SAN ANGELO – After a week without any games, the Angelo State baseball team will return to play April 20-22 with a four-game series against Eastern New Mexico at Foster Field at 1st Community Credit Union Stadium.
The Rams (26-12, 7-5 LSC) will begin the series with the Greyhounds (17-19, 3-13 LSC) at 6:30 p.m. Friday, followed by a doubleheader at 4 p.m. on Saturday and the series finale at 1 p.m. on Sunday. At Saturday's doubleheader, all little league players 12 and under who wear their jersey will be admitted for free. There will also be a grand slam carnival to raise scholar ship money for the Coaching, Sport, Recreation and Fitness Administration graduate program.
ASU has already faced ENMU four times this season in Portales, with the Rams sweeping the series.
Angelo State currently has the second best team earned run average in the conference at 3.83 while hitting .307 as a team. The Ram pitching staff is also No 12 nationally in WHIP and No. 13 in shutouts. ASU's offense ranks No. 24 in the nation in walks, No. 15 in on-base percentage and No. 3 in stolen bases.
Overall, seven of the nine Ram starters are hitting above the .300 mark for the season, led by Parker Bramlett at .381. Bramlett also has the highest on-base percentage on the team at .513 and has scored 19 times.
Close behind Bramlett are Nicholas Novak and Michael Urquidi, hitting .367 and .346, respectively. The two are first and second on the team in runs scored, with Urquidi scoring 41 times and Novak adding 34 runs. Urquidi also leads the team with 24 stolen bases and 29 walks.
Trevor Moses has also come on in recent weeks, hitting .364 in 55 at-bats. He has four doubles and a pair of home runs while reaching base at a .462 clip.
Bradley Mathiowetz has quickly brought his average up in recent weeks and is now batting .345 while tied for the team lead with 10 doubles. The Minnesota native has also homered three times which is the second most on the team.
Tied with Mathiowetz for the team lead in doubles and leading the Rams in home runs in Jacob Boston, who is hitting .310 on the year. He is reaching base at a .407 clip and has started all 38 games while playing third base, first base and both of the corner outfield spots.
Leading the team in hits with 45 is first basemen Andrew Morales, who is hitting .336 on the season. Morales also has six doubles and a pair of home runs while reaching base better than 40 percent of the time.
Mitch Henshaw saw his batting average rise in the Rams' last series against Texas A&M-Kingsville with hits in the last three games. He is now hitting .278 with six doubles and a home run.
Elias Aguirre, Jonathan Soberanes and Alex Salcido have contributed to the offenses as well. Aguirre has scored 21 runs, while Soberanes is second on the team with 19 stolen bases. Salcido is hitting .245 as the Ram catcher and has 16 RBI.
On the mound, the Ram pitching staff is led by Tyler Lesley, Shane Browning, Trent Baker, Kellen Rholl and Cole Brandon.
Lesley has been the ace of the staff, starting 10 times and losing only twice. He has an earned run average of 2.56 in 63.1 innings pitched and has struck out a team-leading 53 batters.
Browning and Baker have both also been used in starting roles, with Baker posting a 2.04 ERA in 39.2 innings pitched while limiting opposing batters to just a .143 average. Browning has started all 10 times he has pitched with a 4.35 ERA and 48 strikeouts.
Rholl and Brandon have been used almost exclusively out of the bullpen this year with Rholl working as the team's closer. Rholl has made a team-leading 18 appearances with three wins and seven saves, while striking out 34 batters he has faced. Brandon has made three starts, but mainly been used in the bullpend with a 3.69 ERA.
Other contributors to the Ram pitching staff have included Logan Teske, Shannon Broussard, Andrew Croucher and Jared Velasco. Teske has made five appearances out of the bullpen and has not allowed a run yet. Broussard is also a reliever with 10 appearances and a 4.35 ERA.
Croucher recently returned to the mound and has made three appearances, while Velasco has appeared 12 times out of the bullpen with two wins, one save and 14 strikeouts.
Eastern New Mexico comes into the matchup with the third best team batting average in the LSC (.311), but giving up an average of 6.07 earned runs per game. The Greyhounds are also second in the nation with 105 total stolen bases.
