Jonesboro, Ark. (2/22/19) The Red Wolves are entering the weekend after a 15-3 loss to No. 10 Ole Miss. Drew Tipton, Sky-Lar Culver and Alex Howard each finished the night 2-for-4 for the Red Wolves with Howard adding an RBI in the third inning. Justin Felix and Kyle MacDonald each finished with an RBI as well. The Rebels out hit the Scarlet and Black 19-10 in Wednesday's contest in Oxford. After the loss to Ole Miss the Red Wolves dropped to 2-2 on the season. After four games Junior pitcher Zach Jackson leads the Sun Belt in his 10 strike perfor- mance at Stephen F. Austin in 5.2 IP. The Red Wolves has a .390 OBP which is good for second in the SBC. Junior Sky-Lar Culver leads the team and is tied for first in the Sun Belt with six RBIs on the season.
"PRESEASON PITCHES"
Arkansas State Senior first baseman Kyle MacDonald was named the 2019 Sun Belt Preseason Player of the year, after leading the Red Wolves in a number of offensive categories including runs (50), hits (66), homers (15) RBI (50), total bases (127). MacDonald posted a team-high .464 on-base percentage which was the best in the league. His .665 slugging percentage was ranked first in the Sun Belt, 22nd in the nation and seventh best in school history. The Red Wolves were picked fifth in the West Division of the leagues' Coaches Poll. Coastal Carolina received 12 first place votes to win the East with 72 points. South Al- abama was chosen to finish runner-up in the division with 52 points, followed by Troy in third with 48 points. Georgia Southern trailed in fourth (24 points), Georgia State in fifth (24 points) and Appalachian State in sixth (13 points). Louisiana was the favorite to win the West with 11 first-place voted and 71 points, while Texas State followed in second with 55 points. Little Rock was picked third with one first place vote and 48 points. UT Arlington was picked fourth (36 points), Arkansas State fifth (24 points) and ULM sixth (18 points).
"THE MAC"
Arkansas State Senior first baseman Kyle MacDonald was named the 2019 Sun Belt Preseason Player of the year, after leading the Red Wolves in a number of offensive categories including runs (50), hits (66), homers (15) RBI (50), total bases (127). He posted a team-high .464 on-base percentage which was best in the league.His .665 slugging percentage was first in the Sun Belt, 22nd in the nation and seventh best in school history. The Mississauga, Ontario, native played and started in 51 of the teams 52games, earning Sun Belt Newcomer of the Year honors and second team all-conference honors. He also picked up All-Central Region First Team honorsfrom the American Baseball Coaches Association (ABCA) to become the 12th player at A-State to earn the award. MacDonald was named to 2019 Bobby Bragan Collegiate Slugger Watch List. In 2018, he led the team in multiple-hit games with 20 and multiple-RBI games with 12 ... ended the season with an 11-game on-base streak ... posted season-high four hits in two games at Missouri (March 21) and at ULM (March 24) ... hit two home runs in back-to-back games versus Ole Miss (May 15) andat Little Rock (May 17) ... hit two doubles against Coastal Carolina March 17 ... recorded eight total bases three times in games at ULM (March 24), versus Ole Miss (May 15), and at Little Rock (May 17) ... knocked in four runs versusCoastal Carolina March 17 and at Georgia State April 7 ... scored a season-best three runs four times and also walked three times in four different games ... was intentionally walked seven times.
"OLE MISSISSIPPI"
The Last meeting between the Red Wolves and Mississippi Valley State tookplace on Feb. 27 and A-State shutout the Delta Devils 9-0. A-State put up fourruns in the bottom of the first on a Kyle MacDonald single followed by a Casey Vaughn single to center field. Nate Alberius was fantastic for the Red Wolves on the mound for his first career victory after he spun seven shutout innings withno walks, nine strikeouts, and four hits allowed. Tanner Kirby struck out the sidein the eighth, while Bryan Ayers tossed a scoreless ninth in his first appearance of the season. Mississippi Valley State and the Red Wolves were supposed to meet twice lastseason but the second game was canceled due to field conditions in Jonesboro.• A-State and Mississippi Valley State played last season with the Delta Devils coming back to win a 10-9 decision after scoring seven runs in the eighth inning. It's the only meeting between the two squads. The Red Wolves and Mississippi Valley State were scheduled to play in 2016, but the game was rained out. Arkansas State holds an 112-2 record all-time against schools from the SWAC after the loss to the Delta Devils. A-State is 11-1 against UAPB all-time and is1-0 against Jackson State, but had to vacate the 11-10 win against the Tigers in 2007. Mississippi Valley State is one of two teams from the state of Mississippi the Red Wolves will play along with Ole Miss.
