SAN ANGELO, Texas – The top-ranked Angelo State baseball team continues Lone Star Conference play on the road this weekend as the Rams travel for a four-game series against Texas A&M – Kingsville beginning on Friday.
LAST TIME OUT:
The Rams picked up their eighth series win of the season after taking three games from Texas A&M International last weekend. ASU shut out the Dustdevils in two of the games, wining 7-0 and 4-0 while closing out the series with a 14-4 win in game four.
#1 ANGELO STATE RAMS (33-5, 31-5 LSC) vs. TEXAS A&M – KINGSVILLE JAVELINAS (23-19, 22-18 LSC)
Game 1: Fri, Apr. 14, 6 p.m.
| Game 2/3: Sat., Apr. 15, 2 p.m.
| Sun. Apr. 16, 1 p.m.
Nolan Ryan Field – Kingsville, Texas
Live Video: lonestarconferencenetwork.com/asu
Live Stats: angelostats.com
SERIES HISTORY:
All-Time Series: ASU leads 37-29
Last Meeting: May 21, 2022 – ASU, 14-2
The Rams hold the edge in the all-time series against the Javelinas and have won 10 of the last 14 matchups. In the last meeting, the Rams down TAMUK 14-2 in the final game of the South Central Regionals to advance to the Super Regionals.
SCOUTING THE JAVELINAS:
The Javelinas sit just above .500 in conference play this season, holding a 22-18 record while going 23-19 overall on the year. TAMUK is 7-5 in its last three series, taking three games from both Oklahoma Christian and St. Mary's while falling 3-1 against Lubbock Christian.
Hitting .303 as a team this season, the Javelinas rank seventh in the conference while the pitching staff is fifth with an ERA of 6.73. Nick Wolff leads TAMUK at the plate with a .406 batting average which ranks eighth while ranking second in slugging percentage (.755) and RBIs (52). Colton Taylor leads the Javelinas in wins with a 7-3 record while Luis Martinez holds the top ERA among starters at 3.86.
POLL RANKINGS:
For the second week in a row, the Rams ranked at the top spot in the Collegiate Baseball Newspaper poll while coming in at No. 2 in the NCBWA Top 25.
LEADING THE REGION:
The Rams came in at No. 1 in the latest NCBWA South-Central Regional Poll, earning all eight first-place votes.
QUICK HITS:
-The Rams lead in the Lone Star in batting average (.354), team ERA (3.60) and fielding percentage (.983).
-ASU ranks third in the country in batting average and is second in on-base percentage at .476.
-The Rams have scored the third most runs in Division II at 396.
-ASU has tallied the most shutouts in DII with seven on the year.
-The Rams are 10
th in the country in ERA.
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Kade Bragg holds the top ERA in Division II at 0.37 and is first in hits allowed per nine innings at 3.29.
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Jacob Guerrero is seventh in the country in batting average at .453.
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Austin Beck has scored the seventh most runs in DII with 56.
SEASON HIGHLIGHTS:
LSC PLAYERS OF THE WEEK:
- Feb. 14 –
Braxton Pearson, Angelo State (Pitcher)
- Feb. 21 –
Jordan Williams, Angelo State (Hitter)
- Mar. 14 –
Aaron Munson, Angelo State (Pitcher)
- Mar. 14 –
Jacob Guerrero, Angelo State (Hitter)
- Mar. 21 –
Kade Bragg, Angelo State (Pitcher)
- Mar. 28 –
Kade Bragg, Angelo State (Pitcher)
RAMS SET PROGRAM SCORING RECORD:
In a non-conference game against Southwestern, the Rams defeated the Pirates 33-4, setting a new program record for runs scored in a game. The previous record of 29 runs was set in 2021 against McMurry.
NEW HIT KING AT ASU:
Jordan Williams became the all-time hit leader for the Rams this season, surpassing 250 hits in his career.
WIN No. 700:
Against UAFS earlier this season, Head Coach
Kevin Brooks tallied his 700
th win at Angelo State.
CONFERENCE FAVORITES:
The Rams were selected as the favorites to take the 2023 LSC crown, earning the top spot in the preseason poll with 407 points, including 23 first-place votes. Coming in second was West Texas A&M followed by Texas A&M- Kingsville and Lubbock Christian.
NCBWA PRESEASON ALL-REGION:
The Rams had two players selected to the NCBWA Preseason All-Region Team, infielder
Austin Beck and starting pitcher
Aaron Munson. Beck was selected as the LSC Freshman of the Year last season after hitting .420 with 59 RBIs and 84 runs scored. He earned two All-American honors and led the Rams in stolen bases with 33. Munson led the Rams in wins a season ago, finishing with an overall record of 11-3 while collecting 81 strikeouts. He held opponents to a .277 hitting average while throwing 94 1/3 innings on the year.
