SAN ANGELO - The Angelo State baseball team will host Texas Permian Basin this weekend in the final series of the 2017 season at Foster Field at 1st Community Credit Union Stadium.
The Rams (32-10, 10-5) will open the series with the Falcons (8-33, 1-15 LSC) at 6:30 p.m. Friday followed by a doubleheader starting at 4 p.m. on Saturday. The series will conclude with senior day at 1 p.m. on Sunday.
Thirteen ASU players will be playing the final home series of their careers this weekend, including Joe Hauser, Matt Waller, Tyler Coolbaugh, Zach Fleet, Ryan Smith, Jhonatan Del Rosario, Omar Martinez, Kenton Schroter, Steven Pinales, Dustin Angiel, Jay Gonales, Jake Mathys and Nate Ruane.
Smith, Hauser and Mathys have been a huge part of the Ram pitching staff this year, which has the third lowest ERA in the Lone Star conference. Smith is the only starter of the three, and has proven himself as a winner in the rotation with a 9-0 record for the year. His total ranks No. 8 in the nation.
Hauser and Mathys have both mainly worked out of the bullpen this season, although Mathys has made three starts on the year. Mathys has pitched 43.1 innings on the season with an ERA just above four in that time. Hauser has come on in relief in all of his team-leading 21 appearances this season, working often as the Ram closer. The senior has 12 saves this year, which is tied for first in the nation and is tied for the most in a single season by an ASU pitcher.
The Angelo State pitching staff has also been bolstered by Matt Shannon, Blake Barr, and Del Rosario. Shannon has been the Friday night starter for the whole 2017 season, throwing a team-leading 67.1 innings and leading the team with 60 strikeouts as well. Barr has come on of late as a starter, and had one of his best outings of the year last weekend against ENMU. The junior hurler went a career-long 5.1 innings while giving up just one run and has an ERA of just 1.66 on the season. Del Rosario has an even lower ERA, as he has not given up a run in 8.1 innings on the mound this year.
Angiel and Schroter have also helped out on the mound this season for the Rams. Angiel is second on the team with 17 appearances while Schroter has a record of 5-2 in appearances as both a starter and reliever.
Offensively, the Rams have been one of the top teams in the nation with a No. 7 ranking in team batting average and the second best on-base percentage in the country. ASU also ranks in the top 25 nationally in walks, stolen bases and triples.
Individually, senior Steven Pinales also ranks in the top 25 nationally in triples with six. The outfielder four home runs and eight doubles on the year as well and is batting .331 overall.
Leading the Rams in batting average is catcher Matt Waller and outfielder Jacob Boston, who each have a .372 average for the year. The senior Waller is the team leader in both RBI and doubles as well, while Boston is first on the squad with a .481 on-base percentage.
Second on the team in on-base percentage is infielder Jonathan Soberanes, who has also taken over the team lead in stolen bases this season. The junior is getting on base at a .467 clip and after a strong weekend on the bases in Portales is leading the team with 16 total steals. The number is tied for second in the LSC.
Elias Aguirre is right behind Soberanes with 14 stolen bags on the year and also has the third best batting average on the team. Aguirre is hitting .365 in 41 games as the team's center fielder with eight doubles and a pair of triples.
Nick Novak and Mitch Henshaw have the next best batting averages on the team at .360 and .352. Henshaw is 5 for his last 9 overall and is second on the team with five home runs, while Novak has collected 31 hits in just 29 games this year.
Tyler Coolbaugh is the eighth and final regular Ram player with a batting average over .300 this season, hitting a robust .333 on the year. Coolbaugh is also second on the team with 10 doubles.
ASU has also seen contributions from Michael Urquidi, Jay Gonzales, and Zach Fleet this season. Gonzales is 4 for his last 8 and hitting .276 on the season, while Urquidi has a batting average just above at .284. Fleet only has 29 at-bats in 18 games on the year, but is batting .414 in that time.
UTPB is coming into the weekend matchup following four losses to Texas A&M-Kingsville last weekend. The Falcons are hitting just .253 for the year and have scored the fewest runs in the conference with 173.
All four games of the series can be seen live with RamTV on Suddenlink channel 6/106HD and AngeloSports.com. The games can also be heard locally on 1260 KKSA with Jeremy Bryant on the call.
