2007
ARKANSAS STATE
BASEBALL
Van Provence
Assistant SID
[email protected]
2007 Schedule
Date
Feb. 16
Feb. 17
Feb. 18
Feb. 20
Feb. 23
Feb. 24
Feb. 25
Feb. 28
March 3
March 3
March. 4
March 6
March 7
March 9
March 10
March 11
March 13
March 16
March 17
March 18
March 20
March 21
March 23
March 24
March 25
March 27
March 30
March 31
April 1
April 3
April 4
April 6
April 7
April 7
April 10
April 11
April 13
April 14
April 15
April 17
April 18
April 20
April 21
April 22
April 27
April 28
April 29
May 2
May 8
May 9
May 11
May 12
May 13
May 17
May 18
May 19
May 23-27
Opponent
at Samford
at Samford
at Samford
at Central Arkansas
#Creighton
#Northwestern
#Lamar
at Murray State
Bradley
Bradley
Bradley
Southeast Missouri State
Jackson State
*New Orleans
*New Orleans
*New Orleans
Ole Miss
at *South Alabama
at *South Alabama
at *South Alabama
Missouri State
Missouri State
*Middle Tennessee State
*Middle Tennessee State
*Middle Tennessee State
at UT-Martin
at *Florida Atlantic
at *Florida Atlantic
at *Florida Atlantic
at Ole Miss
Murray State
*Florida International
*Florida International
*Florida International
at Oklahoma State`
a Oklahoma State
at *Western Kentucky
at *Western Kentucky
at *Western Kentucky
Tennessee-Martin
Central Arkansas
*Troy
*Troy
*Troy
at *Louisiana-Lafayette
at *Louisiana-Lafayette
at *Louisiana-Lafayette
at Southeast Missouri State
Memphis
at Memphis
*Louisiana-Monroe
*Louisiana-Monroe
*Louisiana-Monroe
at *Arkansas-Little Rock
at *Arkansas-Little Rock
at *Arkansas-Little Rock
Sun Belt Tournament
*Sun Belt Conference games
# Lamar Cardinal Classic at Beaumont, Texas
Time
L, 6-1
L, 2-0
W, 7-5
L, 14-5
L, 6-3
W, 8-5
L, 8-5
W, 12-7
W, 11-3
W, 7-0
L, 11-5
W, 6-5
W, 11-10
W, 12-10
L, 12-6
L, 18-4
L, 14-1
L, 9-5
W, 6-0
L, 15-14
L, 5-0
L, 12-4
W, 7-6
L, 4-3
L, 7-5
L, 8-3
L, 5-2
L, 6-5
W, 9-6
L, 19-3
W, 9-8
6:00pm
2:00pm
DH
6:30pm
3:00pm
6:00pm
3:00pm
1:00pm
6:00pm
6:00pm
6:00pm
6:00pm
1:00pm
6:30pm
2:00pm
1:00pm
6:30pm
6:00pm
6:30pm
6:00pm
6:00pm
1:00pm
6:00pm
6:00pm
2:00pm
TBA
Probable Pitching Matchups
Friday’s game
ASU - RHP Nathan Gates (0-3) 4.46 ERA
FIU - RHP Chris Allen (1-4) 4.92 ERA
Saturday’s Game 1
ASU - LHP Jett Jones (0-1) 6.58 ERA
FIU - LHP Corey Polizzano (3-4) 6.55
Saturday’s Game 2
ASU - RHP T.J. Brewer (2-2) 1.85 ERA
FIU - RHP Walker Whitley (1-3) 7.94 ERA
2007 ASU Indian Baseball
870-972-2707
870-897-5010 (cell)
870-972-3367 (fax)
GAMES 32, 33 & 34
ASU (12-19, 4-8 SBC) vs. Florida International (16-16, 3-6 SBC)
April 6 & 7 — Jonesboro, Ark. — Tomlinson Stadium and Kell Field
Radio: KJCF 103.9 FM — Audio Streaming: ASUIndians.com
ON TAP: Arkansas State hosts
the Golden Panthers of Florida
International University in a 3-game
Sun Belt Conference series at
Tomlinson Stadium and Kell Field.
Friday’s game is scheduled to begin at
6 p.m., while Saturday’s double-header will get underway at 2 p.m. The first
pitch in Saturday’s game two is scheduled for 45 minutes following the conclusion of game one.
THE TEAMS: Arkansas State will
take the field Wednesday night at 1219 overall and 4-8 in Sun Belt
Conference play. The Indians defeated the Thoroughbreds of Murray State
University 9-8 Wednesday night in
Jonesboro.
