Red Wolves drop doubleheader to Illinois State

Jonesboro, AR (A-State) – The Arkansas State baseball team dropped a pair of games to Illinois State Sunday afternoon to finish the opening weekend of the season with a 1-2 record. The Red Wolves fell to the Redbirds 18-3 in the day's first game and then dropped game two 11-4.

Grant Hawkins led A-State at the plate on the day with four hits and two runs scored, while Jeremy Brown had three base hits and an RBI. Logan Andersen also had a solid afternoon with three hits and a RBI.

In the day's first game the Red Wolves' jumped out to early lead in the first inning when Brown and Andersen each produced RBI hits. Brown added to the lead in the third inning when he scored on a wild pitch to push the A-State advantage to 3-1.

Illinois State (2-1) took the lead in the fourth inning when they plated four runs, including a three-run home run by Noah Sadler. The Redbirds added two more runs in the fifth and then two in the seventh, five in the eighth and four in the ninth.

Brown finished the game 2-for-3 with an RBI to pace A-State.

In game two Illinois State scored two runs in the first inning off Peyton Culbertson when Noah Sadler and Collin Braithwaite each singled in a pair of runs. The Red Wolves responded in the bottom half of the inning with an RBI single by Drew Tipton to cut the deficit in half.

The Redbirds added a run in the second inning, but the Red Wolves answered in the third when Brown stole home to close the margin to 3-2.

Illinois State broke the game open with three runs in the fourth inning and added two more in the sixth and three in the ninth. A-State added a run in the sixth inning when Tipton was hit-by-a-pitch with the bases loaded and Hawkins singled in a run in the eighth inning to close out the scoring for A-State.

Arkansas State returns to the field for a midweek contest against SEMO on Tuesday, Feb. 20. First-pitch is set for 4 p.m. at Tomlinson Stadium.