I’m not a superstitious person. No lucky socks. No repeated rituals. No whispered incantations. I don’t believe in ghosts, Bigfoot, or country music. But I am terrified, mortified and petrified that I could praise great A-State Baseball out of existence.

For decades, Arkansas State Baseball has been reliably bad, a universal constant in an ever-changing realm of reality. Red Wolves baseball was a tragic comedy of wild pitches, unforced errors, cold batting and the occasional canceled game due to poor field conditions. We didn’t have to worry about the baseball season because we knew our orbit in the Sun Belt took us well beyond Pluto. I once spoke to someone in the know about Red Wolves baseball, and he told me recruits laughed at the prospect of playing in Jonesboro.

Head coach Mike Silva, however, didn’t even utter a chuckle – he just requested that improvements be made before he scooted from Nichols to Arkansas State. The turf needed replacement. The facilities required upgrade. The powers that be, perhaps motivated by the success of Southern Miss, Coastal Carolina, Texas State, and Louisiana, granted his wishes. Silva went to work recruiting.

Some seasons, the Red Wolves had capable pitching. In others, decent hitting. This season, A-State bears excellent skills for both, with solid defense for added measure. Lane Walton, a sophomore plucked from Hill College, is among NCAA home run leaders with 9 dingers. As a team, nobody has hit more bombs than Arkansas State (22). At 2.81, the Red Wolves team ERA is the best in the Sun Belt. Defense has never really been a Red Wolves strength, but the team’s fielding percentage ranks solidly in the middle of the conference. The team has three losses, all by one run. The Red Wolves pounded Arkansas 12-4 (and lost the next day 1-0, holding the powerful Razorbacks bats to just five total runs). A-State just completely dominated Louisiana Tech, thought to be one of the better CUSA program. As of this very moment, the Red Wolves enjoy the best RPI in the state (35)

Red Wolves baseball appears to be legitimately good, and while that scares me, it doesn’t seem to bother the fans. A record 1,229 appreciators of baseball showed up for a weekend game with UAPB, a number that we should be duplicating and exceeding in the coming weeks. Winning brings people to the ballpark, although the beer is a nice incentive, too.

IMAGE: An AI generated monstrosity