Mark West: Red Wolves Drop Tough Series to Georgia State

ATLANTA, Ga. – Arkansas State suffered a tough series loss at Georgia State this weekend that may effectively end the Red Wolves’ chances at grabbing an at-large bid to the NCAA Regionals. The Red Wolves were only outscored by one run over the series in spite of being out-hit .301 to .245 by the potent Panthers’ offense.

The Panthers posted a slugging percentage of .443 while hitting three home runs during the series along with getting some of the best pitching performances of the season out of their starters.

Game 1 – Georgia State 5, A-State 1

Georgia State starter Kenny Anderson (4-3) had his best start on the year allowing only an earned run over seven innings of work as the Panthers defeated the Red Wolves 5-1. A-State’s woes against southpaw starting pitching continued as they hit .167 against Anderson.

David Owen had a solid start allowing two earned runs over 5.2 innings pitched and was pulled in the sixth after a walk, wild pitch and a single put runners on the corners with two outs. Cody Woodhouse would allow an RBI single that gave the Panthers a 2-1 lead before getting out of the inning. Woodhouse would surrender three runs in the eighth on an RBI triple and a two-run homer.

Game 2 – Georgia State 7, A-State 6, 10 innings

A-State starter Bradley Wallace put the Red Wolves in position to win with a quality start allowing three earned runs in seven innings pitched but the bullpen would lose the lead as the Red Wolves fell 7-6 in extras. A-State took the lead on Dustin Jones’ RBI triple in the seventh and then rallied for three more runs in the eighth on RBI doubles by Stuart Levy and Joe Schrimpf with an RBI single by Lucas Feddersen.

Bullpen woes would continue for the Red Wolves as Tyler Zuber would allow a run in the eighth cutting the lead to 6-4. A-State closer Morgan Croft came on to close the game and instead gave up a run on a pair of walks, a sac bunt and a wild pitch and then allowed another walk before giving way to Colton Kibler who allowed the game-tying RBI single.

Chandler Hawkins finished out the ninth to send the game to extras where he surrendered a game-winning, walk-off single as the Red Wolves lost the series.

Game 3 – A-State 10, Georgia State 6

A-State sent 12 batters to the plate in an eight-run seventh inning rally that helped them avoid a sweep by defeating Georgia State 10-6. In the seventh inning Schrimpf and Jones would each bat twice with Shcrimpf going 2-for-2 with a pair of singles, an RBI and two runs scored. Jones would draw a walk and then slap a two-run triple down the left field line while scoring once and Matt Burgess hit a two-run double as the Red Wolves unleashed a load of frustration on Panthers’ pitching in the inning.

Hawkins retired the first four batters he faced in relief before allowing a couple of runs in the eighth off a couple of singles and a pair of walks and was pulled in favor of Zuber with two-outs and the bases loaded. Zuber would get four of the five batters he faced out to notch his first career save in the Red Wolves win.

Arkansas State (25-19, 14-7 Sun Belt) remains two games ahead of Texas State for second place in the Sun Belt yet fell a game further behind No. 2 Louisiana Lafayette who went 2-1 against Texas State this weekend. A-State trails ULL by four games in the standings but has the opportunity to make up ground as they host the Cajuns for a three game set in Jonesboro this weekend.

Player of the Series: Dustin Jones (Sr., SS) 3-for-11, 2 3B, BB, R, 3 RBI, .272 AVG, .333 OBA, .636 SLG, .969 OPS

Pitcher of the Series: Bradley Wallace (Sr., RHP) ND, 7.0 IP, 7 H, 3 ER, 5 K, 1.00 WHIP

A-State lost in extras at UCA 4-3 in 10 innings earlier in the week after squandering a 3-0 lead late in the game.

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You can keep up with all of Mark West’s A-State Red Wolves baseball coverage at http://collegebaseballcentral.com/sun-belt/arkansas-state/