Game 20
ARKANSAS STATE RED WOLVES (11-8)
at Memphis Tigers (8-11)
March 20, 2012 6:30 p.m.
FedEx Park (2,000) Memphis, Tennessee
Radio: KNEA 970 AM & AStateRedWolves.com
LiveStats at AStateRedWolves.com
LEADING OFF: The Arkansas State Red Wolves (11-8) return to midweek action and the road Tuesday night when they travel to Memphis to face the Tigers (8-11) in a 6:30 p.m. regional rivalry at FedEx Park. 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: Arkansas State will take the field Tuesday night on a three-game win streak after sweeping UALR last weekend to open Sun Belt Conference play. The Red Wolves defeated UALR 7-3 Friday night, 3-2 in 10 innings Saturday and 8-4 in the Sunday finale. Arkansas State will be looking for its first true road victory Tuesday night after an 0-4 start. The Red Wolves have notched one victory away from Tomlinson Stadium, defeating Dayton 9-3 March 9, but that win came on the home field of Austin Peay when ASU was competing in the APSU Riverview Inn Challenge. Memphis stands at 8-11 on the season after taking two of three games at home against Siena last weekend. The Tigers dropped the Friday night opener, 6-3, but bounced back to take both games of a Saturday doubleheader, winning 16-4 and 6-0 to earn the series victory. The Tigers are hitting .290 as a team and are led by left fielder Adam McLain, who is batting .418 on the season with six doubles, one home run and 12 RBIs. Although the Tigers are 8-11 on the season, Memphis has outscored its opponents 105-95 on the season and has been a quick-starting team, outscoring its opponents 17-5 in the first inning.
THE MEMPHIS SERIES: Memphis leads the all-time series between the two teams 88-52-1, but the Red Wolves won both meetings during the 2011 season, nipping the Tigers 9-8 in 10 inning in Memphis and 5-4 in Jonesboro.
ON THE MOUND FOR ASU: Freshman right-hander Cody Woodhouse will get the start on the mound for the Red Wolves Tuesday at Memphis, but it will likely be pitching by committee for ASU. Arkansas State coaches expect to work numerous pitchers against the Tigers. Woodhouse has made on appearance on the season, working 1.1 innings at Lamar Feb. 19. Woodhouse gave up one hit, but no runs against the Cardinals, walking one with no strikeouts.
FAULKNER LEADS THE NATION: Junior Michael Faulkner, the nation's stolen base leader heading into last weekend's action against UALR, added two stolen bases in the series with the Trojans to bring his season total to a perfect 18-for-18 in 17 games played.
SECOND STRAIGHT SWEEP: The Red Wolves posted their second straight sweep of in-state and Sun Belt Conference rival UALR March 16-18. Arkansas State opened their 2012 SBC slate against the Trojans and won 7-3, 2-3 and 8-4 to notch their sixth consecutive win against UALR. The Red Wolves also swept the Trojans to close out the 2011 regular season.
SECOND STRAIGHT SWEEP, PART II: The Red Wolves three-game sweep of UALR was the second consecutive weekend sweep when playing the same opponent in all three weekend games. Arkansas State also posted a three-game sweep over South Dakota State March 2-4, whipping the Jackrabbits 15-5, 12-7 and 10-1.
STARTING MASSANELLI PAYS OFF: Freshman left fielder Collin Massanelli moved into the starting lineup March 9 against Dayton and in the six games since then has not disappointed. Massanelli is hitting .391 on the season, and in the six games he has started he has three doubles and has driven in six runs. He has at least one hit in all eight games he has played in this season, and his 8-game hit streak currently leads the team.
LEE OUTSTANDING AGAINST UALR: Senior Jacob Lee was outstanding in his Friday night start against UALR. Against the top-hitting team in the conference, Lee struck out seven batters and gave up just five hits – four of which were singles – to earn the win in ASU's 7-3 victory over the Trojans. Lee held the Trojans, who were hitting .328 and leading the Sun Belt in almost every offensive category, to a .200 batting average as a team and carried a shutout into the eighth inning.
