SAN ANGELO - The Angelo State baseball team earned its first series sweep of the year Saturday, winning both games of a doubleheader against Southeastern Oklahoma State for a 3-0 series win.
The Rams (5-1) outhit the Savage Storm (1-5) 23 to 11 over the two games combined, coming alive at the plate for 21 runs on the day.
Third basemen Jacob Boston led the way for ASU offensively, hitting three home runs and driving in six runs in the two games. Boston went 4-for-4 in the first game and 2-for-4 in the second game, posting seven hits in the series against SEOSU overall.
The junior from Gilbert, Arizona put the Rams on the board first in the first game, hitting his first home run one at-bat after catcher Matt Waller double for the first hit of the day. The two-run blast gave starting pitcher Shane Browning an early lead.
Browning had pitched a scoreless inning first two innings, giving up his only run in the third inning, which was his last on the mound. Overall the Lubbock native struck out six and gave up just three hits in his second career start for ASU. Ryan Smith would come in to relieve Browning, pitching four shutout innings while allowing just two hits and earning his first win at ASU.
The fourth inning was the next big one at the plate for the Rams as Boston hit a solo shot and then the team got three more runs to open the score up to 6-2. The only other run ASU would score in the seven inning first game of the doubleheader came in the sixth inning as outfielder Steven Pinales got hit by a pitch and came around to score the final run of a 7-2 win.
In the second game of the doubleheader the Rams once again scored the first run, marking six straight games for the team. Second basemen Jonathan Soberanes walked to start the game and came around to score on yet another RBI hit from Boston, giving Kenton Schroter an early lead on the mound.
The Rams scored once again in the second inning and then exploded again in the third inning for five hits and four more runs, going up 6-0.
Southeastern Oklahoma State scored their only run of the second game in the top of the fifth inning as Cade Clay singled and came around to score. It was Schroter's only earned run allowed in his six innings pitched, striking out nine and lower his ERA to 1.69 after two starts. The Canada native is the Rams' early win leader with two on the season.
Angelo State responded with another multi-run inning in the bottom of the fifth and the bottom of the sixth, batting around in each plate appearance.
Pitcher Blake Barr made his first appearance of the young season to close out the game, giving up just one hit in his one inning pitched, allowing the Rams to finish the game on a run-rule, 14-1.
ASU will be back at home for the third straight weekend in February, opening a three-game series with Lubbock Christian at 5 p.m. Friday, February 17 at Foster Field at First Community Credit Union Stadium.
