ASUHERALD.COM
THURSDAY, APRIL 4, 2013
PAGE 5
Men’s golf finishes 6th in Red Wolves Intercollegiate CARA PRICHARD SPORTS EDITOR
The Arkansas State men’s golf team matched its second lowest three-round score this season of a combined 881 at the 17th annual Red Wolves Intercollegiate, coming in sixth place out of 20 teams. The Red Wolves competed with a pair of squads, the second team finished in 15th place with a recorded score of 915. Junior Chance Holden, sophomore Christian Helmbold and freshman Seth Garner, all tying for 14th place with a 219 total, led A-State. Garner and Helmbold both obtained their top finish of the season, while Holden matched his second best. “Christian (Helmbold) had 67 the second round,” head coach Steve Johnson said. “We’ve known he has been capable of that for awhile, we’ve just been anxiously awaiting for him to breakthrough.” “I know I am capable of shooting low, so it was great to finally do it in a tournament,” Helmbold said. “I have played the course many times so I just tried to stick to my game plan and enjoy it.” ASU posted its best round of 292 on Monday to open the tournament, putting them
in second place. By the end of the day the Red Wolves dropped to fifth place, adding just one stroke to the total for the second 18 holes. “We had a bad start, scoring five or six over,” Johnson continued. “I was really proud of them. In years past they would have probably walked around with their heads sown and made a bad situation worse, but I was glad to see them put their big boy pants on and get things done.” Senior Wessel Zwiegers helped the team to their second-best finish of the year by finishing tied for 26th with a 222. Junior Easton Key finished tied 60th with a 229. Senior and team captain Matt Howton ended the tournament tied for 36th place with a 224, which included a final round of 72, which was his best score of the tournament. The weather has been a struggle for the team because the greens aren’t as smooth. “It’s been a hard spring. Its 53 (degrees) right now in April,” added Johnson. According to Howton, the weather is what gave him a little bit of a boost to do well. “We’ve been playing in cold and windy weather all spring and that gave me the
confidence in myself and in the team,” Howton said. “Matt (Howton) came through with a good round. Despite the harder conditions, he was able to settle down and take care of business,” Johnson said. The Red Wolves came in only one stroke behind fifthplace UALR and within three strokes of third-place Southern Illinois. Austin Peay State claimed the championship with 857, while Samford finished runner-up with a score of 872. Helmbold, including Sean Brock, Tommy Eagan, Eli Mattioli and Chris Bruchhaussen, led the second team. Brock tied for 60th, along with Alex Hewitt, who competed as an individual. Eagan and Mattioli tied for 84th and Bruchhausen 106th. “I was very pleased with our team,” Howton continued. “We’ve struggled some this semester but I felt going into this tournament we were moving in the right direction and our finish this week confirmed that. We’ve got a great team, I think we will continue to do well.” ASU returns to action next week, April 8-9 in West Point, Miss., for the Old Waverly Intercollegiate.
Cara Prichard| Sports Editor Senior Matt Howton lines up a par putt on the 11th hole during the Red Wolves Intercollegiate Monday afternoon. Howton finished tied for 36th.
Tennis team prepares for weekend matches MEREDITH SCOTT STAFF WRITER
Coming off a 5-2 win over Nicholls State, the Arkansas State women’s tennis team is traveling to Murfreesboro, Tenn. to play Tulane and Middle Tennessee State University, April 6-7. Arkansas State is 5-6 overall and 0-4 in the Sun Belt. “We lost some close heartbreakers this season and would love to have a winning record,” head coach Marina Engelbrecht said. “But those matches have made us a stronger team that competes harder every match.” On Saturday, April 6, the Red Wolves will take on the Green Waves of Tulane, who are 13-6 overall and currently ranked 39th in the country. On Sunday, ASU will take on MTSU. The Blue Raiders are 8-8 overall. “Tulane will be a great opponent at a different level and we are looking forward to playing a high caliber team,” Engelbrecht continued. “Middle Tennessee will
be a very competitive match because we are very similar in ability, so I’m expecting a very close match.” Engelbrecht said a concern for this weekend is the team’s doubles game. “The doubles points have really hurt us this season,” she said. “We get so close every time, but we can’t clinch those tight points and taking control of the net. We’ve also been working on different patterns for singles, plus being aggressive and consistent at the same time.” Despite the team’s issues with getting the doubles points, Engelbrecht expects big things this weekend because of the team’s unity. “We have improved mentally and love playing tight matches and I feel like we are still improving as the season goes on, which is great,” she said. “We are a close family who pushes each other to be better and I think we work well under pressure.” Sophomore Tamara Slijepcevic agrees with Engelbrecht about the team’s ag-
gressiveness this weekend. “I think our aggressive baseline games will really help us this weekend. We’ve had a lot of close matches that we were really unlucky to lose and we had a really close match last year against MTSU. If we give 100 percent, I think we can win,” she said. “We have been working on different drills, technique and playing games against each other to work on match play.” Slijepcevic is also looking to improve her four-game winning streak. “The streak helps me start my matches off with more confidence,” she said. “I would love to win both games this weekend. I’ve been playing really well lately and I think I have a good chance.” The Red Wolves are set to take on the Green Waves at 9 a.m. on Saturday, April 6 and the Blue Raiders at noon on Sunday, April 7. A win against MTSU would give ASU their first SBC win of the season.
