ASU baseball takes the diamond for 2012

As winter speeds ever closer to its end, many people have begun looking forward to spring and all that it promises: the sun's warmth; the regeneration of nature; and the return of the national pastime.

Baseball is back, and Arkansas State will face its first opponents of the 2012 season – Stephen F. Austin and Lamar – this weekend at the Lamar Invitational in Beaumont, Texas.

Both schools are loaded with players from their talent-rich home states and will provide an early challenge for the Red Wolves, according to head coach Tommy Raffo.

"They're very talented, and we're away from home, so this should be a good test for us right away," he said. "I think we're going to see some pretty good pitching against our offense. What we're going to see from their lineups is yet to be seen."

Despite losing pitcher Andy Ferguson, who was selected by the Kansas City Royals in June's MLB draft, Raffo is high on this season's rotation, headlined by senior Jacob Lee.

Lee, the 2011 preseason Sun Belt Pitcher of the Year, posted five wins and a 3.25 ERA last season and is expected to start on Opening Day.

"We've got a lot of guys who have developed in our system, and [pitching] coach [Tighe] Dickinson has done a great job of bringing them along," Raffo said. "We've got some new names and faces that we'll put on the mound to provide us some innings…. They're expected to step up."

Also returning for the Red Wolves are outfielders Ryan Emery, Logan Uxa, and Michael Faulkner.

Emery finished second on the team with a .314 batting average last season, while Faulkner stole 18 bases on 21 attempts and hit .295.

Uxa, a team captain alongside Lee and shortstop Anthony Hecht, drove in 35 runs and averaged .281 at the plate.

ASU will play a two-game series against both teams and then head to Oxford, Miss. for a contest against Ole Miss before returning to Jonesboro for their home opener against Murray State, the first of nine straight home games.

Though they had a winning record at home last season, the Red Wolves won only six of the 23 games they played on the road, a problem that must be rectified in order to become a top ball club, says Raffo.

"In Division I baseball, 60 percent of home games are won; so anytime you go on the road you've already got the odds against you. Championship ball clubs win on the road," he said.

Becoming such a club is part of the higher expectations he has set for the Red Wolves, who were picked to finish just seventh out of ten teams in the Sun Belt preseason coaches' poll.

Florida International  and Troy are picked to finish first in the conference with both schools receiving four votes and Louisiana Lafayette (third place) and Louisiana Monroe (ninth place) receiving one vote each.

"Polls are polls….I think anyone in this conference can be at the top or the bottom. We saw that last season when an eight-seed won the whole tournament," Raffo said.

That eighth seed, the Trojans of Arkansas - Little Rock, have been picked to finish 10th a year after winning the championship.

"We want our expectations to be raised. We've been to postseason play twice and won a couple of games, but we want to be able to put ourselves at the top of the league." Raffo continued.

To do that, Raffo says the team must be more consistent, especially in the top half of the season.

"I think it's a mind set of trying to win the league and championships. That's the bottom line – what kind of work ethic are you going to put in, what kind of coaching and teaching are you going to put in, what needs to be seen and done and executed to have good outcomes?" Raffo continued said.

The Red Wolves will play their first game against Stephen F. Austin at 2:30 p.m. on Friday, while the home opener against Murray State is set for 3 p.m. on Feb. 22 at Tomlinson Stadium.