GAME 30
ASU (11-18, 4-8 SBC) vs. Ole Miss (21-9, 5-4 SEC)
Tuesday, April 3 — Oxford, Miss. — Oxford-University Stadium/Swayze Field
Radio: KJCF 103.9 FM — Audio Streaming: ASUIndians.com
ON TAP: Arkansas State travels to Oxford, Miss., to take on the Ole Miss Rebels in a 6:30 p.m. game at Oxford-University Stadium/Swayze Field.
THE TEAMS: The Indians will take the field at 11-18 overall, and 4-8 in Sun Belt Conference play. The Indians snapped a five-game losing streak Sunday afternoon when they defeated Florida Atlantic 9-6, in Boca Raton, Fla. Florida Atlantic won the Sun Belt Conference weekend series, however, defeating ASU 5-2 Friday night and 6-5 Saturday night.
Ole Miss enters Tuesday night's game at 21-9 overall and 5-4 in the Southeastern Conference. The Rebels won their SEC series last weekend at Auburn, defeating the Tigers 4-2 Friday night and 7-4 Saturday. Auburn defeated Ole Miss 3-2 in Sunday afternoon's series finale. The loss snapped a five-game win streak for Ole Miss. The Rebels are ranked #10 by Collegiate Baseball, #19 in the USA Today/ESPN poll, and #20 in the latest Baseball America poll.
THE SERIES: The Rebels hold a 66-21 advantage in the series. In the last meeting between the two teams, a March 13 contest in Jonesboro, Ole Miss defeated the Indians 14-1. Leading 4-1 after four innings, Ole Miss broke the game open with six runs in the fifth, then added three in the eighth and one in the ninth to put the Indians away.
ON THE MOUND FOR ASU: True freshman Zach Skaggs (0-0, 5.25 ERA) will be making his first start for ASU when the Indians take the field Wednesday night. Skaggs has appeared in four games for the Indians this season, working 12.0 innings. He has given up eight runs (seven earned) on 15 hits while walking seven and striking out seven. His strongest performance came in ASU's 8-3 loss at Tennessee-Martin March 27. Skaggs came to the mound in the second in relief of junior starter Pete Pasternak, and pitched six complete innings, giving up two runs on four hits, with three walks and five strikeouts.
LOOKING BACK: ASU dropped a Sun Belt Conference series at Florida Atlantic last weekend. The Owls defeated ASU 5-2 Friday night, then rallied for a 6-5 win over the Indians Saturday night. In the Saturday game, ASU led 5-4 after junior catcher Drew Rogers belted a two-out, two-run single in the ninth, but Arkansas State could not keep the Owls off the bases in the bottom of the inning as FAU rallied for the win. In Sunday afternoon's series finale, ASU jumped out to a 4-0 lead and never trailed in a 9-6 victory.
FORMER REBEL RETURNS: ASU head coach Keith Kessinger returns to his old stomping grounds when the Indians visit Oxford Tuesday night. Kessinger played baseball and basketball for the Rebels, graduating in 1989. He finished his baseball career in the top ten in the Ole Miss record book for hits, runs, and doubles in a season, and was named All-Southeastern Conference second-team shortstop in 1989. He was also a three-time Academic All-SEC student-athlete. Following his professional baseball career, Kessinger returned to Oxford as an assistant coach and recruiting coordinator for four seasons. While there, he helped guide the Rebels to three consecutive 30-win seasons from 1998-2000, and coached three All-SEC players, two All-Americans, two freshman All-Americans, and 28 Academic All-SEC players.
SUNDAY VICTORY: Arkansas State stopped a Sunday drought this week when the Indians defeated Florida Atlantic 9-6 Sunday afternoon in Boca Raton, Fla. Prior to this week's win, ASU had lost its previous three Sunday afternoon conference games.
YATES OUT: While opposing pitchers have had a tough time getting an out against ASU All-American Josh Yates, they won't be faced with that problem in the coming weeks. Yates will be out indefinitely after undergoing a successful emergency appendectomy Wednesday.
Yates, a Louisville Slugger TPX 2007 Preseason All-American and preseason All-Sun Belt Conference selection, leads the Indians with a .386 batting average, nine home runs, nine doubles and 25 RBI. He is also currently on a 20-game hitting streak, dating back to the 2006 season.
