On Sunday, Red Wolves Baseball was coming off its worst defeat of the season – a 7-1 thumping from Southern Miss, ranked first in RPI and at that time the #7 program in the nation. From my Beer Garden perch, the team didn’t seem rankled by the loss. The players jovially tossed and stretched, getting loose on a blustery March day that called for high winds and rain.

The weekend series was tied 1-1 with both teams having already demonstrated their strengths: shutdown starting pitching and a line-up with top-to-bottom danger. The conventual wisdom for Sunday was that runs would come at a premium, and that the wind would contain the ball in the stadium. Also, owing to the weather and judging by the fullness of church parking lots, we weren’t going to see an attendance record broken for the third consecutive game: Saturday night’s 1,972 total would stand. Better than a thousand fans showed up on Sunday anyway. The weekend series would ultimately draw 4,771 fans, a series record.

That the series attendance record for Arkansas State is less than the average game attendance for Southern Miss (north of 5,000) is telling of a program that has struggled for decades. For a very long time, baseball was a “cost of entry” program for A-State, with universally liked Tommy Raffo doing his best to cobble together a team without making waves in an administration myopically focused on football.

But the college sports landscape that enthusiastically pushed pigskin in 2011 had radically changed by 2025. The power conferences marshaled their power, using their broadcast muscles and massive purse to consolidate talent with ridiculous sums of NIL money. Meanwhile, perhaps sensing that the football narrative was quickly evaporating, the Sun Belt began to to put more emphasis on basketball and baseball – the latter which already featured national champion Coastal Carolina. What was once a solid mid-major baseball conference was becoming a major-major baseball conference – and Arkansas State was woefully behind.

As it turns out, what A-State baseball needed was a little TLC. A new coach and some facility upgrades later, Arkansas State baseball was suddenly a contender. Head coach Mike Silva’s first year at the helm chalked up a 26-28 record, a slight uptick over the previous 21-32-1 mark. But what improved significantly was Arkansas State pitching, with its ERA lowering to 4.44 from 6.41. Silva would also grab a victory over Top 25 program Coastal Carolina, a 2-0 victory that signaled the growing strength of A-State’s arms.

This season, Silva added more thump to the lineup, bringing in senior Evan Griffis from Stetson and sophomore Lane Walton from Hill College. Walton and Griffis rank one and two in OPS and have combined for 14 dingers. Lead off batter Ashton Quiller and Pulaski Academy alum Patrick Engskov also bear pop, each clobbering four homers. The Red Wolves lead the conference in home runs (31), rank second in hits (behind a sneaky good ULM squad) and stands a couple points behind Southern Miss in team ERA (2.87). The Red Wolves have become an entertainingly well rounded team.

Sunday’s game opened with a 3-run first inning thanks to a wild pitch and a couple of fielding errors from a usually solid Golden Eagles defense. The victory was secured by 8th inning dingers from Griffis and Cason Campbell – 25-mph wind gusts be damned. The Red Wolves would win 5-2, see their RPI drop to 23 (as of March 17), and receive a top 25 ranking from Baseball America. The Red Wolves Fans Arrogance Meter registered at an all time high.

If you have a chance to contribute to A-State Baseball attendance, you should seize the opportunity. On Sunday, The Rightfield Rowdies sizzled up fantastic Philly cheesesteak sandwiches, included with a $30 donation to the Red Wolves Foundation that provides unlimited beer through the 8th inning. It was an excellent way to spend an afternoon – even a windy and rainy one.

IMAGE: Provided by A-State Athletics