San Antonio, TX – The Angelo State Rams were able to use a four run seventh inning to pull ahead of the Rattlers and walk away with the road win to move to 19-5 on the season. Although ASU was outhit by St. Mary's, the Rattlers two defensive errors would come back to bite them in the end.

The Storyline

St. Mary's was the first make to make their way into the run column in the bottom of the first inning. After inducing two ground outs, starting pitcher Trent Baker walked a batter who was then brought in to score by back to back singles that found holes in the infield alignment.

Jackson Hardy got things rolling for the Rams in the top of the third inning with a one out bunt single, but advanced all the way to third on a throwing error by the St. Mary's pitcher. Zac Sanders then collected his third RBI of the season by grounding out to the third baseman which allowed the speedy Hardy to score from third. The Rams would threaten to score again, but stranded Michael Urquidi on second base to end the inning.

Angelo State's third run of the game was far less concerned with putting runners on the bases when you can touch them all with one swing. Lachlan Mayo was the guilty party in this case as the Sydney native crushed his third home run of the year in the form of a solo shot over the left field fence.

The Rams tacked on one more run in the top of the fifth by the way of a Jordan Williams squeeze bunt that once again brought Jackson Hardy home to score. Hardy had reached base as the leadoff hitter by singling to right field and then stealing second. Michael Urquidi then advanced the Silsbee freshman to third and Williams then finished the job to bring the Rams' lead to 3-1. The Rattlers struck back in the bottom of the inning though with three runs of their own on four hits to take the run advantage at 4-3.

After the home team plated one more run in the bottom of the sixth, the Rams put up a crooked number of their own in the top of the seventh which would ultimately be enough to return to San Angelo with the win. The damage was done by the same approach at the plate that the Rams had executed on the night other than the Mayo solo shot. Parker Bramlett drew a leadoff walk and then swiped his 13^th bag of the season. Jackson Hardy then reached base once more on a walk and Sanders laid down a bunt for a single to load the bases. After Jordan Williams drew an RBI walk, Nick Seginowich was able to fly a ball deep enough into foul territory down the right field line that allowed Hardy to tag up and score from third once caught. An error from the first baseman on the same play allowed Zac Sanders to score on some heads-up base running. Nick Novak then drove in the fourth run of the inning by singling to center field.

The Rattlers scored one more run in the bottom of the eighth inning but would not be able to compensate for the damage they had sustained in the seventh. Final score: Rams win 7-6 by the way of clean defense and even cleaner offensive execution. St. Mary's moves to 17-9 on the season after the loss.

By the Numbers - Hitting

Jordan Williams had yet another solid offensive outing on the night by going 1-2 with two walks, two RBI, and a run scored. The redshirt freshman now claims a .356 batting average and a .477 on base percentage.

Nicholas Novak batted .400 from the left side of the plate by going 2-5 with an RBI as well. The Stillwater native is in a three-way tie with Nick Seginowich and Parker Bramlett for runs batted in over the last five games with four a piece.

Jackson Hardy has had an admirable freshman campaign to say the least, and today's game was no exception. The true freshman was 2-3 with three runs scored and a stolen base. Over the last five games he is hitting at a .438 clip, has led the team in slugging percentage (.625), and collected his first career home run.  

By the Numbers – Pitching

Trent Baker started on the Bump for the Rams but would only remain in the game for two innings. In collecting his six outs Baker gave up two hits, walked two, and gave up a single run.

Fabian Muniz entered the game to relieve Baker and lasted for three innings. The California righty gave up three runs on hits and struck out two.

Nick Coffman and Shannon Broussard both threw one inning a piece in respective order. Coffman gave up one run on two hits but earned his third win of the season.

Josh Barnett made a familiar closing appearance and did what he has done all season – dominate. After the Rams took the one run lead in the seventh inning, Barnett held the Rattlers hitless for two innings and collected his third save of the year. Barnett collected half of his six outs by striking out hitters and walked two.

Looking Ahead

Conference play officially begins on Friday as the Rams return home to face the UT – Permian Basin falcons in a four-game series starting at 6:30 p.m. The Falcons currently sit at a 9-12 overall record.