EXTRA INNINGS: All three of ASU's Sun Belt Conference series games against Middle Tennessee March 23-25 went into extra innings, and there is no record of that happening before at Arkansas State. Friday and Saturday's games each lasted 10 innings, while Sunday's game went 14 innings before Middle Tennessee was able to plate two runs and grab a 7-5 victory over the Indians. The 14-inning game was the longest ASU game since the 2000 season, when Arkansas State dropped a 7-6 decision to South Alabama in 14 innings.
BREWER EARNS SUN BELT HONOR: Arkansas State pitcher T.J. Brewer was named Sun Belt Conference Pitcher of the Week March 19 for his performance on the mound in ASU's 6-0 win over Sun Belt Conference foe South Alabama March 17.
Brewer, a right-handed senior from Bloomington, Ind., pitched his first complete-game shutout at ASU, hurling over 130 pitches in the Indian victory. In going the distance on the mound, Brewer (2-2, 1.86 ERA) surrendered just four hits and three walks while striking out six batters.
“T.J. is extremely deserving,” said ASU head coach Keith Kessinger. “He has been outstanding for us the entire season, and I am just glad that we were able to put together our offense, defense and pitching to help him get us the win.”
Brewer's shutout against South Alabama was the first time since April 14, 2004 that the Jaguars had failed to score at least one run, breaking a streak of 163 games. Brewer held a South Alabama team that was batting .307 heading into the game to a .138 average.
THREE PITCHERS LOST: Three of ASU's pitchers have been lost for the season with injuries.
Arkansas State senior pitcher Joel Boeschen will miss the remainder of the season and apply for a medical redshirt after continuing to be limited from the effects of a labrum tear suffered last season. Boeschen, who had surgery to repair the torn labrum over the summer, saw his only action of the season last week against Missouri State. A left-hander from Okawville, Ill., Boeschen started the March 20 game against the Bears, working one inning. He faced four batters, striking out one and walking one without giving up a hit. Boeschen spent most of the 2006 season as the Indians' Friday night starter, starting 14 games during the season. He finished the year 3-7 with a 6.94 ERA in 70 innings of work.
Sophomore first baseman Brandon Eller will not see any more time on the mound for the Indians this season after suffering a labrum tear earlier this season. He appeared in two games on the mound this season for the Indians, pitching three innings while giving up three hits and striking out two batters. Eller is expected to remain in the lineup at first base.
Pitcher Tyler Goodwin's playing career at Arkansas State is over due to continued complications from an elbow injury suffered during the 2005 season. Goodwin underwent Tommy John surgery and missed the entire 2006 season while rehabbing the injury. Goodwin appeared in three games this season for the Indians, pitching two innings.
YATES ON A HIT STREAK: Although ASU senior Josh Yates missed six games early in the season while awaiting the birth of his second child, and is now out indefinitely after a March 28 appendectomy, Yates has gotten a hit in all 20 games that he has played in this season. In addition, he hit successfully in the Indians' final two games of 2006 to raise the streak to 22 games spanning the two seasons. He leads the Indian starters with a .386 batting average and has hit nine doubles and nine home runs, driving in 25 runs and scoring 19 in the process.
MORE HIT STREAKS: In addition to senior Josh Yates' 22-game hit streak, sophomore second baseman Guy Brown and junior catcher Drew Rogers have built hit streaks as well. Brown has hit successfully in eight straight games, while Rogers has hit successfully in the last five ASU games.
NO ONE-HIT WONDERS: After starting the season with a .167 batting average, senior right fielder Tyler Doke has rebounded to bring his average up to .313, and has a team-leading 14 multiple hit games this season. Doke has 10 games with two hits, two game with three hits, one with four hits and one with five hits, and has a team-high 42 hits on the year. He is tied for the team lead with nine doubles, and is fourth on the team with 16 RBI's. Junior third baseman Ryan Hudgins has 13 multiple-hit games, and senior DH Josh Yates has notched 11 multiple-hit games this season. Hudgins has 10 games with two hits, two games with three hits and one game with five hits, while Yates has eight games with two hits, and three games with three hits.
AMONG THE BEST IN THE BELT: In conference games only, Ryan Hudgins is fifth in the league with a .449 batting average...The four hits allowed by ASU March 17 in the 6-0 victory at South Alabama is tied for the fewest hits allowed in a league game. T.J. Brewer went the distance on the mound in the game to earn his first complete game shutout...In all games played, Brewer ranks fourth in the Sun Belt with an ERA of 2.57...Josh Yates ranks fifth in the league with a batting average of .386.
