SAN ANGELO, Texas – After finishing the 2020 season with the No. 1 ranking in Division II, the Angelo State Rams are set to pick up where they left off as they begin the 2021 season ranked as the top team in the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association Preseason Top 25.
The Rams begin the 2021 campaign on the road this weekend as they travel to UT Tyler for a three game series beginning Friday, Feb. 5. The Patriots came in at No. 10 in the NCBWA Top 25 after closing out the 2020 season with a 20-3 overall record. The Rams and Patriots will play a single game each day, Friday through Sunday.
PRESEASON PRAISE:
The NCBWA wasn't the only poll that gave the Rams a high position. Perfect Game also listed the Rams at No. 1 while Collegiate Baseball ranked ASU at No. 3 in its national poll. NCAA.com seated Angelo State at No. 2, giving the Rams a top-three ranking in all preseason polls. In the Lone Star Conference, the Rams were favored to win the 2021 title, collected 23 of the 34 first-place votes. Regionally, Angelo State came in at No. 1 in the South Central Region Preseason rankings which included both the Lone Star Conference and the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference.
The Rams also picked up the Lone Star Preseason Player and Pitcher of the Year in
Josh Elvir and
Trent Baker respectively.
#1 ANGELO STATE (0-0, 0-0 LSC) VS. #10 UT Tyler (0-0, 0-0 LSC)
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ALL-TIME SERIES: Series tied at 0-0 Last Meeting: N/A
This will be the first meeting between the Rams and the Patriots. Both teams were supposed to meet last year before the season was cut short.
SCOUTING UT Tyler:
The Patriots are one of three Lone Star Conference teams that landed in the NCBWA Top 25, along with ASU and #22 West Texas A&M. UT Tyler finished the shortened 2020 season a 20-3 record, picking up a three-game sweep of Tarleton along with wins against Lubbock Christian and West Texas while sweeping all four against Cameron.
UT Tyler ranked fifth in the conference in batting average last season, hitting a combined .297 while totaling 72 extra-base hits including 23 home runs. On the mound is where the Patriots excelled, holding the lowest team ERA at 3.03. in 190.1 innings, they allowed a league low 74 runs and collected 260 strikeouts in 23 games. UT Tyler returns nearly its entire starting rotation, including Austin Schneider, Jacob Blatney, and Garrett Arredondo who each finished with a 4-0 record and an ERA of under 3.05.
At the plate, the Patriots return two of their top hitters in Riley Jepson and Tanner Roach. Both Jepson and Roach were tied for third for most hits with 31 while hitting .383 and .373 respectively. UT Tyler also led the league in field percentage, tallying only 21 errors for a percentage of .973.
#RAMEM
The Rams return to plethora of offensive power this season. Elvir led the conference in batting average (.438), runs (44), doubles (10), home runs (11), RBIs (30), and slugging percentage (1.027). Nine players finished with a batting average over .300 during the shortened season, including
Jackson Hardy who ranked fifth in the league at .396. While appearing in 20-plus games,
Parker Bramlett hit .352,
Aaron Walters hit .348, and
Nick Seginowich hit .310. Both Walters and Seginowich ranked fourth in the LSC in home runs with five each while Bramlett was third in runs with 27. Seginowich was also third in RBIs with 27.
Baker leads the pitching rotation heading into the season after tossing a team-low 3.13 ERA last year while holding a 4-1 record with 48 strikeouts. Also returning is
Jake Rogers who finished with a 3-1 record through seven appearances while
Benjamin Elder and
Carson Childers finished 3-0 and 2-0 respectively. Baker and Elders ranked second and third in the conference in strikeouts as Baker finished with 48 and Elder tallied 44.