The Panthers come to Tomlinson
Stadium and Kell Field at 16-16 overall and 3-6 in Sun Belt Conference
action. In their most recent outing, the
Golden Panthers suffered a 10-9, 10inning loss against the Miami
Hurricanes Wednesday night in Coral
Gables, Fla.
THE
SERIES:
Florida
International leads the series 18-12.
When the two teams met last season
in Jonesboro for the 3-game series,
Florida International won the first
game 8-4 and came out on top again
in game two, 11-6, before ASU
bounced back to grab a 7-4 victory in
the Sunday afternoon finale.
ON THE MOUND THIS WEEKEND FOR ASU: Friday night’s starter,
senior Nathan Gates, is 1-4 on the
year after picking up his first win of the
season Wednesday night against
Murray State. Gates pitched the final
inning to notch the win over the
Thoroughbreds. Last weekend at
Florida Atlantic, Gates pitched 5.1
innings in Friday night’s 5-2 loss to the
Owls, giving up five runs on 10 hits,
with three walks and a pair of strikeouts. He has 25 strikeouts in 42.2
innings pitched this season.
For Saturday’s doubleheader, the
Indians will go with senior T.J. Brewer
and sophomore Jett Jones. Brewer
and Jones will each start in one of the
games, but the order has yet to be
determined.
Brewer will go to the mound
Saturday at 2-2 on the season, with
an ERA of 2.57. He has worked 22
innings in his last three appearances,
holding opponents to just seven runs
on 12 hits in those three games, while
striking out 19 batters. Brewer has a
total of seven appearances on the
season, fanning 43 batters in 42
innings pitched.
Jones (0-1, 6.58 ERA) will be making his fourth start, and ninth appearance on the mound for ASU Saturday.
In his last outing, a 9-6 Indian victory
April 1 at Florida Atlantic, Jones
worked four innings, giving up five
runs on five hits, with four walks and a
strikeout. For the season, he has 23
ASUIndians.com
ASU Quick Facts
Location . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Jonesboro, Ark.
Founded . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1909
Enrollment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .10.776
Nickname . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Indians
Colors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Scarlet & Black
Mascot . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Indian Family
Spirit Character . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .“Red”
Affiliation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .NCAA Division 1
Conference . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Sun Belt
President . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Dr. Les Wyatt
Chancellor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Dr. Robert Potts
Director of Athletics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Dr. Dean Lee
SWA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Melanie Richardson
Faculty Athletics Rep . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Nonie Wiggins
Athletic Department Phone . . . . . . . . . . .870-972-3880
Ticket Office Phone . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .870-972-2781
Baseball Quick Facts
Head Coach . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Keith Kessinger
Alma Mater . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Mississippi, 1989
Record at ASU (Years) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .108-112 (4)
Career Record (Years) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .174-159 (6)
2006 Record . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .22-30
Sun Belt Record (Finish) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .7-16
Starters Returning/Lost . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .4/6
Lettermen Returning/Lost . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .11/9
Pitchers Returning/Lost . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .7/6
Newcomers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .13
Facility (Capacity) . . . . . . . .Tomlinson Stadium (1,000)
Press Box Phone . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .870-972-3383
Baseball Office Phone . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .870-972-2700
Assistant Coaches (Years) . . . . . . . . .Chris Berry (1st)
Chris Cook (1st)
Mike Sirianni (1st, volunteer)
Sports Information Quick Facts
Assistant SID (Baseball Contact) . . . . . .Van Provence
Provence e-mail . . . . . . . . . [email protected]
Provence cell . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .870-897-5010
Sports Information Director . . . . . . . . . . . . .Jerry Scott
Assistant SID . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Gina Bowman
Sports Information Phone . . . . . . . . . . . .870-972-2541
Sports Information Fax . . . . . . . . . . . . . .870-972-3367
Mailing Address . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .P.O. Box 1000
State University, AR 72467
Overnight Mailing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .217 Olympic Drive
Jonesboro, AR 72401
strikeouts in 26 innings pitched,
surrendering 19 earned runs.
Senior reliever Tim Egart (2-3)
has appeared in 14 games this
season, including six of the last
seven Sun Belt Conference
games. In 30.1 innings of work on
the season, Egart has given up 31
hits and 17 earned runs, while
striking out 28 batters
WEEKEND GAME TIMES
CHANGED: In order to accommodate a change in travel plans for
Florida International University, the
start times for the Arkansas State Florida International Sun Belt
Conference
baseball
games
scheduled for this weekend have
been changed.
As
originally
scheduled,
Friday's game will get underway at
6 p.m., and the two teams will play
a double-header Saturday, with no
game on Sunday.
Game one of Saturday's double-header will begin at 2 p.m.,
with the first pitch in game two
scheduled for 45 minutes following
the conclusion of game one. Both
Saturday games will be 9-inning
contests.