FIRST CAREER ROUND-TRIPPER: Sophomore Brandon Eller's first career home run was a big one. The sophomore hit a grand slam in the eighth inning of ASU's 12-7 win at Murray State on Feb. 28 to put the Tribe on top for good.
The Indians trailed 5-3 entering the inning, and scored two runs to tie the game before Eller's blast gave the Indians a 9-5 advantage. MSU closed the gap to two in the bottom of the eighth, before ASU rallied for three runs in the ninth to win 12-7.
FIRST CAREER WIN: Sophomore right-hander Nick Lambert picked up his first career victory in Feb. 28's 12-7 win over Murray State.
Lambert struck out two in two and two-thirds innings of relief, while giving up three runs on five hits.
MORE SAVES FOR EGART: Senior right-hander Tim Egart picked up his first save of the season in ASU's 12-7 win at Murray State on Feb. 28.
The right-hander shut out the Thoroughbreds over the final one and one-third innings. He struck out one batter and also gave up a hit.
Egart led the Indians in wins and saves last season, going 6-4 with five saves and a 4.23 ERA in 26 appearances.
Egart earned his second save of the season April 1 when he went to the mound in the ninth inning of ASU's 9-6 win over Florida Atlantic, and held the Owls to no runs on one hit.
NEW ADDITION TO THE YATES FAMILY: The Yates family grew by another member on Feb. 22 as senior All-American Josh Yates' wife gave birth to a baby girl, the couple's second child.
After missing the first two weekends of play, playing only in the Indians' Feb. 20 game at Central Arkansas, Yates rejoined the team with Wednesday's 12-7 victory at Murray State.
YATES TABBED PRE-SEASON ALL-AMERICA: Senior Josh Yates was named a pre-season All-America pick by the Louisville Slugger TPX 2007 team, chosen by Collegiate Baseball.
Yates quickly became one of the most decorated players in the history of ASU baseball last season, becoming the first player in school history to be named an All-American by two organizations - Collegiate Baseball and the American Baseball Coaches Association.
He hit .376 with 23 doubles, 13 home runs and had 62 RBI in 2006, and also posted a .716 slugging percentage and a .431 on base percentage. He also stole six bases.
Yates was also named first team All-Sun Belt and First Team All-South Central Region following last year's stellar campaign.
YATES NAMED TO PRE-SEASON ALL-SUN BELT TEAM: Josh Yates was the lone Indian baseball player named to the pre-season All-Sun Belt team.
Yates was an All-Sun Belt pick last season after hitting .376 with 23 doubles, 13 home runs and 62 RBI. The senior from San Antonio, Texas, was also named an All-American by two organizations last season and was named to the All-South Central Region team as well.
INDIANS PICKED TO FINISH 8TH IN SUN BELT POLL: ASU was picked to finish 8th in the 11-team Sun Belt Conference in a poll voted on by the league's coaches.
Troy, last year's regular season champion, was picked first in the poll, followed by Louisiana-Lafayette, South Alabama, newcomer Florida Atlantic and Florida International.
Middle Tennessee State was picked sixth, followed by New Orleans, ASU and Western Kentucky. Newcomer Louisiana-Monroe and Arkansas-Little Rock tied for 10th in the poll.
NEW FACES: For the first time since becoming head coach at ASU, skipper Keith Kessinger will have a new pair of assistant coaches in Chris Berry and Chris Cook. Former Indian player Mike Sirianni also joined the staff as a volunteer assistant.
Berry, ASU's pitching coach and recruiting coordinator, came to the Tribe after spending seven seasons as a coach at Baylor. Berry helped the team to an appearance in the 2005 College World Series. Under his tutelage, seven of Baylor's pitchers were drafted in his last two seasons at the school.
Cook comes to the ASU program after a one-year stint as an assistant coach at Austin Peay State. Cook, who will coach the Indians' hitters and outfielders, as well as assist in recruiting, also had stints at Lander, Winthrop, Collin County Community College and Rockford, his alma mater.
Sirianni was a student assistant at ASU last season, and spent 2004 and 2005 as an infielder for the program. He hit .286 at A-State and started 111 games in two years. He had 124 hits, scored 96 runs and drove in 77 runs. A native of Indianola, Iowa, Sirianni will coach first base as well as work with ASU's hitters and infielders.
