GAMES 38-40
Date: April 19-21, 2013
First Pitch: Friday, 6 p.m.
Saturday, 6 p.m.
Sunday, 6 p.m.
Location: Monroe, La.
Stadium: Warhawk Field (1,800)
Radio: East Arkansas Broadcasters
95.3 FM The Ticket
970 AM KNEA
Radio Talent: Matt Stolz
SERIES
ASU vs ULM: 32-29 (ASU Trails)
Raffo Record vs ULM: 8-5
Last Meeting: May 27, 2012 (4-2 ULM)
Current Streak: ASU 3 Losses
MULTIMEDIA
Online Audio: AStateRedWolves.com
Live Stats: AStateRedWolves.com
LEADING OFF: Arkansas State will travel to Monroe, La., for a three-game Sun Belt Conference series against the Warhawks. A-State enters the weekend with a 20-17 record and a 6-9 mark in league play. The Red Wolves defeated Southeast Missouri 5-4 during the midweek after scoring on a wild pitch in the top of the 12th inning. Tanner Ring hit the first home run of his collegiate career in the game and then also picked up the win on the mound after tossing the game's final three innings. ASU has lost three straight games to ULM, including a 4-2 heartbreaker in the SBC Championship game last season.
ULM enters the game with a 14-24 record and a 4-11 mark in the conference. The Warhawks have lost three straight, including a 5-2 setback against Tulane during the midweek. ULM is in the midst of its longest homestand of the season, nine games, which will run through April 28.
THE STARTERS: Senior right-hander Daniel Wright will start for ASU on Friday night. He will enter the gae with a 3-3 record and 2.74 ERA. Bradley Wallace will get the start on Saturday and will come into the contest with a 3-1 record and a 3.89 ERA. Both Wright and Wallace rank in the top five in strikeouts in the Sun Belt Conference.
ULM will start senior right-hander Cale Win on Friday night, who has a 4-5 record and 40 strikeouts so far this. Junior Carey Taylor will start Saturday and Shelby Aulds Sunday.
ASU/ULM SERIES HISTORY
• The will be the 52nd, 53rd and 54th meetings all-time between the Red Wolves and Warhawks.
• ASU leads the all-time series 26-25.
• The Red Wolves have lost three straight games to the Warhawks, including a 4-2 loss in the SBC Championship game last season.
• ASU's last victory over ULM was a 7-6 win on April 6 last season.
• The series dates back to the 1973 season when the school was known as Northeast Louisiana.
SCOUTING THE WARHAWKS
• Louisiana-Monroe is 14-24 and 4-11 in SBC games this season.
• ULM is currently 10th in the Sun Belt Conference standings.
• The Warhawks are averaging 4.7 runs per game, while allowing 5.6 runs per contest.
• ULM is second in the conference in team fielding percentage at .971.
• The team leads the league in assists with 436.
• Tyler Bray is tied for the league lead in apperances with 19.
• Corben Green has been a part of a league high 33 fielding double plays.
RING GETS A WIN AND A HOMER
• Tanner Ring had one of the best games of his young career on April 16 at SEMO.
• The true freshman belted his first collegiate home run in the top of the first inning and then pitched the final three innings of the extra-innings affair to earn the win.
• Ring also had a season team-high seven at bats against SEMO.
UXA TIES SINGLE GAME WALKS RECORD
• Senior Logan Uxa was walked four times on April 16 at SEMO, tying the ASU record for most walks in a game.
• The feat has been accomplished 12 other times, with Murray Watts drawing the last four-walk game against Western Kentucky in 2009.
WRIGHT EARNS PITCHER OF THE WEEK HONORS
• Senior Daniel Wright earned Sun Belt Conference Pitcher of the Week honors on April 8 for his performance from the previous week.
• Wright was also named as the College Sports Madness SBC Pitcher of the Week..
• The senior right-hander enjoyed one of the best pitching weeks of his career by earning his first save since 2011 and a his first complete-game shutout victory.
• In the shutout victory, Wright struck out a career-high 11 batters and yielded just five hits. He also did not allow runner past second base after the first inning and retired 12 straight at one point.
WRIGHT GOES SCORELESS
• Daniel Wright pitched 14 2/3 straight innings without surrendering a run.
• The streak spanned across three games and lasted 14 1/3 innings before he finally gave up a run.
• It began in the fourth inning on March 29 at FIU and ended in the first inning on April 12 against South Alabama.
• He has not allowed a run since giving up a solo home run to Aramis Garcis in the bottom of the 4th inning at FIU on March 29.
• In his last 25 innings, he has given up just one earned run.
WALLACE DOMINATES AGAINST HILLTOPPERS
• Bradley Wallace had the best start of his career against Western Kentucky on April 7.
• The junior struck out a career-high 12 and retired 18 straight batters after issuing a leadoff single to start the game.
• His seven innings pitched was also a career-high.
LEVY GOES DEEP...TWICE
• Sophomore catcher Stuart Levy belted two home runs against South Alabama on April 13.
