Games 54-57
ARKANSAS STATE RED WOLVES (32-21, 19-9)
at the 2012 Sun Belt Conference Baseball Championship
May 23-27, 2012 3:00 p.m., 3:00 p.m., 3:00 p.m. & 1:00 p.m.
Bowling Green Ballpark (4,500) Bowling Green, Kentucky
Radio: 95.3 FM & KNEA 970 AM & AStateRedWolves.com
LiveStats & Video at SunBeltSports.org
LEADING OFF: The Arkansas State Red Wolves (32-21, 19-9) travel to Bowling Green, Ky. for the May 23-27 2012 Sun Belt Conference Baseball Tournament at Bowling Green Ballpark. Seeded second in the eight-team field, Arkansas State is in Pool B, along with FIU, Troy and Middle Tennessee. Pool A features Florida Atlantic, South Alabama, Louisiana-Monroe and host Western Kentucky. The Red Wolves will open play Wednesday, May 23 against the seventh-seeded Blue Raiders of Middle Tennessee (29-27, 14-16). Arkansas State will be idle May 24, then face sixth-seeded Troy (26-29, 14-16) Friday, May 25. The Red Wolves will wrap up pool play Saturday, May 26 against third-seeded FIU (31-23, 15-14), and the championship game against the winner of Pool A is scheduled for Sunday, May 27 at 1:00 p.m. All ASU baseball games may be heard on 95.3 FM and KNEA 970 AM, and through the StateZone portion of AStateRedWolves.com. LiveStats and video may also be accessed by logging on to SunBeltSports.org.
THE TEAMS: Arguably one of the hottest teams in the field, Arkansas State enters the tournament on a four-game win streak after defeating #22 Ole Miss 10-5 and sweeping SBC and in-state rival UALR last week. The Red Wolves have won eight of their last 10 games and 11 of their last 15. Offensively, the Red Wolves are led by third baseman Claude Johnson, who leads the team with a .355 batting average (third in the SBC) and a team-high 16 doubles. All-SBC shortstop Dustin Jones is hitting .290 on the season and .313 in SBC action. Left fielder Logan Uxa is hitting .298 and leads ASU with nine home runs. Center fielder Michael Faulkner is among the nation's leaders in stolen bases, swiping 38 bases on 39 attempts this season. Freshman right fielder Collin Massanelli is hitting .327 on the year and has reached base in 31 of the 33 games in which he has played. First baseman Zach George is hitting .280 with 10 doubles, two triples and five home runs. Senior Jacob Lee, the 2012 Sun Belt Conference Pitcher of the Year, leads the Red Wolves with an 8-1 record, 75 strikeouts and a 2.99 ERA. Middle Tennessee will take the field having lost two of its last three, dropping a three-game series last weekend at Western Kentucky to wrap up the season at 29-27 overall and 14-16 against SBC teams. The Blue Raiders lost 4-2 in game one and 5-4 in a 13-inning marathon in game two before salvaging the series with a 6-1 win in the regular season finale. Troy, the preseason co-favorite to win the league title, has put together four consecutive SBC series victories heading into the tournament, including a 2-1 series victory at home last weekend over fourth-seeded South Alabama. The Trojans defeated South Alabama 7-6 to open the series, before dropping an 11-3 decision in game two. Troy earned a berth in the SBC Tournament when it defeated the Jaguars 8-5 in the final game of the regular season. Florida International lost its final two regular season games to finish the season at 31-23 overall and 15-14 in conference play. The Panthers were defeated by Florida Atlantic 12-2 and 4-3 last weekend before being rained out in the final game. Along with Louisiana-Monroe, FIU is the only team in the tournament to have defeated ASU in a three-game series this season.
THE MTSU SERIES: Middle Tennessee holds a 24-14 advantage in the all-time series between the two teams, but the Red Wolves picked up their first-ever series victory over the Blue Raiders in Murfreesboro when the teams met April 27-29. Arkansas State defeated MTSU 8-5 in games one and two, but the Blue Raiders closed out the series with a 5-3, 11-inning victory in game three.
