SAN ANGELO - The Angelo State baseball team added a pair of wins to its season total on Saturday afternoon, beating Texas Permian Basin 12-1 and 4-2.
The Rams (35-10, 13-5 LSC) earned a series win over the Falcons (8-35, 1-18 LSC) with the two victories on Saturday and will go for the series sweep on Sunday.
ASU opened the game strong at the plate, scoring four runs in the bottom of the first inning. The Rams opened the game with back-to-back doubles from Michael Urquidi and Tyler Collbaugh, scoring the game's first run. Then, with two outs, Jacob Boston and Elias Aguirre both singled, scoring another two runs, and one more run came in on a Nick Novak single.
In the bottom of the second, Boston came through with yet another two-out single, scoring Steven Pinales from second to push the lead out to 5-1. Boston was 3-for-3 in the game with four RBI and a pair of runs scored.
The Rams went scoreless in the next two innings, but added another run in the fifth and then exploded again for six runs in the sixth inning. The sixth opened up with a Pinales walk, before the outfielder stole second. It was his third steal of the day. Pinales scored when the next batter, Boston homered over the right field wall. ASU then re-loaded the bases for Coolbaugh, who promptly cleared them with a double.
Those three runs were the final three of the 12-run total the Rams got in game one, which ended in a 12-1 win.
Game two, was a much lower scoring affair, but still ended in the Rams' favor thanks to freshman shortstop Nick Novak.
Blake Barr started the game on the mound for ASU and had his second straight great outing. The junior pitched five innings while allowing just one run and three hits. He also struck nine batters, more than twice his previous career-high of eight.
Barr left the game up 2-1, but earned a no-decision as the Falcons tied the game in the sixth. Joe Hauser eventually earned the win, moving to 2-1 on the year.
ASU got on the board early in the game, scoring one run in the bottom of the first to tie the Falcons. The run came on a single from Mitch Henshaw, scoring Elias Aguirre.
The Rams took the lead again in the bottom of the second. The run once again came off the bat of Coolbaugh, who singled to score second basemen Nate Ruane.
After the Falcons tied the game in the top of the sixth, however, the Rams needed a little more offense to get the job done. Designated hitter Jay Gonzales was hit by a pitch to open the inning, putting the go-ahead run on base. One batter later, the freshman Novak put the Rams back on top driving a ball over the right field wall for a two-run home run. The homer was the first of his collegiate career and just the second ever for the Minnesotan in high school or college.
The Rams will play the series finale with the Falcons at 1 p.m. on Sunday at Foster Field at 1st Community Credit Union Stadium. Prior to the game, all of the ASU seniors will be honored on the field, as it is the final home game of the regular season. The game will be broadcast on RamTV 6/106HD and can be heard locally on 1260 KKSA with Jeremy Bryant on the call.
