Arkansas State releases 2022 baseball schedule

Twenty-eight home contests dot the calendar for the Arkansas State baseball team, as head coach Tommy Raffo unveiled the 2022 schedule Thursday.

A-State’s 2022 slate features five opponents who competed in NCAA Regionals in 2021, as well as four games against Southeastern Conference foes. In league play, a 30-game conference docket returns, including five home league series.

“We are thrilled for our fans to be back at ‘The Tom’ for 28 home games this upcoming season,” Raffo said. “It is a schedule that features attractive non-conference games with SEC and regional foes, along with 30 Sun Belt conference games. We are looking to forward to our team competing at a high level this season.”

The Red Wolves open on the road for the third time in the last four seasons, opening with a tough challenge at NCAA Regional participant Samford (Feb. 18-20) before an early-season test at Ole Miss (Feb. 22). A-State then opens a 10-game home stand with a three-game set versus Arkansas-Pine Bluff (Feb. 25-27), followed by another SWAC foe in the midweek, hosting Mississippi Valley State (March 1-2). A three-game series with Illinois State (March 4-6) follows, with contests against OVC Tournament champion and NCAA participant Southeast Missouri (March 8) and Southern Illinois (March 9).

A-State hits the road again for a three-game series at Missouri State (March 11-13), then returns home to face Memphis (March 15) before opening Sun Belt play at home versus Texas State (March 18-20). The Red Wolves then make the return trip to Southern Illinois (March 22), followed by a three-game series at Georgia Southern (March 25-27).

A home battle with in-state foe Central Arkansas (March 29) ends March, with a three-game home series with Coastal Carolina (April 1-3) opens April. A-State then travels up I-55 to Cape Girardeau for a midweek affair with Southeast Missouri (April 5) before hosting Louisiana (April 8-10).

Five straight in-state contests are next on the docket, as the Red Wolves travel to the state capital to face in-state rival Little Rock (April 14-16) before trekking up to Northwest Arkansas for two midweek contests at reigning SEC champion Arkansas (April 19-20). A-State returns home to face Troy (April 22-24), then travels to the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex to face UT Arlington (April 29-May 1) to open a seven-game road swing that also includes a three-game series at 2021 league champion South Alabama (May 6-8) and a trip across the Mississippi to Memphis (May 10).

A-State hosts Georgia State (May 13-15) in its final home series before hosting Ole Miss (May 17) in its home finale. The Red Wolves then travel to ULM (May 19-21) for the final regular-season series before the Sun Belt Conference Tournament, held May 24-29 at Riverwalk Stadium in Montgomery, Alabama.

2022 SCHEDULE BY THE NUMBERS:

• 55 total games (28 home, 27 away)
• 28 games at Tomlinson Stadium-Kell Field
• 30 Sun Belt Conference games
• 25 non-conference games
• 11 opponents who finished 2021 with a winning percentage of .500 or better: Samford (35-24), Ole Miss (45-22), Southeast Missouri (30-22), Southern Illinois (40-20), Georgia Southern (34-23), Coastal Carolina (27-24), Louisiana (32-23), Arkansas (50-13), Troy (27-26), South Alabama (36-22), ULM (26-26).
• 5 opponents who reached the NCAA Tournament: Samford (Starkville Regional), Ole Miss (Oxford Regional, Tucson Super Regional), Southeast Missouri (Oxford Regional), Arkansas (Fayetteville Regional & Super Regional), South Alabama (Gainesville Regional)
• 9 games versus opponents from the state of Arkansas
• 8 different conferences represented: AAC, A-Sun, MVC, OVC, SEC, SOCON, SWAC, Sun Belt

2022 ARKANSAS STATE BASEBALL SCHEDULE