THE TROY SERIES: Troy holds a 20-4 advantage in the all-time series between the two teams, but Arkansas State captured its first-ever series victory over the Trojans March 30-April 1 in Troy. The Red Wolves lost 7-6 in the series opener before bouncing back to win 16-8 and 5-4 in the final two games to win the series. Prior to that, both of the Red Wolves' victories over the Trojans came during the 2010 season, when ASU defeated Troy 5-4 in game one of a three-game series at Riddle-Pace Field, and again in the Sun Belt Conference Tournament when A-State won 12-2.
THE FIU SERIES: Florida International leads the series 27-20-1, including a series victory May 11-13 in Jonesboro when the Panthers won two of three games. Arkansas State opened the series with a 7-4 victory, but FIU rebounded to win the final two games, 10-7 and 16-5. The last ASU series victory came during the 2010 season when the Red Wolves won two of three games in Jonesboro.
ASU IN THE TOURNAMENT: Arkansas State is 16-30 all-time in the Sun Belt Conference Tournament, but the Red Wolves have enjoyed success in the last two years. Arkansas State won two games to reach the semifinals following the 2010 season, and went 2-1 in 2011, but did not advance out of pool play. Arkansas State has advanced to the championship game of the tournament two times. The Red Wolves defeated Lamar 3-2 to win the tournament in 1994 and advance to the NCAA Central Regional in Austin, Texas. Arkansas State went 2-2 in the regional, losing to host Texas in the opening round 9-4, before defeating Nevada 4-2 and Texas-San Antonio 10-5. Arkansas State was eliminated with a 10-3 loss to eventual national champion Oklahoma. In the Red Wolves other appearance in the championship game, ASU was defeated by South Alabama, 11-6 in 1996. Arkansas State is 2-3 in extra inning games in the tournament, defeating Lamar 3-2 in 11 innings and UNO 9-8 in 11 innings, both in 1994. The Red Wolves lost 13-10 in 10 innings to FIU in 2011, 12-8 in 11 innings to Troy in 2010 and to Lamar 4-3 in 13 innings in 1998.
BEST OF THE BELT: Arkansas State senior Jacob Lee earned Sun Belt Conference Pitcher of the Year honors and ASU head coach Tommy Raffo was selected as the league's Coach of the Year to highlight A-State's selections to the 2012 All-SBC teams, which were announced Tuesday night at Bowling Green Ballpark. Junior reliever John Koch and sophomore shortstop Dustin Jones also received all-conference honors, with both being named second-team All-Sun Belt Conference at the league's annual Championship Family Night activities leading up to the May 23-27 SBC Tournament. Lee (Jonesboro, Ark.), who was named the league's 2011 Preseason Pitcher of the Year, is the first ASU player in history to be named Pitcher of the Year in the post-season and was also named first-team All-SBC. He finished the regular season at 8-1, with an ERA of 2.99, a figure that dropped to 2.89 against SBC competition – the lowest among starters in the league. Lee became ASU's career strikeout leader midway through the year, and finished the season ranked fifth in the league with 75 strikeouts, bringing his career total to 269. During the season, he held opponents to a batting average of .234 to rank fifth in the league, and opposing batters in the Sun Belt hit just .219 against him, which is the lowest average among starters in the conference. He gave up just 25 multiple-base hits on the season and struck out a career-high 10 batters March 30 at Troy. Lee finished the season as ASU's leader in strikeouts, innings pitched (84.1) and wins. Koch, ASU's closer during the 2012 season, (Fort Smith, Ark.) led the Red Wolves with an ERA of 2.12 to earn second-team All-SBC honors. He made 27 appearances on the season, helping the Red Wolves to a 28-0 record when leading after eight innings. During the season, he became the ASU single-season and career saves record holder and stands at 11 saves on the year and 15 for his career heading into the Sun Belt Conference Tournament. He is holding opponents to a .194 batting average to rank first on the team and averages more than a strikeout an inning with 35 strikeouts in 34 innings of work. He has given up just four multiple-base hits on the season and has not surrendered a triple or a home run. One of the most reliable shortstops in the league, Jones hit .313 against Sun Belt competition and .290 on the season, with six doubles and a home run. Jones ranks fifth in the Sun Belt with 152 assists, with a fielding percentage of .964. He posted 11 multiple-hit games on the season, including career-high three-hit outings against SBC foes Troy and FIU. He put together a 10-game hitting streak during the season and led the team with 10 sacrifice bunts, including seven against SBC competition to finish tied for first in the league. In his fourth season as head coach at ASU, Raffo led the Red Wolves to 32 victories – the most for any team in the Sun Belt this season, the most for ASU since 2005 and the fourth-most in school history. He directed the Red Wolves to a 19-9 record against Sun Belt competition and a second-place finish in the league standings, missing the conference title by just one-half game. The 19 league wins are the second-most in ASU history, and the second-place finish is the highest for the Red Wolves since the 1993 season, when A-State finished second in the SBC-East. The Red Wolves finished the regular season with a 9-2 weekend series record, including a perfect 4-0 mark when playing on the road. He is the first coach since the 2002 season whose team did not win the regular-season title to be named SBC Coach of the Year and joins former ASU head coach Bill Bethea (1994) as the only Arkansas State coaches to have ever been awarded the honor.
