Friday, April 16, 2010

Under the Radar: Arkansas State (Baseball America)

When Tommy Raffo took over as head coach at Arkansas State in July of 2008, he had a simple plan to turn the Red Wolves into Sun Belt Conference contenders in a hurry.

"When I got here, we made it a higher priority to recruit players who could compete at the Sun Belt level or above and wanted to be at ASU," said Raffo, a former assistant at Mississippi State under Ron Polk and Pat McMahon. "When we found that combination, there was no looking back. These guys want to be here, they want to compete for a championship. I don't want a guy who just wants to be a D-I guy. I want a guy who wants to be here.


"Secondly, when you look at what we recruited, we brought in 21 guys with that first class. It was 11 high school guys and 10 transfers, so about 50-50. But we went with a lot of youth in the position players, because I really felt with my background we could develop them. And we went with more immediate help on the mound because that's what we needed right away. We needed guys who could challenge guys in the strike zone and compete."


That formula has worked perfectly. Raffo has developed his young hitters very quickly, and Arkansas State's two leading hitters are freshmen: center fielder/leadoff man Michael Faulkner (.376/.455/.429) and DH Ryan Emery (.374/.475/.465). The presence of quality veterans like first baseman Murray Watts (.357/.478/.532), second baseman Giovanni Garcia (.368/.424/.526) and outfielder Todd Baumgartner (.331/.407/.453) has taken pressure off the freshmen, and Raffo said that has allowed them to succeed.


And lefthanders Ross Humes (4-1, 2.66) and Andres Caceres (1-1, 2.84) have made immediate impacts on the mound after transferring from Washington State and Palomar (Calif.) JC, respectively. Humes secured an academic waiver from the NCAA to transfer to Arkansas State and attend graduate school classes in global history. He's a wily strike-thrower who has stabilized the weekend rotation.


That rotation has been a real strength for ASU, thanks also to the emergence of sophomore righty Jacob Lee (5-2, 2.66) and junior righty Andy Ferguson (3-2, 4.94).


"Ferguson and Lee were puppies last year, and we said, 'Now we've got to go with them, they've got to learn and make themselves better,' " Raffo said. "Those deposits are paying off because they have improved. They have made themselves better. Andy does a good job; we've been starting him on Friday nights. He's upper 80s to low 90s, and he's able to spin the baseball and he's got a changeup, too. So he's got some things that add a dimension and help his fastball. Lee is up to 91 with a good slider. We're pleased with him being the Sunday starter—he's done a great job for us."


Add in John Koch (1-2, 1.33 with four saves, 23 strikeouts and five walks in 20 innings), who has been more than a pleasant surprise in the closer role, and you have the key ingredients for a staff that ranks second in the Sun Belt Conference with a 3.82 ERA. Considering the Red Wolves are also tied for second in batting (.328), it should be no surprise they are tied atop the Sun Belt standings with an 11-4 record. Arkansas State has won four of its five conference series, including a set against No. 19 Western Kentucky, and eight of its last nine conference games. The Wolves are 22-11 overall and 57th in the Ratings Percentage Index according to Boyd's World, giving them a real chance at a regional bid for the first time since 1994.


"Our goal is to establish ourselves in Sun Belt play, to compete for a championship, to win a championship," Raffo said. "Obviously if you do that, you put yourself in NCAA consideration. Is this all new? Sure it is. Are we going to have ups and downs? We all are. I've liked how our team has competed, but this conference is so good, and things can change both ways."


For Arkansas State, things already have changed.


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