current junior Todd Baumgartner ranked among the best in five statistical categories.  Baumgartner's 84 hits and 240 at-bats were both the third-most in ASU history, and his 54 runs and 129 total bases both ranked as the fourth-most in school history.  Baumgartner drove in 44 runs a year ago, which was the 16th-most in ASU history, while current ASU junior Murray Watts was one behind with 43 RBIs.  Watts drew 44 walks a year ago to rank second on the ASU all-time charts and slugged 10 home runs and 16 doubles to rank 11th and 16th, respectively, in those categories.  Watts' 107 total bases was the 18th-most in ASU history.  ASU senior Cody Pace put together a string of 20 consecutive hits - all singles - which was the second-longest hit streak ever at Arkansas State.

MORE HONORS FOR WATTS & BAUMGARTNER:  Arkansas State juniors Todd Baumgartner and Murray Watts have been named to the preseason SEBaseball.com All-Sun Belt Conference first team, the website announced Feb. 16.
Watts (Jonesboro, Ark.) was named to the team as a first baseman, while Baumgartner (Edwardsville, Ill.) was named as an outfielder.  Monday's announcement by SEBaseball.com follows last week's announcement by the Sun Belt Conference that both players had earned preseason all-conference honors as voted on by the league's 11 head coaches.
Baumgartner, a 6-1, 180-pound right-hander, started all 53 games for ASU in 2009, leading the Red Wolves with a .350 batting average, an increase of over 100 points from his sophomore season.  He delivered a team-high 84 hits, which also ranked fifth in the SBC at the end of the regular season and posted a team-high 26 multiple-hit games, including 10 with three or more hits.  Baumgartner scored a team-high 54 runs including 33 in SBC action.  He struck out just 24 times in 240 at-bats and led ASU with 129 total bases, three triples and 13 stolen bases.  He delivered 15 doubles, eight home runs and 43 RBIs with a slugging percentage of .538 to rank second on the ASU team in all three categories.
Watts, a 6-7, 250-pound left-hander, earned his second All-SBC honor after earning All-Sun Belt second-team honors as a utility player following the 2009 season in which he led Red Wolves with 44 RBIs, 16 doubles and 10 home runs.  Watts started 50 of the 51 games he appeared in a year ago and hit .305 on the season - a jump of over 50 points from the previous year.  He led the SBC at the end of the regular season with 44 walks and was the ASU team leader with a .572 slugging percentage.  He notched 14 multiple-hit games on the season, including one four-hit performance and two three-hit games.  Watts was also the team leader in multiple RBI games with 12 and drove in four runs on two occasions.
The Red Wolves were picked to finish 10th in the conference by SEBaseball.com, while FIU was picked to edge defending conference champion Middle Tennessee as the league favorite.

BAUMGARTNER, HUMES & FAULKNER HONORED BY BASEBALL AMERICA:  Arkansas State junior Todd Baumgartner (Edwardsville, Ill.) has been selected to Baseball America's preseason All-Sun Belt Conference team as an outfielder, while freshman Michael Faulkner (Memphis, Tenn.) and senior Ross Humes (Federal Way, Wash.) were named two of the top-ten newcomers in the league.
Baumgartner, a 6-1, 180-pound centerfielder, has already garnered a 2010 preseason All-SBC honor and a preseason SEBaseball.com All-SBC first team selection.  He started all 53 games for ASU in 2009, leading the Red Wolves with a .350 batting average, an increase of over 100 points from his sophomore season.  He delivered a team-high 84 hits, which also ranked fifth in the SBC at the end of the regular season and posted a team-high 26 multiple-hit games, including 10 with three or more hits.  Baumgartner scored a team-high 54 runs including 33 in SBC action.  He struck out just 24 times in 240 at-bats and led ASU with 129 total bases, three triples and 13 stolen bases. 
Faulkner, a 5-10, 155-pound outfielder, comes to ASU from Germantown High School ranked as the fourth-best high school prospect in the state of Tennessee by Perfect Game and ranked as a three-star prospect by Baseball America, while Humes, a 5-11, 170-pound left-handed pitcher, transferred to Arkansas State from Washington State where he was a two-time Pac-10 Pitcher of the Week and ranked second at WSU with 19 career saves.
The Red Wolves were picked to finish ninth in the conference by Baseball America, while defending conference champion Middle Tennessee was chosen as the league favorite.