ASU HEAD COACH KEITH KESSINGER: Arkansas State head coach Keith Kessinger is entering his fifth season as head coach of the baseball Indians.
Kessinger has compiled a 109-114 record during his four seasons at ASU, including back-to-back winning seasons in 2004 and 2005 - the first time the Tribe had posted back-to-back winning records since 1996-97.
In his four seasons at ASU, Kessinger has recorded 108 victories and has brought national recognition to ASU baseball, earning victories over nationally ranked Ole Miss, South Alabama and Louisiana-Lafayette. Although the Indians dipped below .500 last season, finishing at 22-30, ASU did post victories over nationally ranked Mississippi, Southeastern Conference member Kentucky, Big 10 member Michigan State, and Memphis during the non-conference season. Additionally, the Tribe qualified for the Sun Belt Conference Tournament as it won Sun Belt series against UALR and WKU, sweeping UALR in early April.
The Tribe also posted a 16-10 record last season at ASU's Tomlinson Stadium, and following the season, two Indians were selected in the Major League Baseball Draft.
ASU's 33 victories in 2005 tied a record for the fourth most victories in a single season for the Indian baseball program. The Indian offense posted a record breaking performance in 2005 under Kessinger's guidance as it re-wrote the ASU record books in almost every offensive category. The Tribe posted single season records in batting average (.314), runs scored (429), hits (632), doubles (135), home runs (78), runs batted in (390) and total bases (1023).
Under his tutelage the Indians also gained national and regional recognition on both the team and individual levels. The Indians received votes for the first time in program history in the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association Weekly Poll. The Tribe placed three players on the All-Sun Belt First Team in first baseman Geoff Desmond, second baseman Brett Kinning and shortstop Chris Rich. Desmond also picked up NCBWA All-America honors for his record-breaking season as he set four new single season offensive marks.
The Tribe has also made great strides off of the field as well. The Indians picked up the Sun Belt Conference Academic Team award for the third straight season. The Tribe posted a 3.0 team G.P.A. last year to take home the honor. In 2004, the Indians posted a 29-28 record marking the first winning season for ASU since 1998. The Indians picked up victories over nationally ranked Ole Miss on two different occasions and posted a two-game sweep of Sun Belt foe Louisiana-Lafayette late in the season In his first season at the helm, Kessinger opened the season by leading his team to some upsets as they knocked off nationally-ranked South Alabama, beat the University of Memphis twice and defeated his alma mater Ole Miss twice.
Since Kessinger's arrival on campus he has been instrumental in spearheading improvements at Tomlinson Stadium. Improvements have been made each year since his arrival and more improvements and renovations are planned for the future. In just three short years the Tribe has added a second indoor batting cage, constructed two outdoor all-weather batting cages, relocated the bullpens, improved both teams' dugouts, refurbished the team's locker room, added landscaping features throughout the facility, added a batter's eye, replaced the speakers/sound system and constructed a new brick entrance into the ballpark. A new picnic area is currently under construction at Tomlinson Stadium, and will be ready for the 2007 season, making the ballpark even more fan-friendly.
Kessinger came to ASU after spending two seasons as head coach at Carson-Newman College, where he compiled a record of 66-47. In 2002, his team finished 39-19, reaching the NCAA South Regional. CNC won the South Atlantic Conference regular season title while Coach Kessinger picked up coach of the year honors from the conference. At Carson-Newman, he coached a school-record nine All-SAC players in 2002, two All-Americans and the Division II National Player of the Year. The team also set or tied 18 individual or team records in his two seasons.
Kessinger has an overall coaching record of 174-159 in six seasons at both Arkansas State and Carson-Newman College Prior to taking over the program at Carson-Newman, Kessinger was an assistant coach and recruiting coordinator at the University of Mississippi for four seasons.
He was named All-Southeastern Conference second-team shortstop in 1989 and Academic All-SEC three times. He was drafted by the Baltimore Orioles in 1989 and played seven years for that team, the Cincinnati Reds and Chicago Cubs organizations. In his first major league appearance in 1993, he singled in his first at bat.
Kessinger graduated from Briarcrest High School in Memphis, Tenn. in 1984 and received his Bachelor of Arts degree in managerial finance from Ole Miss in 1989. He is married to the former Laura Neyman and they have two children-Anna Kathryn (9) and Chase (7). He is the son of baseball legend Donnie Kessinger who spent 16 seasons in the Major Leagues including time with the Chicago Cubs.
