SAN ANGELO, Texas – The Angelo State baseball team is set to host fellow Lone Star Conference leader and nationally ranked No.17 West Texas A&M on Friday, April 22 and Saturday, April 23.
The Rams (24-17, 17-9 LSC) will kick the series off with a single game on Friday at 6:30 p.m. and continue with a doubleheader slated for Saturday at 1 p.m. and 3 p.m. ASU will look to get back on track after a two game skid, in which it dropped its last home game (3-2) against St. Mary's. Angelo State will also enter the weekend in a three-way tie with WT and Texas A&M – Kingsville for first place in the LSC. Earlier this season the Rams split its four game road series (1-2, 3-2, 2-4, 8-5) with the then 22nd ranked Buffs.
No. 17 West Texas A&M is also coming off a loss, as it dropped its last game to Cameron in Lawton, Oklahoma on Sunday, April, 17. The Buffs are currently sitting at 29-12 overall and 17-9 in the conference. The Buffs pitching staff currently leads the conference with a 3.78 ERA and have held opposing hitters to a .249 batting average. Offensively WT is second in the conference with a .295 batting average, a .429 slugging percentage, and a .385 on base percentage. Â Â Â
As a team, ASU is batting .294 at the plate, which is fourth in the Lone Star Conference. The Rams defense is second in the conference with a .969 fielding percentage. Also second in the LSC is the ASU pitching staff, which is has a staff ERA of 3.86. The staff also has remained in the national top 10 with six total shutouts.
The Rams will look to starters Bryce Zak (7-2) and Matt Shannon (4-4) to lead its staff against the Buffs. Zak has recorded 104 total strikeouts this season and only needs three more to take possession of the number two spot for the most single season strikeouts in ASU history. With this number he is currently leads the LSC and is number two in the nation. Averaging 13.76 strikeouts per nine innings, he is fourth in the nation in this category. The senior is also boasting a 3.85 strikeout-to-walk ratio. With a 2.78 ERA on the year, the ace leads the staff and is fourth in the conference. Shannon has also been a major key to the staff's success having tossed four complete games this season. The sophomore has thrown a conference leading 74 innings. He will enter this weekend's match-up carrying a team second 2.80 ERA and has chalked up 82 strikeouts this season. He remains third in the conference in total strikeouts and has caught a LSC fourth 22 batters looking. Â Shannon has held opponents to a .258 average at the plate thus far.
ASU could also look to Jayden O'Dell to take the hill for his second start of the season. The senior has seen increasing action this season earning a starting role amongst the staff with his first season start coming in Tuesday's game against St. Mary's. Against the Rattlers, O'Dell tossed two innings giving up no runs on no hits and struck out a pair. He has a 9.00 ERA on the season. Â
At the plate, Paxton DeLaGarza is hitting .328 and has roped a team second 42 hits on the season. He continues to lead the squad with nine doubles and co-leads with five homers. He also leads the Rams with a .547 slugging percentage and has tallied a team second 27 RBIs.
Second baseman, Sam Kohler, also leads the team in several categories. The senior leads the team and is tied for third with 48 hits. He is tied for first in the LSC and on ASU having successfully laid down nine sacrifice bunts this season. This ranks him 17th in the nation for sac bunts as well. Protecting the middle of the diamond, Kohler is second in the LSC with 127 assists and having fielded 22 double plays.
Having etched his name as the player with the most games in ASU history (174) and second with the most games starts (162), David Goggin will also look to make an impact against WT. The Rams have looked to the senior all season to cover several positions which include, catcher, outfielder and first baseman. He is second on the team with six doubles has hit a pair of home runs and plated 13 runners in 2016. He leads the Rams on the field having tallied 205 put outs this season.
Tyler Coolbaugh, Elias Aguirre and Steven Pinales will also play major roles for the team in this weekend's series. Coolbaugh, a .302 hitter, has recorded a team most 28 RBIs this season. He has also dropped down nine total sac bunts for the season and co-leads the category on the both the team and in the conference. Coolbaugh has cranked two homers in 2016 including one that came in the form of an in-the–park home run. The junior has also played the utility role for the Rams covering first, third and short. Aguirre has shown his wheels this season as he has recorded a team high nine stole bases and has scored 19 times for the Rams. He is .306 at the dish with 30 hits, four doubles and 11 RBIs. Concluding the list, Pinales has recorded 33 total hits for the team and continues to co-lead the team with five home runs on the year. He has also pocketed a team high nine stolen bags and has also been plated a team third 26 times.
Both games of Saturday's doubleheader this weekend will be broadcasted live in high definition on RamTV (Suddenlink Channel 106) and on 1260AM KKSA, with Jeremy Bryant on the call.