Takako Okumura | Staff Photographer Senior Logan Uxa finishes through a swing during the game vs. the Redhawks Tuesday night. The Red Wolves took the win 9-8.
Baseball takes the win vs. Southeast Missouri COLE TURBEVILLE STAFF WRITER
The Arkansas State baseball team came into Tuesday night’s game against Southeast Missouri State riding a six-game losing streak that dated back to March 23. But, thanks to some timely hitting, the Red Wolves (1713) were able to put an end to the skid last night as the team earned a victory over the Redhawks in a 9-8 high scoring game that had a total of 22 hits and three errors. SEMO jumped out to an early lead by scoring two runs in the top of the first. But, ASU answered in the bottom of the inning by putting up six runs on the Redhawks starter, Hank Williams, Jr., on three hits, two walks and a hit batter. Senior catcher Ryan Roberts was able to extend his nine-game hit streak to 10 by knocking in Ryan Emery in the bottom of the first on an RBI single. Senior Logan Uxa scored on a wild pitch that brought the game to a 2-2 tie. Two more runs were scored after right-fielder Drew Burks hit a single to right field. Freshman Kevin Fitzpatrick then hit a triple off of the wall to score the last two runs of the inning and give the Red Wolves a 6-2 lead. ASU never trailed again. Fitzpatrick went 3-for-4 for the night with a single,
double, and triple, to go along with two runs and three runs batted in. “Me and Dustin Jones have been getting a lot of batting practice in lately,” Fitzpatrick said. “I just kept focusing on getting better and all of that practice really paid off tonight.” SEMO was able to put up two more runs in the second, but ASU answered back in the third by scoring two of its own off of two RBI singles by Fitzpatrick and Emery that extended the Red Wolves’ lead to 8-4. After scoring a run in the top of the fourth, SEMO rallied in the top of the seventh and scored three more. The Redhawks’ Ryan Barnes earned a RBI on a double and was drove home by a triple from center fielder Clayton Evans. Evans then scored on a wild pitch from ASU relief pitcher David Owen to make the game 8-8. After reaching first base on a fielder’s choice in the bottom of the inning, ASU’s Fitzpatrick was able to get to third on a failed pick-off attempt by Redhawks relief pitcher Trevor Kill. With one out left in the inning, Emery stepped up to the plate and delivered with a single to left center field that drove in what would be the winning run for the Red Wolves and gave ASU the
lead at 9-8. In a game played in a cold and rainy atmosphere, the Red Wolves were forced to use six pitchers including Daniel Wright who earned his first save after retiring the Redhawks in order in the top of the ninth distinguishing any hope for SEMO to win the game. Despite not being able to hold onto an 8-5 lead in the seventh, Owen was credited with the win. The Redhawks’ Kill was given the loss. Fitzpatrick stressed the win is big and that his team “needed the momentum.” “I think the win will give us a lot of momentum going into this weekend when we get back into the Sun Belt,” Fitzpatrick continued. “We just kept grinding and stayed optimistic these past few weeks.” But, head coach Tommy Raffo isn’t as convinced. “This was one of those games where anything goes. We had some good at bats and there are some positive things you can get out of it but we’ve still got a lot of work to do,” Raffo said. “We’ve been wanting to get back on track and this is a step.” Arkansas State gets back into Sun Belt Conference action Friday night as they take on Western Kentucky at home. The game is set to start at 6 p.m.
Softball club makes history with first ever home game CARA PRICHARD SPORTS EDITOR
season, but for the program as a whole. Coach Powers said he would love to prove to the school that the team is capable of competing at any level and can put a good product on the field. “A win over St. Louis and world series birth would take this program to the next level,” Powers said. As with any sport, the attendance and support from fans is a necessity.
“We really need the support of the student body. I hope they come out and support our team and be a part of history,” Powers added. “Their support and encouragement would mean a lot to our girls, plus we want to make this a true ‘home field advantage.’ The team will begin their battle at 11 a.m. on the Lady Red Wolves Campus Field, with the final two games following at 1 p.m. and 3 p.m.
The Arkansas State softball club is making history this Saturday; with its first ever home game as they take on their conference rival, the Saint Louis University Billikens. The triple-header series is a battle to claim a spot to compete in the 2013 NCSA World Series. The club has been preparing for this game since its beginning. “We have had this date circled since last fall, after we swept Southern Illinois,” head coach Chris Powers said. “We’ve been practicing hard with our focus on Saint Louis. They quickly became our rivals ever since they knocked us out of contention last season.” The threegame series is vital for not only the The Lady Red Wolves softball club poses with Howl.
Courtesy Photo