The Angelo State baseball team (3-1) closed out its four-game series with Ouachita Baptist with a sweep of the Tigers Sunday afternoon at Foster Field. The Rams held on for a 6-3 win over OBU in the opener before exploding late for a 15-5, eight-inning win in the nightcap. The Tigers fell to 1-3 on the season.
In the first game, the Rams jumped out to a 2-0 lead on a two-run single by senior Jason Morriss in the first inning and never trailed. ASU added a pair of runs in the fourth frame on a double by senior Keith Towne to take a 4-0 lead before the visiting Tigers would respond. OBU added two runs in the top of the fifth to cut the lead in half before the Rams would close out with a pair of insurance runs in the sixth, thanks to a wild pitch and an RBI single by senior Isaac Garcia. OBU would plate one more in the seventh.
Junior right-hander Brett Kinsel (1-0) would pick up the win in the opener as he took a no-hitter into the fifth inning. Kinsel tossed 5.1 innings and gave up two earned runs on four hits with a strike out. Junior right-hander Chase Barrera earned his first save of the season, pinching one inning to secure the win. Towne ended the game 3-for-3 with two RBI and a run scored while Garcia and senior Clay Puckett both had two hits.
In the series finale, the Rams would plate eight runs in the bottom of the eighth inning to pull away for the win. OBU took a quick 2-0 in the top of the first frame, but the Rams responded with four runs in the bottom of the inning and never looked back.
The Rams opened their scoring in the bottom of the first with a two-run double by senior Chris Adamson and added an RBI double by Morriss and junior Zak Leonhardt. OBU trimmed the Rams' lead back on one run with a tally in the top of the second before ASU added in two runs in the bottom of the inning and another run in the third to take a 7-3 lead. The Rams got a two-run single from Leonhardt in the second and junior Travis Lites led off the bottom of the third with his first home run of the season.
The Tigers scored a pair of runs in the fifth to trim the ASU lead back to two runs, 7-5, but the Rams' eight-run eighth would give ASU the run-rule victory. The Rams would collect six hits in the eighth while taking advantage of two OBU errors. The game would end on a bases-loaded one-out single by Adamson to score freshman pinch-runner Nick Adams.
Sophomore right-hander Craig Blair (1-0) would pick up the win in relief of starter Sam Janca. Blair tossed 3.2 innings in relief of Janca, giving up two earned runs on four hits with a strikeout. Senior right-hander Jeremy Tietze collected his first save of the season as he tossed the final 2.2 innings for the Rams, entering in the sixth frame in a two-run game. Adamson and Leonhardt each went 4-for-5 with four RBI while senior Dylan Petrich went 3-for-6 from the lead-off spot. Towne added a 2-for-5 performance with two runs scored and two RBI.
The Rams return to the diamond Tuesday when they host Lubbock Christian, the defending NAIA National Champion. First pitch for the doubleheader is 3 p.m.