ASU PITCHING STAFF SHUTS DOWN UALR: Facing the league leader in almost every offensive category over the weekend, the Arkansas State pitching staff was outstanding in shutting down UALR's offensive attack. The Red Wolves held UALR to a .194 batting average and just six multiple-base hits on the weekend – and no home runs. The Trojans came into the series with the league's best batting average at .328. Seven ASU pitchers combined to post an ERA of 2.25 against the Trojans, which had scored 10 or more runs in eight of their last ten games. In the three-game series against the Trojans, the ASU pitchers struck out 26 batters while giving up just 19 hits and nine total runs.
TRIO NAMED ALL-TOURNAMENT: Juniors Michael Faulkner, Ryan Roberts and Logan Uxa were all named to the Austin Peay Riverview Inn All-Tournament team for their performances at the classic March 9-11. Faulkner hit .592 with a triple, Uxa hit .416 with a two doubles and a home run and Roberts hit .428 and from his catcher position threw out two baserunners trying to steal.
EXTRA INNINGS: Arkansas State's 11-inning game March 11 against Austin Peay was the Red Wolves' first extra-inning game of the season. The game lasted 4:35 and saw the Red Wolves battle back from a 9-3 deficit after five innings. Arkansas State tied the game in the ninth on an RBI single from first baseman Michael George before falling 10-9 in the 11th to the Governors. The Red Wolves evened their record to 1-1 in extra innings games this season against UALR March 17, posting a 3-2, 10-inning win to clinch the SBC series.
LEE ON PACE: Senior right-hander Jacob Lee is on pace to become the Red Wolves' career strikeout leader. With 224 strikeouts in his career and 30 on the season, the 2011 preseason SBC Pitcher of the Year needs 27 strikeouts to break the 40-plus year-old record of 251 set by Rusty Bourg in 1967-70.
BIG WEEK FOR FAULKNER: Junior Michael Faulkner was outstanding for ASU in its five games during the week of March 6-11. Faulkner hit .417 and was a perfect 9-for-9 on stolen base attempts. Faulkner went 10-for-24 at the plate with a triple, 7 runs scored and a pair of RBIs. He posted a slugging percentage of .500, drew three walks and was hit by a pitch, for an on-base percentage of .500 as well. He was named to the Austin Peay Riverview Inn All-Tournament team after hitting .592 with a triple and stealing six bases in the tournament.
OFFENSE COMES ALIVE: The Arkansas State offense exploded for 37 runs in the Red Wolves' three-game sweep over South Dakota State March 2-4, blasting 40 hits along the way. The Red Wolves slugged eight doubles, two triples and two home runs in the three games against the Jackrabbits and posted a team batting average of .354. ASU's 37 runs in the series was the most since the Red Wolves scored 38 against New Orleans in 2010.
BEST IN THE BELT: Following last weekend's action, ASU's Michael Faulkner is the Sun Belt Conference leader with 18 stolen bases, and is the only player in the league with more than 10 stolen bases who has not been caught stealing. Faulkner is also third with 19 runs scored....Zach George is third in the league lead with two triples....Kaleb Brown leads the SBC with five sacrifice bunts and Zach Maggio is second with four...Jacob Lee is fifth with 30 strikeouts and fifth with 10 strikeouts looking.
KYLE SHUTS DOWN JACKRABBITS: With a 30 mph wind blowing out that had already played a part in five runs through the first four innings for South Dakota State, senior reliever Cory Kyle went to the mound and shut down the Jackrabbits through the final five innings, striking out six in ASU's 15-5 win March 2. Kyle picked up the win after holding the Jackrabbits to just one hit after SDSU had belted out eight in the first four frames. Kyle allowed just two baserunners in the final five innings, walking one and giving up one single.
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.
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.
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 during opening 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.
