Games 9-11
ARKANSAS STATE RED WOLVES (4-4)
vs. South Dakota State Jackrabbits (0-3)
March 2-4, 2012 6:00 p.m., 2:00 p.m. & 1:00 p.m.
Tomlinson Stadium & Kell Field (1,200) Jonesboro, Arkansas
Radio: KNEA 970 AM & AStateRedWolves.com
LiveStats at AStateRedWolves.com
LEADING OFF: The Arkansas State Red Wolves (4-4) return to action this weekend then they play host to the Jackrabbits of South Dakota State (0-3) in a three-game weekend series at Tomlinson Stadium and Kell Field March 2-4. The series will get underway Friday at 6:00 p.m. Saturday's game is scheduled for 2:00 p.m. and Sunday's game three is set to begin at 1:00 p.m. All ASU baseball games may be heard on KNEA 970 AM and through the StateZone portion of AStateRedWolves.com. LiveStats may also be accessed by logging on to AStateRedWolves.com.
THE TEAMS: Winners of four of their last five games, the Red Wolves took a four-game series with Evansville last weekend, 3-1. Arkansas State opened the series with a 4-2 win Friday night before splitting a doubleheader with the Purple Aces Saturday. ASU won 5-4 in Saturday's game one, but Evansville narrowed the series count to 2-1 with a 5-1 victory in game two. The Red Wolves picked up a 3-2 win Sunday to claim the series. Arkansas State did not play any midweek games this week. South Dakota State opened the season last weekend with a three-game series at Murray State. The Jackrabbits were swept in the series, losing 3-2 Friday, 6-1 Saturday and 12-4 in Sunday's game.
THE SDSU SERIES: This weekend's games will be the first meeting between Arkansas State and South Dakota State on the baseball diamond.
ON THE MOUND FOR ASU: Senior right-hander Jacob Lee will get the start on the mound when the series opens Friday night. Lee has worked 12 innings on the season in two appearances, striking out 13 batters. He has given up two runs on nine hits, walked four batters and has an ERA of 1.50. Junior right-hander Daniel Wright has made three appearances on the season, starting in two games. Wright has given up eight runs (five earned) in 10 innings of work. He has four strikeouts to his credit, has walked three batters and given up 16 hits. Wright's ERA stands at 4.50 heading into the weekend. Sophomore right-hander Bradley Wallace will be making his second start and fourth appearance overall on the season in Sunday's series finale. He has given up eight runs on 16 hits, with six strikeouts and one walk in eight innings of work, with an ERA of 9.00.
THREE WEEKEND SAVES FOR KOCH: Junior reliever John Koch made four appearances Feb. 22-26 and earned three saves to help the Red Wolves to a 4-0 record in games he appeared in. Koch did not give up an earned run in 4.1 innings of work, did not issue a walk and surrendered just three hits – all singles – while striking out four. Koch went to the mound in the eighth with the bases loaded and two outs in ASU's series opener against Evansville and retired the only batter he faced to get out of the inning. He came back in the ninth to close out the win and earn the save. He earned his second save in game two, and picked up his third in game four when he did not allow an earned run after Evansville put the winning run on base with no outs. After the Aces got runners on first and third, Koch got the next batter to hit into a double-play, then retired the next to preserve the win and get the save.
EMERY COMES THROUGH: Junior outfielder/designated hitter Ryan Emery led the ASU batting attack during the week of Feb. 20-26, hitting .467 with two game-winning RBI hits to help the Red Wolves to a 4-2 record. With the Red Wolves trailing 4-3 in the eighth inning of game two against Evansville, Emery hit a two-run single to erase the deficit and send home the winning run in ASU's 5-4 win. He came up big again in the Sunday finale, delivering an RBI single up the middle in the eighth that again proved to be the winning run in a 3-2 victory for the Red Wolves. For the week, Emery went 7-for-15 with four RBIs, a run scored, a walk and a sacrifice.
