HARRISONBURG, Va. (5/4/24) – Arkansas State baseball (20-25-1, 7-15-1 SBC) took an early 9-4 defeat against James Madison (27-19, 12-11 SBC) before rebounding with an 8-1 victory to split the doubleheader on Saturday afternoon at Veterans Memorial Park.
Arlon Butts restarted the series opener for A-State, surrendering five runs (none earned) on two hits and two walks over 1.1 innings pitched. Three Red Wolves had multi-hit performances, but
Allen Grier led the team with two RBIs.
Max Charlton (3-2) made his third start in Game 2, allowing one run on five hits and a walk while striking out three over 6.0 innings pitched.
Jared Toler,
Wil French, and Grier led the bats after hitting a combined 7-for-14 at the plate with seven RBIs between them.
GAME ONE
The Dukes added to their lead two innings after the game resumed, starting with an RBI-groundout for Wyatt Peifer. A bases-loaded walk and sacrifice fly was complimented by a two-run double from Ryan Dooley as the Red Wolves trailed 9-2 going into the sixth.
Allen Grier brought in two runs after singling through the right side in the ninth, but it would not be enough as A-State dropped the series opener by five runs. T.R. Williams (2-1) earned the win while
Kole Turner (2-4) took the loss.
A recap of the first 2.2 innings of play can be viewed by clicking the link below.
https://bit.ly/4biRP9W
GAME TWO
A-State broke a scoreless tie in the third inning on an RBI-double from Grier and an RBI-single from Toler. A fielder's choice and groundout allowed two more runs to score in the next inning, putting the Scarlet and Black ahead 4-0.
French added to the lead after firing a grounder down the right field line for a single in the sixth. Not long after, a bases-loaded walk for
Jake Henry Williams capped off another multi-run inning for A-State and extended the lead to six.
Ryan Dooley ended the scoring drought for James Madison after delivering a solo-home run over the right-field wall in the bottom frame. It was the only round-tripper of the day for either team and made the score 6-1 going into the final stretch.
Toler delivered the final blow with a two-run single in the eighth as A-State rolled to a seven-run victory. Charlton earned the win and
Blaine Harpenau (3) claimed the save while Donovan Burke (5-1) took the loss.
NEXT UP
Arkansas State will face James Madison in the series finale on Sunday, May 5 at Veterans Memorial Park. First pitch is set for 11:00 a.m. (CT) on ESPN+ and can be heard on 95.3/96.9 The Ticket Radio Network along with the A-State Red Wolves mobile app.
SOCIAL MEDIA
For the latest on the A-State baseball program, follow @AStateBaseball on Twitter/X and @astatebaseball on Instagram, while also liking Arkansas State Baseball on Facebook.
