SAN ANGELO - The Angelo State baseball team will start its 2018 campaign this weekend at the Air Hogs D-II Classic in Grand Prairie, Texas.
The Rams will take on Arkansas Tech at 4 p.m. Thursday to begin the tournament, followed by a matchup at 10 a.m. Friday with Southeastern Oklahoma State on Friday. ASU will then face Southern Arkansas at 7 p.m. Saturday and finish the tournament at 4 p.m. Sunday against Oklahoma Christian.
In 2017, Angelo State had its best regular season record in program history, finishing 43-15 overall. The Rams also went 17-6 in Lone Star Conference play, winning the LSC Championship for the second straight year, and earned the No. 1 spot in the South Central Region for the first time ever, hosting the regional tournament at Foster Field at 1st Community Credit Union Stadium.
Following the success of last season, the Rams were picked No. 1 in the 2018 LSC Preseason Poll, voted on by coaches and media in the conference. ASU earned 133 total points in the poll as well as 12 of the 21 first place votes.
Senior utility player Jacob Boston was also recognized by the LSC in its Preseason Poll as the Preseason Player of the Year. As a junior, Boston started in 56 games, hitting .358 n with five doubles and three triples while leading the team in home runs with 11, RBI with 54 and slugging percentage at .594. Boston also drew more walks than any other Ram with 33 which helped him to an on-base percentage of .461. After seeing time in the field at third base, first base and left field, Boston received numerous other postseason awards including LSC Player of the Year, several All-Region selections and a Third Team All-American selection by the D2CCA. Boston has also been recognized this preseason on the NCBWA Preseason All-Region First Team.
Also on the NCBWA Preseason All-Region First Team in the designated hitter spot was senior Mitch Henshaw. Henshaw also hit .358 and had a good eye at the plate for a .460 on-base percentage. The Conroe native had 15 doubles, one triple and eight home runs and his 108 total bases on the season were second only to Boston. Henshaw's performance was also capped off with a LSC First Team All-Conference selection and several All-Region Awards.
Other returning starters from ASU's 2017 team include outfielders Elias Aguirre and Michael Urquidi as well as infielder Nicholas Novak and Jonathan Soberanes.
Aguirre will retain the role of the Rams' starting center fielder in 2018 after leading the team and ranking No. 3 in the LSC in stolen bases last year. Aguirre hit .319 while leading the team in games played and scored a team-second 46 runs as well.
Soberanes placed right behind Aguirre for both the team and LSC stolen base rankings, taking 18 bags on the year while playing second base. The Dallas native racked up a .452 on-base percentage for the year with his .344 average and team-second 31 walks. Both Aguirre and Soberanes earned LSC Gold Gloves at the end of the season for their stellar defensive play.
Left-handers Novak and Urquidi will be back in the lineup as well. Novak had an incredible rookie campaign at ASU, hitting .326 with 16 walks while playing shortstop and third base in 45 games. The Minnesota native earned LSC Freshman of the Year for his performance.
Urquidi will begin his third season on the team after hitting .269 last year with eight doubles and four home runs. Urquidi also had a strong eye at the plate, walking 21 times for an on-base percentage of .402.
Other returning fielders include Nick Barron, Joe Scott Pace, Parker Bramlett, Ryan Cole and Trevor Moses. Barron and Pace both saw some playing time last year, with each collecting two hits.
Several new hitters have been brought in as well for this season, including Parker Tadlock, Bradley Mathiowetz, Zac Sanders, Alex Salcido, Andrew Morales, Jordan Williams, Robert Isenhour, Sterling Malish and Branson Paris.
Salcido will be behind the plate for the Rams to start the year after playing last season at Midland College. Andrew Morales is also a junior college transfer from Odessa College, where he was selected as a JUCO All-American for his performance at first base. Two other transfers formerly played at the Division I level including catcher/third basemen Mathiowetz who played at Florida Atlantic an infielder Zac Sanders who spent time at Texas State. The other five incoming fielders are freshmen.
On the mound, Angelo State is returning five players who made appearances in 2017. Shane Browning and Blake Barr lead the way after both posted sub-3.00 ERAs last year. Barr made 12 appearances over including seven starts and allowed just eight earned runs in that time. He also walked only nine batters while striking out 30 and opponents hit just .202 against him.
Browning had a strong season as well with most of his appearances coming as a starter. The Lubbock native pitched 47.2 innings with a 2.83 ERA as well as a team-second 58 strikeouts.
Relievers Logan Voth, Kellen Rholl and Jared Velasco will be back with the Rams this year as well. Rholl led the group in appearances in 2017 with 10, striking out 11 batters while allowing just seven hits across that time. Voth pitched 7.2 innings and struck out 12 batters in that time. Velasco made just four appearances during the 2017 campaign, but did not allow a run in that time and struck out three batters. The senior could also see time in the outfield this year.
Other returners to the 2018 team include Jordan Wekewa, Josh Barnett, Carson Childers, Justin Penney and Jake Morgan.
A number of pitchers were also added to bolster the 2018 staff in Shannon Broussard, Tyler Lesley, Cole Brandon, Trent Baker, Andrew Croucher, Logan Teske, Kannon Brown, Jacob Crabtree, Brandon Dusenberry, Kody Keiser and Austin Thomason.
Following the tournament, the Rams will return to San Angelo, playing their home opener at 4 p.m. on February 9 at Foster Field at 1st Community Credit Union Stadium against Southwestern Oklahoma State.
