SAN ANGELO, Texas – The Angelo State baseball team will open a three game series with Eastern New Mexico University on Friday, April 8 at 6:30 p.m. on Foster Field at 1st Community Credit Union Stadium.
The Rams, who are currently tied for second in the Lone Star Conference, enter the weekend with a 20-14, 13-7 LSC record. The team will be looking to rebound from a, 5-4, loss to Tarleton State in extra innings that split the four game series in Stephenville. As a team, ASU is hitting .290 as a team, while its defense is holding a .970 fielding percentage which leads the LSC and is ranked in the top 25 nationally. Masterfully executing the sacrifice bunt, the Rams are currently ranked fifth in the nation with 37 successful executions on the season. Its pitching staff also has the team ranked with in the national top 20 in shutouts with four in 2016. The staff has also allowed ASU to maintain the second best ERA (3.69) in the conference.
Earlier this season the Rams swept the Greyhounds in Portales, New Mexico, and are 31-18 all-time against ENMU. This was the first time in program history that ASU has swept Eastern New Mexico in Portales. The Greyhounds will enter the three game series in San Angelo with a 10-24 overall record and are currently at the bottom of the LSC with a 3-17 conference record thus far. ENMU is coming off a, 10-6, victory over Cameron in Lawton, Oklahoma.
Outfielder, Elias Aguirre, had a solid weekend for the Rams against Tarleton State and leads the squad with a .424 on base percentage. He is also carrying a team second seven stolen bases and is fourth with a .319 average at the plate. The sophomore kicked off the TSU series knocking in the winning run for the team in its Saturday doubleheader. This was Angelo State's only recorded RBI for the game. In Game two he led the Rams going 3-for-4 at the plate stroking a pair of doubles. He was one of four hitters to record a RBI and crossed the plated a team most three times.
Heading up the ASU pitching staff, are starters Bryce Zak and Matt Shannon. Earning his sixth win over the weekend, Zak (6-1) is second in the LSC in wins and leads with 85 strike outs on the year. The senior is ranked fifth in the nation with 10 starts, is third nationally in total strikeouts and seventh with 13.42 strikeouts per nine innings. The San Angelo native, who is boasting a team best 2.53 ERA, will look to continue a stellar start to the month as he is coming off complete game shutout performance in last weekend's match-up.
Fellow starter, Shannon (3-4), has also posted solid number thus far. Having tossed four complete games (10th nationally) this season and a conference leading 60.1 innings, the sophomore sits just behind the team leader with a 2.54 ERA. He has struck out 66 batters, which places him third in the conference and leads the Rams retiring 16 batters on strikeouts looking. Shannon has held the opposition to a .253 batting average this season and has a single save to his name.
Leading Angelo State with four saves this season, pitcher Graylon Brown has recorded a team third 25 strikeouts. He currently leads the LSC with the fewest walk allowed (8) with a minimum of one inning pitched per total team games. Brown with 21 career saves Brown is now four saves away from breaking the newly updated conference record. The Brownwood native is carrying a 3.26 ERA and is 3-4 on the season.
Leading the Rams offensive attack has been senior leaders Paxton DeLaGarza and Sam Kohler. Shortstop and Pitcher, DeLaGarza, is second on the team with a .325 batting average and leads with a .538 slugging percentage. He leads the team and is tied for second in the LSC with five home runs, is first on ASU with eight doubles and is second with 38 hits on the season. DeLaGarza's 24 RBIs is also tops for the Rams. With a conference leading 124 at bats, Kohler, has tallied a squad first 40 hits on the year thus far. He has also scored the most runs for the Rams, crossing the plate 29 times and has drawn a team high 19 bases on balls. The second baseman also leads the LSC with fielding 19 double plays in 2016 and is second in the conference with 115 assists.
Jarryd Klemm, Jay Gonzales, and Steven Pinales round out Angelo States offensive leaders. Klemm, who hails from Adelaide, Australia, has been on a hot streak as of late. The senior has secured a hit in each of the games against TSU and has taken the lead with the best batting average (.328) on the squad. He has produced 22 hits for the Rams with a team third four doubles. Gonzales, a .300 hitter, has tallied 21 hits with three doubles. The junior also recorded a hit in each game against Tarleton State. Finally, Pinales is second on the team with four home runs and has recorded 27 total hits this season. He has also shows his wheels as he leads ASU and is fourth in the conference with nine stolen bags. The outfielder has scored 22 times for the Rams and is currently hitting .293 at the plate.
All three games during this weekend's series will be broadcasted live on 1260AM KKSA and on RamTV – Suddenlink Channel 6.
