MacDonald leads way

The expectation for Arkansas State this season is not high. The expectation for Kyle MacDonald, however, is.

In a Sun Belt coaches preseason poll, the Red Wolves were selected to finish fifth out of six Sun Belt West Division teams. UALR was selected to finish third.

MacDonald, who batted a team-best .346 in 2018, was chosen as the league’s Preseason Player of the Year, the conference announced in January.

MacDonald, a senior first baseman from Mississauga, Ontario, Canada, also led all Red Wolves with 50 runs, 66 hits, 15 home runs, 50 RBI, 127 total bases, 39 walks, an on-base percentage of .464 and a Sun Belt-best slugging percentage of .665.

ASU’s opening weekend series will continue at 3 p.m. Saturday and 1 p.m. Sunday.

The Red Wolves will begin the 2019 as they healthiest they have been in the “last 3-4 years,” Coach Tommy Raffo said Thursday.

“We’re probably the most healthy we’ve been … and that’s a good thing,” Raffo said.

Redshirt senior infielder Alex Howard and redshirt senior catcher Justin Felix, two offensive producers from 2017 who were medically redshirted in 2018, will each return in 2019.

Howard batted .277 in 191 at-bats and 53 total games in 2017. Felix contributed a .257 average.

Junior right-hander Zach Jackson will start today. Junior lefty Chandler Coates will follow at 3 p.m. Saturday. Senior righty Nate Alberius will close the series at 1 p.m. Sunday.

“They throw a lot of strikes,” Raffo said of his weekend rotation. “That’s a big deal for us.”