ANOTHER SUCCESSFUL HOME DEBUT: With their 11-3 victory over Murray State Feb. 22, Red Wolves extended their winning streak in home openers to 22 games, a run that dates back to the 1991 season.
LEE ON PACE: Senior right-hander Jacob Lee is on pace to become the Red Wolves' career strikeout leader. With 207 strikeouts in his career, the 2011 preseason SBC Pitcher of the Year needs 45 strikeouts to break the 40-plus year-old record of 251 set by Rusty Bourg in 1967-70.
4-K INNING FOR FARLEY: Arkansas State senior right-hander Brandon Farley notched a rare four-strikeout inning in the Red Wolves' 11-3 victory over Murray State Feb. 22. After Murray State's Ty Stetson reached on a dropped third strike to lead off the seventh inning, Farley proceeded to mow down the next three batters to close out the frame with four strikeouts. Farley faced seven batters on the afternoon, striking out five without giving up a hit or issuing a walk.
FIRST WIN FOR SHORDON: True freshman Levi Shordon made the most of his first career start against Murray State Feb. 22, picking up the win in ASU's 11-3 victory. In four innings of work, the lefty from Simi Valley, Calif. gave up just three hits and one run, while striking out one. Shordon gave up the run in the first, then settled in and pitched three and one-thirds innings of shutout baseball to earn his first win.
CAREER HIGH FOR FAULKNER: Arkansas State junior Michael Faulkner drove in a career-high four runs in the Red Wolves' 11-3 victory over Murray State Feb. 22. Faulkner's previous career high was three runs, set in 2001 against Memphis and again against Louisiana-Lafayette.
MOTHER NATURE UNKIND: The Red Wolves came up on the short end of a 2-1 score against Lamar in the season opener, with both the Cardinals and Mother Nature playing a role in the loss. Trailing 2-1 in the top of the ninth, Arkansas State was poised to tie the game or take the lead when the game was called due to weather. The Red Wolves had runners at first and second with just one out when heavy rainfall forced officials to call the game, giving Lamar the win.
STRONG DEBUT FOR LEE: Arkansas State senior Jacob Lee was outstanding in the season opener for the Red Wolves, striking out five batters in six shutout innings of work on the road at Lamar. Lee walked just one batter and surrendered just five hits – all singles. Lee stands at 199 strikeouts in his career and now needs just 53 strikeouts on the season to become the all-time strikeout leader at Arkansas State.
FIRST HOME RUN: Arkansas State sophomore Claude Johnson slugged his first career home run during the Red Wolves' opening weekend at Lamar. Johnson went 1-for-2 in Sunday's finale to notch the home run. As a freshman last year, Johnson hit .220, going 11-for-50 with three doubles and two RBIs.
NEWCOMERS SHINE: Newcomers Stuart Levy and Drew Burks both enjoyed solid outings in their first two games as Red Wolves last weekend, each hitting .333 in a pair of games against Lamar. Burks, a junior transfer from Coffeyville CC, started at DH and went 2-for-6 with a double and a walk to post an on-base percentage of .429. Levy, a true freshman from Little Rock, drew one start at catcher and went 1-for-3 and was hit by a pitch to record an on-base percentage of .500.
ASU IN SEASON OPENERS: The Red Wolves are 32-32 all-time on opening day. Arkansas State dropped its season opener Feb. 17, falling 2-1 on the road at Lamar. The Red Wolves are 2-2 in season openers under head coach Tommy Raffo, defeating Texas State 4-3 in 2009 and Southern Illinois 14-5 in 2010.
SUCCESS UNDER RAFFO: Arkansas State has won two games at the Sun Belt Conference tournament each of the past two seasons under fourth-year head coach Tommy Raffo. Prior to Raffo's coming to Jonesboro, Arkansas State had not won a game at the SBC Tournament since the 1997 season. The Red Wolves advanced to the tournament semifinals in 2010 and went 2-1 in pool play a year ago - with the only setback being a 13-inning loss to eventual runner-up Florida International.