LOOKING BACK: Jett Jones
ended a big day at the plate with a
big blast.
Jones took a 1-0 offering from
Murray State relief pitcher Daniel
Harris out to right, breaking an 8-8
tie with his first career home run to
Post-Game Interviews
The Arkansas State locker room is closed to all members
of the media. Head coach Keith Kessinger and requested assistant coaches and players will be available for
interviews following a brief cooling off period.
Baseball Releases
All ASU Baseball releases can be obtained as a PDF
document on the athletics website at ASUIndians.com.
To be added to the email broadcast for basketball releases, contact Van Provence in the Sports Information office.
2007 ASU Indian Baseball
ASU Baseball
On the Radio
ASU Indian Baseball can be
heard on 103.9 Earl FM, and
online at www.ASUIndians.com
Play-by-play is provided by Matt
Stolz, the voice of the Indians.
lift Arkansas State to a 9-8 victory
over the Thoroughbreds in nonconference
baseball
action
Wednesday night at Tomlinson
Stadium-Kell Field. Jones went 2for-3 at the plate with a home run
and a triple, while driving in four
runs and scoring three times, both
team highs on the night.
SUNDAY VICTORY: Arkansas
State stopped a Sunday drought
this week when the Indians defeated Florida Atlantic 9-6, April 1 in
Boca Raton, Fla. Prior to the 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 AllAmerican 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.
ASUIndians.com
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
2007 ASU Indian Baseball
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.
Guy Brown and junior catcher Drew
Rogers have built hit streaks as well.
Brown has hit successfully in 10
straight games, while Rogers has hit
successfully in the last seven 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 .317, and has a team-leading 15 multiple hit games this season.
Doke has 11 games with two hits, two
game with three hits, one with four hits
and one with five hits, and has a teamhigh 42 hits on the year. He is tied for
the team lead with nine doubles, and
is third on the team with 19 RBI's.
Junior third baseman Ryan Hudgins
has 13 multiple-hit games, while senior DH Josh Yates and sophomore
Brandon Eller have 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, and Eller has nine
games with two hits and two games
HEAD-to-HEAD
ASU
MORE HIT STREAKS: In addition
to senior Josh Yates’ 22-game hit
streak, sophomore second baseman
Sun Belt Standings
Conf.
W-L
Pct.
La-Lafayette
9-3 .750
La-Monroe
9-3 .750
Middle Tenn.
8-4 .667
Troy
7-5 .583
New Orleans
5-4 .556
Western Kentucky5-4 .556
South Alabama 4-7 .364
Arkansas State 4-8 .333
Fla. Atlantic
4-8 .333
Fla. International 3-6 .333
UALR
1-7 .125
Overall.
W-L Pct.
24-6 .800
19-11 .633
17-16 .515
17-13 .567
19-11 .633
11-14 .440
16-13 .552
12-19 .387
21-11 .656
16-16 .500
11-18 .379
FIU
.289 . . . . . . . .Batting Avg. . . . . . . . ..328
321 . . . . . . . . . . .Hits . . . . . . . . . . . .379
169 . . . . . . . . . . .RBI . . . . . . . . . . . .240
179 . . . . . . . .Runs Scored . . . . . . . .266
56 . . . . . . . . . . .Doubles . . . . . . . . . . .73
7 . . . . . . . . . . . .Triples . . . . . . . . . . . . .8
30 . . . . . . . . .Home Runs . . . . . . . . . .29
21-33 . . . . . .Stolen Bases . . . . . . .33-51
.355 . . . . . . . .On-Base % . . . . . . . ..403
85 . . . . . . . . . . .Walks . . . . . . . . . . .118
5.75 . . . . . . . . . .ERA . . . . . . . . . . .6.26
246 . . . . . . .Runs Allowed . . . . . . . .260
174 . . . .Earned Runs Allowed . . . . .198
2 . . . . . . . . . . . .Saves . . . . . . . . . . . . .3
.289 . . . . . .Average Against . . . . . ...325
.940 . . . . . . . .Fielding % . . . . . . . . ..946
22 . . . . .Double Plays Turned . . . . . .33
817 . . . . . . . . . .Putouts . . . . . . . . . .854
329 . . . . . . . . . .Assists . . . . . . . . . . .359
73 . . . . . . . . . . .Errors . . . . . . . . . . . .69
ASUIndians.com
with three hits.
AMONG THE BEST IN THE
BELT: In conference games only,
Ryan Hudgins leads the league in hits
with 22, is second in the Sun Belt with
39 total bases, is fifth in the league
with a .449 batting average, and is fifth
with 14 runs scored...Tyler Doke is
third in the league with 20 hits...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.