ON THE MOUND FOR ASU: Senior right-hander Jacob Lee will get the start on the mound when the Red Wolves open the tournament against MTSU, making his 15th start of the season. Lee has worked 84.1 innings on the year, striking out 75 batters. He has given up 31 runs (28 earned) on 73 hits, walked 31 batters and has an ERA of 2.99. Junior right-hander Daniel Wright will get the start on the mound in game two against Troy. Wright has made 15 appearances on the season, starting in 13 games. Wright has given up 52 runs (38 earned) in 73.1 innings of work. He has 50 strikeouts to his credit, has walked 26 batters and given up 87 hits. Wright's ERA stands at 4.66 heading into the tournament. Senior Cory Kyle will get the start against FIU in ASU's third game. Kyle has appeared in 17 games on the season, starting in 10. He has 53 strikeouts in 61.2 innings of work, has given up 35 runs (30 earned) on 60 hits, with 31 walks.
QUICK HITS: Third baseman Claude Johnson's batting average of .355 ranks third in the SBC and he is second with 16 doubles...senior pitcher Jacob Lee ranks fourth in the SBC with an ERA of 2.99 and fifth in strikeouts with 75...senior center fielder Michael Faulkner leads the league with 38 stolen bases on 39 attempts, and his four steals against Missouri State April 4 are the most for any player in a single game in the Sun Belt this season...Faulkner's 38 stolen bases rank fourth nationally and he is ranked second nationally at .75 stolen bases per game...junior John Koch is second in the Sun Belt with 11 saves...junior Daniel Wright has picked off five runners, tops in the league...sophomore Dustin Jones is second in the league with 10 sacrifice bunts...freshman Kaleb Brown and junior Michael Faulkner are fourth in the league with nine sacrifice bunts...senior Cory Kyle's eight innings on the mound against UALR in the final regular season game was the longest outing for any ASU pitcher this season...the Red Wolves' 19 conference victories are the second-most in school history...Arkansas State finished the regular season with a 9-2 weekend series record...the Red Wolves' weekend road series record was a perfect 4-0..Arkansas State was the only team this season to hand UALR a weekend series loss at Gary Hogan Field. The Trojans were 6-0 in weekend series action at home prior to the final weekend of the season...the Red Wolves sweep of UALR in the final weekend of regular-season play was their third consecutive over the Trojans...Arkansas State's 32 wins on the season are the most for any team in the Sun Belt, are the most for ASU since the 2005 season and are tied for the fourth-most in school history...the Red Wolves' second-place finish in the SBC standings is ASU's highest since the 1993 season, when Arkansas State finished second in the Sun Belt East Division...junior John Koch's 11 saves rank 26th nationally...senior Jacob Lee is ranked 42nd nationally with his eight victories...junior Logan Uxa has drawn a team-high 42 walks to rank 26th nationally...sophomore Claude Johnson is ranked 76th in the nation at .34 doubles per game...sophomore Zach George has struck out just 15 times in 186 at-bats to rank 91st in the nation.
