Arkansas State comes into the matchup this weekend with an 8-5 record. The wins have been against some softer opponents. When tested, they failed miserably against Ole Miss and Missouri State, both midweek matchups, but are improved over a year ago. The Red Wolves are lead offensively by catcher Justin Felix, who is hitting .333 on the year with two home runs. Garrett Rucker will be in CF, he has real good tools and is fun to watch with good speed, and can really hit as well. On the mound Arky State is led by Bryan Ayers. Ayers is one of the better prospects in the Sun Belt, early on he has an impressive 26 strikeouts in 17 innings. Peyton Culbertson is another good arm that Tech will see this weekend; he can run his fastball up to 96 mph.
Tech will look to continue their momentum after a big win Tuesday night at MSU. The bullpen should be well rested after Casey Sutton gave a great start going 7 innings. The 15 strikeouts offensively Tuesday night are pretty high but it happens at times. Tech struck out only 10 times the entire weekend against Wichita, so I wouldn’t expect the high strikeout trend to continue. Sean Ullrich had a big hit on Tuesday night to tie the game. It’s only a matter of time before he really gets it going. He missed the entire fall, so the more at bats he gets the more comfortable he’ll be.
Nate Harris currently ranks first in the country in saves, 2nd in the country in strikeout/walk ratio, 8th in appearances. Brent Diaz and Jordan Washam are 2nd in the country in HBP. Diaz is 15th in doubles with 7. Lunceford is 27th in RBI, and 11th in home runs. As a team, Tech is 25th in ERA, 23rd in runs per game, good recipe for success. The pitching staff is also 27th in walks per 9 IP, very impressive. Offensively Tech is 30th in OBP.
Tech will look to continue their momentum after a big win Tuesday night at MSU. The bullpen should be well rested after Casey Sutton gave a great start going 7 innings. The 15 strikeouts offensively Tuesday night are pretty high but it happens at times. Tech struck out only 10 times the entire weekend against Wichita, so I wouldn’t expect the high strikeout trend to continue. Sean Ullrich had a big hit on Tuesday night to tie the game. It’s only a matter of time before he really gets it going. He missed the entire fall, so the more at bats he gets the more comfortable he’ll be.
Nate Harris currently ranks first in the country in saves, 2nd in the country in strikeout/walk ratio, 8th in appearances. Brent Diaz and Jordan Washam are 2nd in the country in HBP. Diaz is 15th in doubles with 7. Lunceford is 27th in RBI, and 11th in home runs. As a team, Tech is 25th in ERA, 23rd in runs per game, good recipe for success. The pitching staff is also 27th in walks per 9 IP, very impressive. Offensively Tech is 30th in OBP.
