The Arkansas State Red Wolves baseball team swept Omaha-Nebraska in three games to open up the 2024 season. The three wins also gives Tommy Raffo the most wins in Red Wolf baseball history with 364 career wins as the Red Wolves skipper. Raffo passes J.A. “Ike” Tomlinson for the most in program history.

HOW IT HAPPENED:

Red Wolves defeat Omaha 14-4 in season opener

Arkansas State baseball (1-0, 0-0 SBC) opened the 2024 season in dominant fashion against Omaha (0-1, 0-0 Summit), taking a 14-4 victory on Friday night at Tomlinson Stadium.

Jelle van der Lelie recorded his first career start for A-State and pitched four scoreless innings before being relieved in the fifth. The righty finished with two earned runs allowed off three hits while striking out four in 4.1 innings pitched.

Austen Jaslove finished 4-for-5 in his first game as a Red Wolf, bringing in a pair of RBIs and crossing the plate twice. Cason Tollett also brought in two RBIs and drew three walks while going 3-for-3 during the contest.

Allen Grier opened the bottom of the third with a 369-foot home run, which is his second at the Division I level. A-State would hold a 1-0 advantage going into the fifth, but it would not last for much longer.

An RBI-double for Haiden Hunt put Omaha on the scoreboard while Drew Lechnir pushed the Mavericks ahead with an RBI-single. Coby Greiner (1-0) entered the game and forced a double-play to send the Red Wolves into the bottom frame.

Down 2-1, the Scarlet and Black responded with five runs of their own to reclaim the lead. Tollett, Jaslove, and Allen Grier recorded an RBI while Brayden Caskey scored on a wild pitch as A-State took a 6-2 lead into the sixth.

Omaha scored one run during a bases-loaded situation with one out in the sixth, but Blaine Harpenau entered the game and retired the next two batters to prevent the lead from shrinking further.

Tollett got the run back in the next frame with a 428-foot solo-shot that extended the lead back to four runs. However, Trent Burkhalter recorded a solo-homer of his own to keep the Mavericks within three going into the final stretch.

Jaslove fired a solo-homer to left field and scored the first of seven runs in the eighth inning. Blake Burris brought in a pair of runs with a double and Caskey brought in another with a single. Wil French scored on a passed ball before two more runs crossed the plate on errors, sealing a 10-run victory for A-State.

Greiner earned the win while Reed Scott (0-1) recorded the loss as the Red Wolves win their 13thhome-opener in the last 16 seasons. French finished the game with three stolen bases, falling one shy of the team record last matched by Michael Faulkner during the 2012 season.

Red Wolves rally to take series against Omaha, 7-5

Arkansas State baseball (2-0, 0-0 SBC) scored six unanswered runs during their final three frames to rally past Omaha (0-2, 0-0 Summit) 7-5 on Saturday night at Tomlinson Stadium.

Arlon Butts got the start for A-State and finished with three earned runs allowed on two hits while striking out three in 3.1 innings pitched.

The Scarlet and Black finished with four hits as a team with Austen Jaslove accounting for two of them. The Designated Hitter also brought in two RBIs, matching Allen Grier for the team high.

The Red Wolves chipped away at Mavericks’ starter Charlie Bell in the first inning, forcing the righty to throw 31 pitches in his opening frame. Jaslove eventually sent a grounder into left field allowing Wil French to cross the plate uncontested as A-State closed the first with a 1-0 advantage.

Omaha broke through in the fourth inning when Joel Benes fired a grounder past third base and brought in two runs as a result. Cardel Dick capped off the top-frame with an RBI-double to centerfield as the Mavericks claimed a 3-1 advantage.

In the next inning Matt Goetzmann extended Omaha’s lead to three runs with an RBI-single into left field. After a failed pickoff attempt at first base, Haiden Hunt beat the throw home to make the score 5-1 in Omaha’s favor.

The Scarlet and Black found life in the sixth when Jaslove brought Blake Burris in to score with an RBI-single. The bases were loaded when Cason Campbell was hit by a pitch and Brayden Caskey was walked, bringing two in to score and cutting the deficit to one run.

Wil French led off the bottom of the seventh with a single and reached second on a fielder’s choice before stealing third and advancing home on a throwing error.

A-State had another bases loaded situation in the next inning following a walk and back-to-back HBPs from Matt Dreher (0-1). Grier got a fly ball to land in left field during the next at-bat, bringing in two runs and giving the Scarlet and Black their first lead since the fourth inning.

Bryce Schares took the mound to open the ninth and retired three of the next four batters to secure the save. Max Charlton (1-0) earned his first win of the season while Dreher took the loss as A-State looks to complete their second consecutive sweep dating back to last season.

Head Coach Tommy Raffo has a chance to make history tomorrow afternoon, needing only one win to pass J.A. Ike Tomlinson and become the winningest coach in Red Wolves history.

Red Wolves complete sweep against Omaha, 12-0

Arkansas State baseball (3-0, 0-0 SBC) took care of business in the series finale against Omaha (0-3, 0-0), winning by a score of 12-0 on Sunday afternoon at Tomlinson Stadium.

Dylan Heine (1-0) made his Red Wolves debut on the mound and finished with five hits allowed in five scoreless innings. Coby Greiner, Jacob Conover, and Walker Williams did not allow a hit or a walk over the final four innings of play.

Austen Jaslove led the bats once again for A-State, going 4-for-5 with two runs scored, a home run, and an RBI. He finishes the series 10-of-14 (.714) with five RBIs, four runs scored, and two home runs.

Blake Burris sent a shot to the warning track in right field and slid into third base with a triple. In the next at-bat, Cason Tollett drove in the Centerfielder with an RBI-groundout to put A-State ahead 1-0 after the first.

Tollett drove in his second run of the game two innings later with a line drive to left field. Brandon Hager brought in another with a ground-rule double, but the Red Wolves stranded two as they entered the fourth with a 3-0 advantage.

The Scarlet and Black blew the game open after scoring five runs in the bottom of the sixth. Nyan Hayes and Wil French recorded back-to-back two-run singles while Tollett earned his third RBI of the game with another groundout.

Jaslove added on to his impressive series in the seventh with a 379-foot home run to right-centerfield. It was his second homer of the series and put the Red Wolves ahead 9-0 in the final stretch.

Jared Toler entered the game during the eighth and delivered a grounder into left field for an RBI-single. Nathan VerMaas also entered and sent a line-drive into centerfield for a two-run single.

The Scarlet and Black did not allow a hit after the sixth inning, retiring the next nine batters to cap off a series sweep. Heine earned the win while Brayden Curtis (0-1) took the loss as A-State records their second consecutive series sweep dating back to last season.

Tommy Raffo earned his 464th win as the Red Wolves head coach, passing J.A. “Ike” Tomlinson for the most in program history.

NEXT UP

Arkansas State returns to action against Arkansas-Pine Bluff on Tuesday, February 20 at Tomlinson Stadium. First pitch is set for 6:00 p.m. on ESPN+