RED WOLVES TOPPLE REBS: Arkansas State wrapped up the home portion of its 2012 schedule with a bang May 15, knocking off #22 Ole Miss to finish the season 21-8 at Tomlinson Stadium and Kell Field. The win was ASU's first over a ranked team since the 2010 season, when the Red Wolves defeated No. 18 Western Kentucky 6-4 and 3-1 to win a Sun Belt Conference series in Jonesboro. The victory was also A-State's first over Ole Miss since a 7-5 win over the second-ranked Rebels in Oxford, Miss. during the 2008 season.
TOUGH AT HOME: Arkansas State's 21 victories at Tomlinson Stadium and Kell Field are the most home victories since 1997, when ASU posted 23 victories on its home field.
UXA LEADING THE WAY: Junior outfielder Logan Uxa is leading the Red Wolves in seven statistical categories, including RBIs (40), slugging percentage (.486), on-base percentage (.444), home runs (9), walks (42, to rank 26th nationally and third in the Sun Belt), total bases (88) and hit-by-pitch (7). He is the only player on the roster to have started or played in all 53 games for the Red Wolves during the 2012 season.
FINISHING STRONG: The Red Wolves are a perfect 28-0 this season in games in which they hold the lead after eight innings, 27-2 when leading after seven and 24-3 when leading after six frames.
NATIONAL HONORS: After holding South Alabama to just one run in each game of the May 4-6 Sun Belt Conference series sweep, the Arkansas State pitching staff has been named InsidePitching.com's National Pitching Staff of the Week. Arkansas State used just six pitchers over the weekend, giving up a total of just three runs in the Red Wolves' first-ever series sweep of South Alabama. The Jaguars went into the weekend with the league's best batting average at .326 in conference games, but ASU pitchers Jacob Lee, Daniel Wright, Cory Kyle, Brandon Farley, John Koch and Bradley Wallace held the Jags to a .149 average, allowing just 13 hits while striking out 14 batters. The ASU pitching staff is directed by second-year coach Tighe Dickinson and holds a team ERA of 4.23. Lee went seven innings to get the win in Friday's 8-1 victory, allowing just four hits and one run while striking out three and walking four. Farley came on in the eighth and Koch in the ninth, and neither allowed a baserunner in the final two frames. In the Saturday contest, Wright gave up one run on five hits, struck out four, walked just two and retired 13 of the final 15 batters he faced to pick up the win in the 6-1 ASU victory, giving the Red Wolves their first series victory over the Jaguars since the 2009 season. His seven innings of work in the game tied his career high. Farley and Koch again worked the final two innings and combined to give up no runs on one hit and one walk, with one strikeout. Kyle put the Red Wolves in position to get the 2-1 win in Sunday's finale, giving up the one South Alabama run on just one hit in seven innings of work, the longest outing of his career. Kyle struck out five batters and walked three, setting the stage for Wallace to work the final two innings to pick up the win. Wallace struck out one and did not issue a walk over the final two frames, giving up two hits to improve to 3-1 on the season.
TEAM OF THE WEEK: Following their three-game sweep of Sun Belt Conference foe South Alabama May 4-6, the Arkansas State Red Wolves were named Honorable Mention Team of the Week by CollegeBaseballInsiders.com. The Red Wolves held South Alabama, the league's top-hitting team in league play going into the weekend at .326, to just one run in each of the three games, winning 8-1 in the Friday night contest, 6-1 in the Saturday game and 2-1 in the Sunday finale. ASU pitchers Jacob Lee, Daniel Wright, Cory Kyle, Brandon Farley, John Koch and Bradley Wallace combined to hold the Jags to a .149 average, allowing just 13 hits while striking out 14 batters. The Red Wolves wrapped up the sweep by rallying from a 1-0 deficit in the bottom of the ninth in Sunday's contest, getting a walk-off single from pinch-hitter Alex Potts to drive in the winning run.
