SAN ANGELO – The Angelo State baseball team will be on the road this weekend, taking on Eastern New Mexico in a four-game series in Portales, New Mexico.
The Rams (9-5) have gotten strong performances from the pitching staff through the first month of the season, ranking No. 12 nationally in hits allowed per nine innings as well as No. 11 in WHIP and No. 5 in shutouts.
Redshirt freshman Carson Childers has played a part in the pitching staff's early success, and was named Lone Star Conference Pitcher of the Week for his performance against CSU-Pueblo this past weekend.
Childers was dominant on the mound in a game four win for the Rams, pitching six shutout innings and allowing just one hit in that time for a paltry opponent batting average of .063. His seven strikeouts were a career-high and brought his total for the year to 20, which is tied for first on the team and eighth best in the conference. For the season, Childers boasts a 2.86 earned run average over 22 innings pitched and a 2-0 record. Opponents are hitting just .163 against him, which is the lowest number for any Ram with at least 10 innings pitched.
ASU has also used Shane Browning and Tyler Lesley consistently in the starting role this season. Lesley also earned a shutout win last weekend against the ThunderWolves, pitching a seven-inning complete game. He has a 1.95 ERA for the season and a team-leading 3-1 record this year. Browning has a 2.88 ERA and is tied for the team lead with 20 strikeouts.
Other starting pitchers the Rams have used include Jordan Wekewa and Cole Brandon. Brandon has also made three appearances out of the bullpen and has a 1.50 ERA this season.
Kellen Rholl, Josh Barnett, Jared Velasco, Shannon Broussard and Trent Baker have also made an impact in relief roles. Rholl has three saves already this year and has struck out 13 of the 19 batters he faced while allowing just two hits. Velasco has yet to allow a hit during his 3.1 innings on the mound, and struck out a season-high four batters in one appearance last weekend.
Broussard has made four appearances in 2018 with just a 2.57 ERA in seven innings pitched. Baker had a breakout performance in the Sunday game last weekend, striking out seven batters and allowing just one hit in three innings on the mound. The true freshman has yet to allow an earned run through six innings pitched.
Offensively, the Rams have scored 91 runs, which ranks second in the LSC, and have a team batting average of .283. ASU also ranks No. 8 in the country in stolen bases with two players—Jonathan Soberanes and Michael Urquidi—in the top five individually.
Soberanes is the team-leader in a number of offensive categories, including batting average (.381), on-base percentage (.559) and walks. Urquidi is second on the team with a .362 average and also leads the team with 14 runs scored.
Senior third basemen Jacob Boston leads the team in runs batted in with 15 and has gotten on base at a .417 clip this year. He is the only other Ram with a batting average above the.300 mark at .340.
Sophomore Nicholas Novak is just under the .300 mark at .286 and is second on the team in both RBI (11) and runs scored (13).
Bradley Mathiowetz, Elias Aguirre and Andrew Morales are all hitting .250 or higher this year as well. Mathiowetz is batting .271 as the Rams' usual designated hitter and has driven in eight runs. Aguirre had a strong weekend against CSU-Pueblo, bringing his average up to .255 and scoring five runs overall. Morales has driven in eight runs this season as well.
Angelo State has also seen offensive contribution from catcher Alex Salcido, who has six RBI and one home run, and right fielder Mitch Henshaw, who has gotten on base at a .381 clip. Parker Bramlett and Joe Scott Pace have also contributed in spot starts, with both hitting .286 for the year.
Eastern New Mexico comes into the series with the LSC's highest team batting average (.365) and lowest pitching staff ERA (2.11). The Greyhounds are 7-1 on the season, with the one loss coming to Oklahoma Panhandle State.