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 96 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.
FIRST CAREER WIN: Sophomore
right-hander Nick Lambert picked up
his first career victory in Feb. 28’s 127 win over Murray State.
Lambert struck out two in two and
two-thirds innings of relief, while giving
up three runs on five hits.
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.
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
YATES NAMED TO PRE-SEASON ALL-SUN BELT TEAM: Josh
Yates was the lone Indian baseball
player named to the pre-season AllSun 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
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.
2007 ASU Indian Baseball
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.
ASUIndians.com
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 120-131
record during his four seasons at ASU,
including
back-toback winning seasons
in
2004 and
2005 - the
first time
the Tribe
had posted
back-toback winn i n g
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 LouisianaLafayette. 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 nonconference 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 rewrote 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
2007 ASU Indian Baseball
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 AllAmerica 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
2007 ASU Indian Roster
No. Name
Pos.
B/T
Ht.
Wt. Cl.
Exp.
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
17
18
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
30
31
32
34
35
36
37
IF
IF
2B
SS/2B
OF
C
OF/P
OF
P
P
OF
INF
P
P
1B
1B
OF
P
P
C
P
C/OF
C/OF
P
IF/P
P
INF
3B
1B
C
P
P
OF
R/R
R/R
R/R
R/R
R/R
R/R
L/L
R/R
R/R
R/R
R/R
R/R
R/R
L/L
L/R
L/R
R/R
R/R
L/L
R/R
R/R
R/R
R/R
R/R
R/R
R/R
R/R
R/R
L/R
R/R
L/L
L/L
R/R
6-0
6-0
6-0
5-11
6-2
6-2
6-2
6-1
6-2
6-0
6-2
6-3
6-0
6-2
6-2
6-2
6-1
6-0
5-9
5-10
5-11
6-2
5-11
6-4
6-0
6-3
5-10
6-1
6-2
6-2
5-9
6-2
5-11
170
195
170
170
190
217
180
210
190
165
175
190
190
190
205
185
205
170
145
185
180
198
175
205
175
205
175
210
215
175
155
175
175
HS
JC
1L
JC
1L
1L
1L
RS
1L
1L
1L
RS
2L
1L
1L
1L
HS
RS
RS
1L
JC
1L
HS
1L
1L
RS
HS
JC
JC
HS
HS
Jordan Kimball
A.J. Prickel
Guy Brown
Aaron Ferguson
Nathan Gates
Grey Avant
Jett Jones
David Humphrey
T.J. Brewer
Nick Lambert
Tyler Doke
Hunter Smith
Tyler Goodwin
Joel Boeschen
Brandon Bennett
Josh Ford
Cody Pace
Ryan Blackburn
Jack McGrath
Drew Rogers
Jacob Maggard
Josh Yates
Cade Baxter
Tim Egart
Brandon Eller
Pete Pasternak
Danny Riemenschneider
Ryan Hudgins
Chris Evans
Mike Cero
Zach Skaggs
Cory Lambert
Sean Nichols
Fr.
Jr.
So.
Jr.
Sr.
So.
So.
Jr.
Sr.
So.
Sr.
Fr.
Sr.
Sr.
Sr.
Jr.
Fr.
Fr.
Fr.
So.
Jr.
Sr.
Fr.
Sr.
So.
Jr.
Fr.
Jr.
Jr.
Fr.
Fr.
So.
Fr.
HS
Hometown
New Madrid, Mo.
Cincinnati, Ohio
Harrison, Ark.
Paragould
Tulsa, Okla.
Germantown, Tenn.
Stuttgart, Ark.
Blytheville, Ark.
Bloomington, Tenn.
Norphlet, Ark
Morrisville, Mo.
Jonesboro , Ark.
Trumann, Ark.
Okawville, Ill.
Blytheville, Ark.
Cape Girardeau, Mo.
Jonesboro, Ark.
Jonesboro, Ark.
Jonesboro , Ark.
North Little Rock, Ark.
Monticello, Ark.
San Antonio, Texas
Rockwall, Texas
St. Louis, Mo.
Sherwood , Ark.
Desloge, Mo.
Bryant, Ark.
Haysville, Kan.
St. Joseph, Mo.
Portland, Ore.
Grubbs, Ark.
Bryant , Ark.
Bastrop, La.
ASUIndians.com
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 CarsonNewman, he coached a school-record
nine All-SAC players in 2002, two AllAmericans 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 CarsonNewman 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 (10) and Chase (8). He is the
son of baseball legend Donnie
Kessinger who spent 16 seasons in
the Major Leagues including time with
the Chicago Cubs.
2007 ASU Indian Baseball
ASUIndians.com