POTTS COMES THROUGH: Trailing 1-0 heading into the bottom of the ninth, the Red Wolves rallied for two runs in the bottom of the inning, getting a walk-off RBI single from pinch-hitter Alex Potts to defeat the South Alabama Jaguars 2-1 May 6 in the Sun Belt Conference series finale between the two teams at Tomlinson Stadium and Kell Field. The Potts' single helped the Red Wolves sweep the Jaguars in the three-game series. For his efforts, he was named CollegeSportsMadness.com's Sun Belt Conference Player of the Week May 8.
SEASON OF FIRSTS: The weekend series sweep of South Alabama May 4-6 was the first-ever sweep of the Jaguars by Arkansas State, adding to a string of firsts by the 2012 Red Wolves. The season already has seen not only the first series victories at Troy and Middle Tennessee, but also the first series win ever against Troy. The series victory at MTSU, coupled with a three-game sweep of the Raiders in 2011 also gives the Red Wolves their first-ever back-to-back series wins over MTSU.
LEE BECOMES ASU CAREER STRIKEOUT LEADER: With his five strikeouts against FAU April 22, senior Jacob Lee wrote his name in the ASU record books as the school's career strikeout leader. Lee finished the day with 255 strikeouts, surpassing the record of 251 set by Rusty Bourg in 1967-70 with his five strikeouts April 22 against FAU. Lee tied the record when he struck out FAU left fielder Nathan Pittman in the first, then struck out center fielder Geoff Jimenez in the second to set the new record of 252. Following last weekend's action against UALR, Lee now stands at 269 strikeouts in his career. Lee is also the career leader in innings pitched at 315.1, and at 23 wins, is within two victories of tying the ASU career victories record of 25 set by Rusty Bourg from 1967-70.
KOCH SETS RECORDS: Junior John Koch enjoyed a record-setting performance April 15 when he became the ASU single-season and career saves leader. Koch earned his seventh save of the season against Memphis April 10 to tie the single-season record, then closed out the series victory over Western Kentucky April 15 with his eighth save of the season to break the record. The two saves brought his career total to 12, which was also a new ASU career record. He has since raised his totals to 11 on the season and 15 for his career.
FAULKNER TIES, BREAKS SCHOOL RECORDS: Junior center fielder Michael Faulkner tied the school record for stolen bases in a game when he swiped four in the Red Wolves' April 4 game at Missouri State, bringing his season total to 26 at the time. Faulkner picked up his first stolen base after a first-inning single. The second followed up a second-inning single, and the final two came when he stole second and third after a base hit in the seventh. Faulkner wrote his name in the ASU record books again April 15, stealing two bases in ASU's 6-3 win over Western Kentucky to tie the Arkansas State single-season record of 29 set by Jerome Miller in 1978. Faulkner was 4-4 on stolen base attempts during the Middle Tennessee series to break the record, and now stands at 38 on the season in 39 attempts. The Sun Belt Conference steals leader, he is also ranked second nationally heading into the SBC Tournament in stolen bases per game (.75) and fourth in total stolen bases. Faulkner now has 79 stolen bases in his career, just five short of the ASU career record of 84 set in 1976-79 by Miller.
STREAKING: Junior Logan Uxa extended his on-base streak to 24 games in the final regular-season game of the year, which is a team high. Junior Zach Maggio's on-base streak now stands at 18 games and sophomore Zach George is at 14 games. George also brings the team's longest hitting streak into the tournament at five games.
FIRST HOME RUN: Catcher Stuart Levy's second-inning home run during the Red Wolves 8-5 victory April 27 at Middle Tennessee was the first of his career.
CENTURY MARK FOR RAFFO: Arkansas State head coach Tommy Raffo picked up his 100th career victory - all at ASU - when the Red Wolves defeated Western Kentucky 5-0 April 13.
FIRST SHUTOUT: The Red Wolves' 5-0 win over Western Kentucky April 13 was ASU's first shutout victory of the season.
BREAKOUT WEEK FOR MAGGIO: Second baseman Zach Maggio led Arkansas State at the plate during the week of April 9-15, hitting .562 with a pair of doubles, an RBI and four runs scored. Against Western Kentucky, his average improved to .615 as he went 8-for-13 against the Hilltoppers. He posted a slugging percentage of .692 and an on-base percentage of .667. He was 1-for-1 on stolen base attempts, walked twice, had nine total bases and struck out just twice. Just two weeks prior, Maggio was hitting .089 on the season, but raised his batting average to .276 heading into the FAU series.
