SAN ANGELO, Texas – The bracket is set and the Angelo State baseball team is ready for the fifth appearance in the Division II College World Series in program history at the USA Baseball Training Complex in Cary, N.C.
 
The Rams earned the fifth seed in the tournament and will take on No. 4 Southern New Hampshire in game three of the tournament on Sunday, June 5, at 12:30 p.m. CST. The Rams and Penmen are the only returning teams from last year's tournament. North Greenville earned the top seed followed by Point Loma as the two-seed, No. 3 Southern Arkansas, No. 6 Rollins, No. 7 Illinois Springfield, and No. 8 West Chester.
 
2022 NCAA Division II College World Series:
Tournament Central
Listen Live: wfrfm.com/sports/
 
SERIES HISTORY:
All-Time Series: 0-0
Last Meeting: N/A
This will be the first meeting between the Penmen and the Rams.
 
SCOUTING SOUTHERN NEW HAMPSHIRE:
The Penmen advanced to Cary out of the East Region, defeating Molloy for their second straight regional title. SNHU is 46-10 overall on the season and went 21-3 in the Northeast-10 conference before going on to claim the conferment tournament title.
 
SNHU holds the sixth-best team ERA in the country at 3.46 and has allowed the 12^th fewest hits per nine innings at 7.96. Angus McCloskey is the top starter for the Penmen, holding a 9-1 overall record in 12 starts. He has a 2.52 ERA through 71 1/3 innings while striking out 81 batters. Josh Roberge is next with a 3.19 ERA and 95 strikeouts while going 9-4 on the season.
 
At the plate, the Penmen are led by Nick Schwartz who has a .406 batting average along with 44 RBIs and nine home runs. Sam Henrie has a team-high 53 RBIs while batting .335 on the year. The Penmen have stolen 98 bases on the season with Danniel Rivera leading the way with 32 stolen bases.
 
QUICK HITS:
ROAD TO CARY:
The Rams have had one of their most successful seasons to date, collecting 50 wins while securing the Lone Star Conference regular-season title, the LSC tournament title, and the South Central Regional Championship.
 
ASU finished 38-10 in conference play to earn the top seed in the conference tournament before sweeping the competition to earn the fifth tournament championship in program history. With two wins over West Texas A&M in the process, the Rams earned the No. 1-seed in the South Central Regional, hosting MSU Denver and Texas A&M - Kingsville in section A of the regional. After a win over the Roadrunners, the Rams took two of three games against the Javelinas to advance to supers. ASU fell in game one against Colorado Mesa before bouncing back to win two games to punch their ticket to Cary.
 
BACK-TO-BACK TRIPS:
This is the second time in program history the Rams have advanced to the college world series in back-to-back years. ASU also made consecutive appearances in 2015 and 2016.
 
TOP OFFENSE IN DII:
The Rams have scored more runs than any other team in the country with 629 runs on the season. Their average of 10.7 runs per game also leads Division II.
 
ASU is third in DII in batting average (.362), has also recorded the second-most hits (697), and ranks first in doubles with 162.
 
FINDING ANY WAY ON BASE:
The Rams have the highest on-base percentage in all of Division II at .475. ASU is second in the country in walks with 318, and have been plunked at the plate 141 times which is more than any other team.
 
Koby Kelton has been hit at the plate the third most times in DII with 27.
 
THE JUSTIN LEE PROFILE:
Justin Lee has been one of the top players for the Rams all season. He ranks third in DII in batting average, hitting .453, has totaled the fourth-most hits with 92 and is 10th in RBIs with 77. He is second in the country in on-base percentage at .564. He has also come around to score 71 runs.
 
MOVEMENT ON THE BASES:
ASU has stolen the second most bases in the country with 176 on the season. Austin Beck leads the team with 33 stolen bases followed by Justin Lee with 22.
 
WINS ON WINS ON WINS:
The Rams put together the longest winning streak in program history during the regular season, winning 20 straight games leading into the regional tournament.
 
DEFENSIVE DISCIPLINE:
ASU is one of the top defensive teams in the country, ranking second in fielding percentage (.980), and fourth in double plays (50).
 
RAMS IN THE TOP 10 IN DII:
Batting Average:              Justin Lee, .453 (3rd)
Games Started:                 Benjamin Elder, 16 (4th)
Hit-by-Pitch:                      Koby Kelton, 27 (3rd)
Hits:                                   Justin Lee, 92 (4th), Austin Beck, 88 (10th)
On-Base Percentage:       Justin Lee, .564 (2nd)
Runs:                                  Austin Beck, 84 (3rd)
RBIs:                                   Aaron Walters, 81 (6th), Justin Lee, 77 (10th)
Sacrifice Flies:                   Aaron Walters, 8 (8th)
Victories:                           Jake Rogers, Aaron Munson, 10 (10th)