Center fielder Ashton Quiller lines up his stance to swing at a pitch. Quiller was the offensive leader for A-State in the win against the Memphis Tigers, recording a
game high five RBI on four hits including a home run and two runs.
In a complete reversal from last week’s mid-week loss against Memphis, Arkansas State baseball steamrolled the Tigers at home in a 12-2 blowout run rule decision. While last week’s story of the game was A-State’s failure to fight back against an early seven run deficit, the Red Wolves flipped the script in this rematch.
Both the Tigers and Red Wolves came out to a scoreless first inning where Memphis went three-and-out and A-State stranded two runners after a ground out against designated hitter Cross Jumper brought the opening period to an end.
After a slow start, the game truly began in the second after Memphis second baseman Jack Little perfectly placed a two RBI double between left fielder Joey McLaughlin III and center fielder Ashton Quiller to make the first attack on offense.
A-State quickly responded at the bottom of the inning where Quiller made up for the lapse on outfield defense by hitting a two RBI double of his own in the same manner as the Tigers.
To one-up the visitors, second baseman Cason Campbell hit an RBI double to the opposite side of the field to create a 3-2 lead going into the third inning.
Following two hits in the second inning alone, Memphis’ offense ended up falling off the face of the earth, only recording three hits for the remainder of the match. This was in part thanks to the Red Wolves’ pitching, who ended up throwing a combined 12 strikeouts with only three walks.
On the opposite end of the spectrum, A-State continued to torch the scoreboard, going scoreless in only two periods of play. The fourth inning saw the Red Wolves create a 5-2 advantage after Quiller’s sixth home run of the season tacked on two more RBI to his total on the night.
The match-up hit a point of no return in the fifth inning where A-State’s offense was firing on all cylinders. After loading up the bases following three at-bats, a McLaughlin single notched two more RBI from second and third base runners. After two botched pitches from Memphis, A-State scored a run on three straight hits to bring the lead to 10-2.
Cooling down following a five run inning, A-State scored two more runs to cap off the run-rule victory in eight innings. A solo homer from first baseman Derek Martinez in the sixth added cushioning to the lead before shortstop Patrick Engskov made the killing blow to the Tigers by hitting an RBI single at the bottom of the eighth.
While Little led Memphis by batting in their only scores of the game, Quiller totaled a season high five RBI off four hits, including a home run, while scoring two runs of his own. A-State also hit a season high 15 hits to help avenge the loss on the road last week.
After a red-hot batting clinic, the Red Wolves hope to carry the momentum from this victory into the weekend where they will face off against a top-15 opponent at home: the Coastal Carolina Chanticleers.
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