IMPRESSIVE START: The Red Wolves won their first three Sun Belt Conference weekend series for the first time since the 1996 season. Arkansas State swept UALR in the opening weekend, defeated ULL on the road 2-1 in week two and won at Troy 2-1 in week three to match the effort of the 1996 squad, which defeated Texas Pan-American, Louisiana Tech and Jacksonville in its first three conference weekends, before losing two of three the next week against New Orleans. The 2012 Red Wolves suffered their first weekend series loss on the year when they lost to ULM 10-1 in the rubber match of their series with the Warhawks, but bounced back the following weekend to take two of three against Western Kentucky.
CAREER HIGH FOR LEE: Arkansas State senior Jacob Lee struck out a career-high 10 batters in six innings of work March 30 against Troy. Lee went to the dugout having shut out the Trojans through six innings, but Troy got to the ASU bullpen in the final three frames and rallied for a 7-6 win over the Red Wolves.
WALKING OFF: Sophomore Zach George came up with one of the biggest hits of his career April 6 against ULM. With the Red Wolves trailing 6-4 in the bottom of the ninth, George went to the plate with runners at first and second and blasted a towering home run over the right field wall to give the Red Wolves a 7-6 victory.
BREAKOUT GAME: Arkansas State's 16-8 victory over the Troy Trojans March 31 was the first game this season in which the Red Wolves hit three home runs. The 16 runs scored by ASU in the game was also a season high.
BIG INNINGS: Through 53 games, the fourth and eighth innings have been the most productive for Arkansas State, with the Red Wolves scoring 45 runs in the frames, and the late, eighth-inning productivity has paid off. Arkansas State is 28-0 on the season when leading after eight innings.
STRONG WEEK FOR KYLE: ASU senior Cory Kyle was outstanding in his two appearances during the week of March 26, pitching 9.1 shutout innings with 11 strikeouts over a two-game span. Kyle retired the final 12 batters he faced to earn the save in ASU's 4-2 victory over UAPB March 28, then came back to shutout Troy for 5.1 innings in his April 1 start against the Trojans.
CAREER DAY FOR WRIGHT: Junior starting pitcher Daniel Wright struck out a career-high nine batters in 6.2 innings to pick up the win in ASU's 6-4 victory at ULL March 24. Wright, a former walk-on, retired 19 of the first 22 batters he faced, including the first nine. He held the Cajuns to .200 hitting on the day, 78 points below their team batting average, gave up just five hits and did not issue a walk. He threw 103 pitches on the day and his nine strikeouts are the most for any ASU player in a game this year.
STRONG PERFORMANCE BY JOHNSON: Third baseman Claude Johnson hit .538 in the March 23-25 series against ULL. Johnson followed that up by hitting .429 in ASU's five games last week and heads into the Missouri State series as ASU's leading hitter at .360 on the season, a figure that climbs to .441 against Sun Belt competition. Johnson's .360 average currently ranks sixth in the Sun Belt.
McWILLIAMS, KYLE TAME LIONS: After Arkansas State gave up a pair of first-inning runs to visiting UAPB March 28, relievers Seth McWilliams and Cory Kyle came in to shut out the Golden Lions for the final 8.1 innings in the 4-2 ASU victory. McWilliams worked 4.1 innings to pick up his third win of the season, giving up no runs on two hits, with three strikeouts. Kyle worked the final four frames, retiring the final 12 batters he faced to earn his first save of the year. He struck out six batters and allowed just two hits, and neither Kyle nor McWilliams walked a batter on the night.
FIRST ROAD WIN: ASU's March 24, 6-4 victory over the Cajuns was the Red Wolves' first true road victory of the season. Arkansas State defeated Dayton 9-3 March 9 on a neutral field at Clarksville, Tenn. for what was previously its only victory away from Jonesboro.
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.
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.
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.
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 h
