SAN ANGELO - The No. 4 Angelo State baseball team will be play a road series for the first time this weekend, taking on Texas Permian Basin in a four game series that begins on Friday in Odessa.
The Rams (12-2) will start the series at 2 p.m. on Friday before playing a doubleheader on Saturday starting at 1 p.m. The series will wrap up on Sunday with a game at 1 p.m.
ASU has scored 110 runs overall so far this season, ranking fourth in the LSC. As a team the Rams are hitting .331 and getting on base more than 44 percent of the time, which the 13th best mark in the nation. Once on-base, Angelo State is No. 7 overall in stolen bases per game and is 10th in total steals.
Leading the charge at the plate is junior Jonathan Soberanes, whose .455 batting average and .547 on-base percentage are sixth and fifth in the Lone Star Conference, respectively. The Dallas native has 20 hits on the season and has scored 11 runs with a team-second six stolen bases as well.
Both Elias Aguirre and Nick Novack are also hitting above .400 for the Rams this season. Novak has had just 18 at-bats in his freshman season, but has made the most of them with eight hits and seven runs in that time. Aguirre on the other hand has started all 14 games in center field this season and is hitting .404 for the season with a team-leading 21 hits. The junior's 24 total bases are the third most on the team.
First on the squad in both total bases and slugging percentage is junior Jacob Boston. The Arizona native has collected 34 total bases on the season including a team-high 4 home runs on the year. He is also the team leader in RBI with 16 and has the best slugging percentage of any Ram at .694.
The second best slugging percentage on the team, at .636, is outfielder Steven Pinales. Pinales has the second most RBI on the season with 11 and is hitting .318 through the first 14 games of the year. The senior outfielder is No. 8 in the nation in triples this season with three already, and has also hit two home runs on the year.
Senior catcher Matt Waller joined the home run club for the Rams this past weekend, sending his first of the year over the left field wall. Waller is hitting .333 on the year, leading the team in both doubles (6) and steals (7). The same day Waller hit his home run was also one of the best games of the season for junior Mitch Henshaw, who is hitting .324 on the year. Henshaw went 3-for-4 with a double and three runs scored in the series finale against Eastern New Mexico and is slugging .500 on the year now.
Shortstop Tyler Coolbaugh is the only other Rams hitting above .300 on the year with a .314 batting average. He is tied for the team lead in doubles with six.
Jay Gonzales and Michael Urquidi have both made more than 10 starts on the year and made significant contributions to the Rams. Gonzalez is hitting .282 on the year and is tied for the team lead in walks with 10 giving him an on-base percentage of .466. Urquidi has collected nine hits this year and six RBI, and is a perfect 6-for-6 on stolen base attempts this season.
On the mound, ASU is led by the LSC Pitcher of the Week Matt Shannon, who had his best outing of the year last Friday against Eastern New Mexico. Shannon went eight innings on the mound, giving up just four hits and striking out a career-high 11 batters in the game. The junior hurler is 2-0 through five starts and leads the team in both innings pitched and strikeouts.
Shane Browning and Kenton Schroter have made the second most starts so far this season with four each. Browning is second on the team in strikeouts with 23 and has an ERA of 3.38. Schroter is tied for the team lead in wins with three, has struck out 18 batters in 17.2 innings pitched this year.
Ryan Smith is also tied for the team lead in wins after making his first start with the Rams against Eastern New Mexico. Smith went four innings while allowing just one earned run, keeping his ERA at just 2.35 for the year.
Out of the bullpen, ASU has been led by Joe Hauser, Jake Mathys and Dustin Angiel. Hauser has the most appearances out of any Ram relief pitcher with eight on the season. The senior gave up his first runs of the season against ENMU, but still has an ERA of just 1.04 on the year in more than 17 innings pitched. Hauser is also No. 6 in the nation in total saves with six already this year.
Angiel has followed close behind Hauser with seven appearances on the year and has earned one win in his time on the mound. Mathys has also made five appearances for the season and has an ERA of just 3.46 in that time.
UTPB has played just 12 games so far this season, going 6-6 in that time. The Falcons are hitting .302 as a team, but have scored the fewest runs in the Lone Star Conference with just 75 on the season.
