KINGSVILLE, Texas – The top-ranked Angelo State opened the series against Texas A&M – Kingsville with a victory, defeating the Javelinas 12-3 at Nolan Ryan Field on Friday night.

The Rams have begun all six series this season with a win as they improve to 16-2 overall and 11-2 in the Lone Star Conference while TAMUK moves to 12-5, 11-5 LSC.

ASU broke the scoreless tie in the fourth inning as Jordan Williams singled to center field to score Nick Novak for the first run of the game. Moments later in the inning, Aaron Walters notched his third home run of the season, a three-run shot to right-center to give the Rams a 4-0 lead.

The Rams added three more in the top of the fourth inning as Novak and Josh Elvir each hit RBI-doubles followed by another single from Williams to make it 7-0 in favor of ASU.

TAMUK found some life in the bottom of the fourth, hitting a two-RBI sacrifice fly to left field after opening the bottom half with a walk and a double.

ASU extended the lead back to seven runs in the fifth as Novak forced a bases-loaded walk before Jackson Hardy scored on a passed ball to make it 9-2.

In the eighth, the Rams tallied three more runs as Nick Seginowich doubled down the left-field line to score Novak while Walters fought off a full count with a single to the left side, scoring Seginowich and Williams, totaling five RBIs on the night.

The Rams tallied 10 hits in the game with four players collecting two hits and five players with at least one RBI.

On the mound, Trent Baker earned his sixth win to improve to 6-0 after tossing six complete innings with four hits, two earned runs, and eight strikeouts. Picking up the save was Austin Buley who pitched three innings, giving up only one hit and one walk while striking out five batters.

The Rams will look to secure the series tomorrow with game two against the Javelinas set for 2 p.m., at Nolan Ryan Field.