Collegiate Baseball Poll   •   Ram Notes

SAN ANGELO, Texas – The Angelo State Rams are the highest ranked Division II baseball team in Texas.

Unranked to start the season, ASU is now No. 8 in Collegiate Baseball's poll after starting the season with a 16-4 record – including three series sweeps. The Rams, who were ranked No. 18 last week, have outscored their opponents 131-64 through the first 20 games of the season and have a team earned run average of 2.60.

This is the highest ranking by Collegiate Baseball for the Angelo State baseball program in its history. The Rams' previous high in-season ranking was No. 9 in the March 16, 2009 poll. At that time, the 2009 ASU team was 20-8 and would finish ranked No. 18 with a 46-20 record. The 2007 team, which finished advanced to the DII College World Series, finished the final Collegiate Baseball poll at No. 21 but would propel the 2008 team to a preseason No. 9 ranking.

Angelo State is coming off a 2-1 series win over Central Oklahoma last weekend after splitting a mid-week doubleheader against Texas A&M International in San Antonio. The Rams are 10-1 this season at Foster Field and have seven players hitting over. 300. ASU had a six-game winning streak to start the season and followed with an eight-game winning streak after dropping back-to-back games against Southern Arkansas and Lindenwood.

ASU is currently ranked No. 20 by D2BaseballNews.com and the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association and come in at No. 23 by CollegeBaseballLineup.com.

The Rams have a 6-5 road-win over the 11^th-ranked St. Mary's Rattlers who are the only other Texas university in the top 25. The two teams will meet again on April 11 for a single game at Foster Field. West Texas A&M (9-2) comes in at No. 28 and is the only other LSC team in this week's poll. Texas A&M-Kingsville (9-3) and Cameron (11-6) are receiving votes.

West Florida (13-3) is now the No. 1 team in the country, while Tampa (13-2) and Central Missouri (6-1) are tied for second with 454 points. ASU, which does not play again until opening conference play on March 16 at Texas A&M-Kingsville, received 360 points.

The Rams return to Foster Field on March 23 for the start of a four-game series against Incarnate Word. Follow updates at www.AngeloSports.com and www.facebook.com/AngeloStateSports.