SAN ANGELO, Texas – The sixth-ranked Angelo State baseball team opened the NCAA Division II Championships with a win over MSU Denver in game two of the South Central Regional, winning 26-5 at Foster Field at 1st Community Credit Union Stadium.
The Rams are now 46-10 overall on the season and will take on Texas A&M – Kingsville in a best of three series to advance to the Super Regional.
The Roadrunners struck first, hitting a solo home run in the top of the first but the Rams quickly answered with five runs in the bottom of the frame.
Austin Beck led off with a triple before coming home on a single by Koby Kelton. Kelton came around to score on a wild pitch before a two-RBI double by Jordan Williams and a sac-fly by Kamden Kelton made it 5-1.
MSUD added another run in the second inning, hitting a double down the left-field line.
In the bottom of the second, Aaron Walters singled to right field for an RBI before Kamden Kelton hit a three-RBI double. Thomas Cain doubled to bring home Kelton as the Rams go up 10-2.
In the third, Walters added another RBI in the game, singling to right field as Beck scored his third run of the night.
Benjamin Elder started on the mound, tossing six innings with five hits and four earned runs while striking out seven batters on the night.
The Rams extended their lead in the fourth inning as Tripp Clark singled to left field to bring in two runs followed by a double from Beck to give the Rams a 14-2 advantage.
The Roadrunners kept up the fight, adding a run in the fifth on a sac-fly and another in the sixth on a single to make it 14-4.
ASU pulled away even further in the bottom of the inning, scoring seven runs, capped off with two-RBI hits by Beck and Reese Johnson who came in to pinch-hit before delivering a double to right-center.
A solo homer by the Roadrunners in the seventh made it 21-5.
The offense kept going for the Rams who added five more runs in the seventh to extend the lead to 26-5. After an RBI hit-by-pitch and two singles, Jackson Hardy doubled down the left-field line to score two more.
The Rams will take on the Javelinas in a best of three series beginning tomorrow at 2:30 p.m. Game two will begin 45 minutes after the first while an if necessary game is scheduled for Saturday.
