SAN ANGELO – The Angelo State baseball team will wrap up the 2018 regular season with a four-game series against No. 7 West Texas A&M May 4-6 at Foster Field at 1st Community Credit Union Stadium.
The series will begin at 6:30 p.m. Friday night, followed by a doubleheader at 4 p.m. Saturday and the series finale at 1 p.m.
The Rams (32-14, 13-7 LSC) have the best pitching staff in the Lone Star Conference with an overall ERA of 4.00 and an opponent's batting average of just .242.
ASU faced off against WT once already this season in Canyon, splitting the series with two wins and two losses. The Buffs currently sit atop the LSC with a 17-3 record in conference play.
West Texas A&M has the top offense in the conference, posting a batting average of .324 with 376 runs scored on the season and 469 hits.
Angelo State is ranked in the top 25 nationally in walks drawn(19), hits allowed per nine innings (13_), on-base percentage (7), and stolen bases(4).
Seven ASU regular starters are hitting above .300 for the season, led by Parker Bramlett at .361. Bramlett has only made 24 starts in the infield, but has played in 40 games overall with a .495 on-base percentage an 22 runs scored.
Just behind Bramlett is Bradley Mathiowetz, hitting .354 and reaching base at a .437 clip. Mathiowetz is also tied for the team lead with five home runs and is second with 11 doubles.
The other Ram with five home runs this year is sophomore Nick Novak, who is hitting .353. Novak also has nine doubles and one triple, while reaching base better than 46 percent of the time.
ASU third basemen Jacob Boston also has a .353 batting average for the eason, and is one of just two players to start every game this year. Boston leads the team with 13 doubles to go along with four home runs and a team-leading 44 RBI.
Outfielder Michael Urquidi is the other Ram to have started every single game, hitting .346 and leading the team in both runs scored with 50 and stolen bases with 29. Urquidi has also gotten on base in exactly half of his plate appearances this year.
Trevor Moses has seen increase in playing time as the season has worn on, and is hitting .333 this year. The Minnesota native has four home runs and four doubles with 18 RBI.
Andrew Morales is hitting .311 with 46 hits,, including six double and a pair of home runs. He also has 35 RBI, which is third on the Rams.
Outfielder Mitch Henshaw is sitting just below the .300 mark for the year, hitting .294. With 18 walks and 10 hit-by-pitches, however, Henshaw has a .423 on-base percentage along with a pair of home runs and 20 RBI.
Alex Salcido has a .271 batting average this season in 34 starts behind the plate. He has thre home runs and five doubles while driving in 21 runs.
Elias Aguirre has raised his batting average to .231 for the year and scored 28 times this season. He also has 11 stolen bases in 14 attempts.
ASU has also gotten contributions at the plate from catcher Joe Scott Pace and infielder Jonathan Soberanes. Pace has caught in 24 games this year with a .219 average while driving in 11 runs. Soberanes is batting .264 with a .452 on-base percentage and is third on the team with 19 stolen bases.
On the mound, Angelo State is led by starters Tyler Lesley, Trent Baker and Andrew Croucher as well as relievers Shannon Broussard, Shane Browning and Kellen Rholl.
Lesley leads the team with 73.1 innings pitched and 64 strikeouts while posting a 2.82 ERA in 12 starts.
Browning recently moved into a relief role with two bullpen outings against UT Permian Basin, and is just behind Lesley with 63 strikeouts on the year.
Trent Baker has posted a 3.07 ERA in his freshman campaign while going 4-3. He has 53 strikeouts, which is third best on the team.
Andrew Croucher had his best outing of the season  last weekend against UT Permian Basin, pitching six shutout innings with just three hits and six strikeouts. On the season he has a 3.45 ERA with 14 strikeouts.
Shannon Broussard has pitched both as a starter and reliever this year, posting a 3.65 ERA and a 3-0 record. He has 18 strikeouts in 24.2 innings.
Rholl has been the Rams' most dominant weapon out of the bullpen, striking out 39 batters in just 28.0 innings. He is second in the conference with 9 saves.
The ASU pitching staff has also gotten contributions on the mound from Josh Barnett, Cole Brandon, Austin Thomason, Logan Voth, Logan Teske and Jordan Wekewa.
Angelo State will also honor its six seniors this weekend as they play their last home games. The senior class includes Elias Aguirre, Kellen Rholl, Mitch Henshaw, Jacob Boston, Jonathan Soberanes and Shane Browning, and the group will be honored prior to Sunday afternoon's game.
All four games will be broadcast on RamTV Channel 6 and AngeloSports.com and can be heard locally on 1260 KKSA.
