Redbirds Shut Out In Season Opener At Arkansas State

JONESBORO, Ark. – It was a pitcher's duel in Arkansas Friday night, as Illinois State and Arkansas State combined for just three hits in the season opener for both squad. Unfortunately for the Redbirds (0-1), one of the Red Wolves (1-0) hits left the yard and they came away with the 1-0 win at Tomlinson Stadium.

Redbird pitchers combined to strike out 14 Arkansas State batters in the contest, with starter Brady Huffman recording a career-high nine strikeouts against the Red Wolves. Huffman (0-1) allowed just two hits through five innings of work, but did allow the solo home run off the bat of ASU first baseman Kyle MacDonald in the bottom of the fourth that proved to be the lone run of the game. Trevor Cross struck out four batters in two scoreless innings of relief of Huffman, and Jeff Lindgren struck out one in a spotless inning to close out the contest for the Redbirds.

Arkansas State starter Bradey Welsh (1-0) was stellar in 7.2 innings of work in the victory for the Red Wolves, allowing just one hit to ISU's Nick Zouras in the top of the fifth inning. Welsh struck out eight Redbirds while walking just one, and Jesse Kutzke got the final two outs of the game to pick up his first save of the season for ASU. 

The Redbirds and Red Wolves will resume the series tomorrow at 5 p.m., after the game was pushed back from its original 2 p.m. scheduled start due to rain expected in the morning. Links for audio, video (subscription needed) and live stats (all three games) are available at GoRedbirds.com. Fans can also follow @RedbirdBaseball on Twitter for live updates and more.

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