Ruston, LA – Contributed – Arkansas State (10-3, 0-0 SBC) held Louisiana Tech (8-5, 0-0 CUSA) hitless for six innings after the first frame, thanks to the control of Ryan Ashford and Brett Foss on the mound.
The Red Wolves defeated the Bulldogs 10-2 Tuesday night at J.C. Love Field at Pat Patterson Park.
A-State jumped early, Ashton Quiller reaching base after getting plunked, then rounding all the way home thanks to a double into the left field gap by Lane Walton, who was able to get to third on the play at the plate. Patrick Engskov continued the offensive streak with an RBI-double for a 2-0 lead. Louisiana Tech responded with a run in the bottom of the first.
Sophomore Ryan Ashford made his first career start, and after allowing two hits in the first inning, he only let up two walks over the next four innings, striking out four batters to earn his first win. For run support, a fourth- inning infield single from Evan Griffis made him one half of the two-run homer Aidan Houseworth sent to the right field porch.
A pitching duel across the next three innings held the score at 4-1, until the Red Wolves ramped up the scoring again in the eighth inning, echoing the first inning with a leadoff hit-by-pitch to Kaden Amundson. Quiller then struck a single through the infield to put Amundson in scoring position. Walton doubled off the wall to score Amundson, then a two-out walk loaded the bases before a consecutive hit-by-pitch and walk added two more runs for A-State. Louisiana Tech scored one run in the bottom of the frame, but the Red Wolves weren’t done.
Back-to-back singles from Amundson and Quiller set up the second homer of the game, rocked by Engskov to right field for the final runs of the game.
- Win: Ryan Ashford (1-0)
- Loss: Kade Parker (0-1)
A-State continues the midweek series against Louisiana Tech Wednesday with a 6 p.m. start.