• It was just the third and fourth home runs of his career.
STREAKING FOR HITS
• Ryan Roberts had his 13 game hitting streak come to an end on April 12.
• It was the longest streak of the season and tied for the seventh longest in school history.
EMERY EYES RBI RECORD
• Senior Ryan Emery is closing in on the all-time career runs batted in mark at ASU.
• Emery has 125 RBIs in his career and is 14 away from tying the record, which was set by Todd Baumgartner between 2008-11.
NEW SCHOOL LEADER IN CAREER WALKS
• Ryan Emery has shattered the school record for walks in a career.
• Emery has 127 walks in his career and passed Jerome Stone who had 109 in his career from 1980-83.
• Logan Uxa is close to surpassing the mark as well. The senior has totaled 106 walks in his career.
FITZPATRICK NEARLY CYCLES
• Kevin Fitzpatrick was a home run away from recording his first career cycle April 2 against SEMO.
• The freshman went 3-for-4 with three RBIs and two run scored on the night.
• He had a triple in the first inning, a single in the third and double in the fifth. He also reached on a fielder's choice in the seventh and later came around to score the go-ahead run.
EMERY LEADING THE WAY
• Senior Ryan Emery was put into the leadoff spot for the first time in his career against SEMO on April 2.
• Emery is the team leader in on-base percentage, walks and RBIs.
A NIGHT OF FIRSTS FOR BURKS
• Drew Burks made his first start in a month on April 2 against SEMO and produced in a big way for A-State.
• Burks also recorded the first and second RBIs of his career with 2-RBI single in the first inning.
FRESHMAN STARTERS ON THE MOUND
• A-State has had a freshman pitcher start a game seven times this season and the Red Wolves have a 3-4 record in those games.
• A-State owns a 2-2 record in games in which Adam Grantham has started this season and is 0-2 in games in which Derek Birginske has started.
FIGHTING AGAINST TIME
• ASU and FIU nearly accomplished something rarely seen in baseball on Sunday, a tie.
• Due to the Sun Belt Conference get away rule, no inning could start after 2:30 p.m. on Sunday, March 30 of ASU and FIU's series finale. The game went into the 11th inning with the final inning starting at 2:22 p.m.
• Had the score been tied at the conclusion of the inning the game would have ended in a tie.
• ASU and FIU did tie in the 2011 season, which was only the second tie in ASU history.
CHASING NCAA RECORDS
• Alex Potts has amassed 18 sacrifice bunts on the season and is just 16 away from tying the all-time NCAA record of 34, which was set by Ben Orloff of UC Irvine in 2007 (65 games).
ROCKIN' ROBERTS
• Roberts had a career-high four hits and two doubles against FAU on March 24. He also had a career best six total bases in the game.
SEC ROAD WIN
• A-State's 10-3 victory at Missouri on Match 19 was its first road victory versus and SEC school since 2008. The last road victory was a 7-5 victory over then No. 2 Ole Miss.
MR. CLUTCH
• Alex Potts delivered the fourth walk-off hit of his career with a solo home run on March 23 that gave A-State a 3-2 victory over FAU.
• It was his second walk-off hit this season after he had a single in the bottom of the 11th inning on March 8 to give ASU a 2-1 victory over UAB.
• The first was a walk-off single in the bottom of the 10th inning against UALR on March 17, 2012 to give ASU a 3-2 win.
• The second was a walk-off single in the bottom of the ninth against South Alabama to give ASU 1-0 on May 6, 2011.
SPLITTING DOUBLEHEADERS
• ASU has played in four doubleheaders this season and has earned a split in each one.
• Only one of the twin bills has been scheduled, with the other three coming because of weather.
POTTS MAKING HISTORY
• Second basemen Alex Potts is now the all-time record in sacrifices in a single season in ASU history with 18.
• Potts passed Dean Roberts on March 19 against Missouri with his 13th sacrifice of the season.
• Potts had already passed Jordan Kimball for most sacrifice bunts in a season. Kimball had 11 in 2009.
UXA SETS NEW SINGLE SEASON HIGH IN DOUBLES
• Senior first basemen Logan Uxa has already set a career-high for doubles in a season.
• Uxa's previous career high was seven doubles, which he did in 2011 and 2012. He had his eighth and ninth doubles against Missouri on March 19.
WOODHOUSE SETS NEW HIGH IN STRIKEOUTS
• Junior Cody Woodhouse set a new career-high with seven strikeouts against Missouri on March 19.
THREE TIMES AS NICE
• Sophomore center fielder Collin Massanelli tied the school record for most home runs in a game by hitting three against UALR on March 16.
• Massanelli is just the third player in school history to hit three home runs in a game. Kevin Kull Jr. hit three at UALR in 2005 and Randy Sugg accomplished the feat against Austin Peay in 1998.
