Little Rock, AR – Contributed – Redshirt junior Ckyler Tengler pitched a nine-inning no-hitter for Arkansas State (28-19, 11-13 SBC) at Little Rock (28-20, 14-7 OVC), the seventh in program history and first since 2005 in the 12-0 win Tuesday evening at Gary Hogan Field.
Tengler’s no-hitter is the first in program history since Taylor Fowler achieved the feat against Northwestern on February 19, 2005. It is also the second no-no recorded against Little Rock, last by Reggie Gatewood in 1991.
The Red Wolves offense was active early, taking advantage of hit batters and free passes in the first two innings. A-State got on the board with a two-RBI single from Kaden Amundson, then crossed after an infield error caused a fire drill for the 3-0 lead.
Derek Martinez mashed his 13th homer of the season in the leadoff spot of the third inning.
Both teams settled into a rhythm in the middle innings, A-State finding just two baserunners and Little Rock finding one on base by way of a hit-by-pitch in the fourth.
Just two strikeouts across the opening five frames, Tengler only got stronger as the night went on, fanning out all three batters in the sixth, and striking out another two in the seventh.
Evan Griffis added A-State’s fifth run by singling through the infield to score Patrick Engskov from second in the seventh inning.
The floodgates opened in the eighth with a two-out rally, Evan Griffis scoring a three-RBI bases-clearing double off the right field wall. Derek Martinez found the gap to score Griffis as A-State stretched the lead to nine runs. Tengler handled the eighth inning with efficiency, only needing seven pitches to record three groundouts.
Offensive discipline loaded the bases in the top of the ninth inning on walks, and Cason Campbell logged an RBI-walk to keep the carousel moving. A wild pitch added another run, and Patrick Engskov popped out to center field for a sacrifice fly.
Tengler clinched the game with two strikeouts to set him just one out away, where he drew a 6-3 groundout and was mobbed by the A-State dugout in right field. The Searcy native finished the game with no hits, no walks, nine strikeouts, and 28 batters faced on 93 pitches.
Win: Ckyler Tengler (2-0)
Loss: Zach Busick (3-3)
UP NEXT
A-State returns to Jonesboro for a weekend series with Texas State, with first pitch Friday, May 8 set for 6 p.m.