• Massanelli hit a solo home run in the first inning and then had a 2-run blast in the eighth inning that hit off a light pole in right-center field. His third home run came in the top of the ninth and tied the game at 7-7 after ASU rallied from six runs down over the final two innings.
• He also tied the school record for most total bases in a game with 13 on March 16.
TURNING THE TRIPLE PLAY
• ASU turned a 1-5-4-3 triple play in its 6-3 victory over UALR on March 15.
• The triple play occurred when Bryson Thionnet tried to lay down a sacrifice bunt, but instead popped the attempt up in front of Seth McWilliams. The senior right-hander let the bunt attempt fall in front of him and quickly threw over to third base to get the force out. A-State third basemen Claude Johnson then threw to second base to get the force at that base after Blake Johnson did not run on the play. ASU second basemen Alex Potts then threw to first base for the final out after Thionnet never touched first because it was occupied by a UALR player.
• It was the first triple play turned by ASU under the Tommy Raffo era.
DOMINATING THE TROJANS
• ASU extended its winning streak to 12 straight over UALR with a three game sweep over the Trojans on the opening weekend of SBC play.
• ASU has swept UALR in four straight series and has not lost to the school since 2011.
UXA DOES IT ALL
• Logan Uxa enjoyed one of his best two-game stretches on the base paths against Missouri State March 12-13.
• Uxa tied a career high with two stolen bases on March 12 and the notched just the third triple of his career on March 13.
A MIDWEEK OF FIRSTS
• Freshman Derek Birginske made his first career state on March 12 against Missouri State. He gave up just one run on five hits and struck out six, but did not factor into the decision.
• Freshman Adam Grantham earned his first career save on March 13 against Missouri State when he pitched the final two innings in relief in a 7-5 victory.
UNEARNED RUNS
• Arkansas State and Missouri State combined to score eight unearned runs in ASU's 7-5 victory over the Bears on March 13.
HAWKINS SHINES IN FIRST START
• Sophomore Chandler Hawkins shined in his first start of the season on March 9 against UAB.
• He pitched a career-high seven innings, faced a career-high 28 batters and allowed just one run on seven and tied a career-high with three strikeouts.
FITZPATRICK FIRST START
• Freshman Kevin Fitzpatrick made his first career start on March 3.
• The true freshman made a start in left field and batted in the leadoff position. He went 1-for-4 with two runs scored.
• He recorded his first career RBI on Tuesday, March 5 against UT-Martin.
IN THE POLLS
• Arkansas State received votes in the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association Top 30 poll earlier this season.
• Records indicate that the last time an A-State baseball team was ranked was during the 1970 season when Arkansas State finished the season ranked 24th in the nation in the final Collegiate Baseball poll.
RING GETS FIRST SAVE
• Freshman Tanner Ring picked up his first career save at Memphis on Feb. 19.
• Ring entered the game in bottom of the ninth inning as a defensive replacement at second base and then moved to the mound in the bottom of the 10th inning.
KOCH SETS CAREER HIGH
• In his first career start, senior John Koch struck out a career-high 11 batters on Feb. 15.
• Koch pitched five innings, gave up three runs on nine hits to earn his first win as a starter.
PITCHING STAFF SHINES
• The A-State pitching staff recorded a school record 19 strike outs in the 10-5 victory over Bradley on Opening night on Feb. 15.
• The previous record was 18 strikeouts, which ASU did twice. The first was in 1995 against Memphis and the second was against Kansas State in 1960.
• On opening weekend, A-State recorded 37 strikeouts and allowed just eight runs and walked 7 batters in 27 innings.
OPENING SERIES SWEEP
• ASU recorded a three-game series sweep for the first time since 1971 and for only the second time in school history.
BAKER GOES DEEP
• True freshman Austin Baker hit a home run on the first pitch he saw in his collegiate career on Feb. 16
• Baker went 3-for-3 on the day and was a triple from the cycle. He had three RBIs on the day and was walked once.
4-K INNING
• Arkansas State senior right-hander John Koch notched a rare four strike out inning in the Red Wolves 10-5 victory over Bradley Feb. 15. After Bradley's David Compitello reached on a dropped third strike out in the fourth inning with one out, Koch proceeded to strike out two more batters to end the inning.
GOING TO THE SHOW
• A-State had three players drafted from last year's squad, led by Jacob Lee who was drafted in the ninth round by the Cleveland Indians.
• Lee was the highest player ever drafted from the ASU baseball program.
• Michael Faulkner was taken in the 12th round by Seattle, making him the second highest selection ever in program history.
• Brandon Farley was taken in the 33rd round by the San Francisco Giants, while incoming freshman Adam Grantham was a 32nd round pick of the Atlanta Braves.
SUN BELT NETWORK TO AIR ASU-UALR GAME
• The Sun Belt Conference has announced that the Arkansas State baseball game against UALR on May 18 will be televised by the Sun Belt Network through its partnership with Comcast/Charter Sports Southeast (CSS) and Cox Sports Television (CST). An official start time for the game will be announced at a later date.
