SAN ANGELO, Texas – The third-ranked Angelo State baseball team returns home this weekend to continue Lone Star Conference action, facing UT Permian Basin in a four-game series at Foster Field at 1^st Community Credit Union Stadium beginning Friday.
 
#3 ANGELO STATE RAMS (8-0, 8-0 LSC) vs. UT PERMIAN BASIN FALCONS (3-5, 3-5 LSC)
Game 1: Fri., Feb. 17, 3 p.m. | Game 2/3: Sat., Feb. 18, 1 p.m. | Game 4: Sun., Feb. 19, 1 p.m.
Foster Field at 1^st Community Credit Union Stadium – San Angelo, Texas
Live Video: lonestarconferencenetwork.com/asu
Live Stats: angelostats.com
 
LAST TIME OUT:
The Rams swept their second straight LSC series, defeating Cameron on the road in all four games. Weston Valasek led the Rams at the plate, hitting .500 on the weekend with nine RBIs and came around to score four times. Braxton Pearson tossed a complete game shutout against Cameron in ASU's 12-0 win. He allowed only one base runner through seven innings while striking out 10 batters and holding the Aggies to a batting average of .043 on the day.
 
SERIES HISTORY:
All-Time Series: ASU leads the series 27-0
Last Meeting: May 1, 2022: ASU, 7-6 – Odessa, Texas
The Rams have yet to lose to the Falcons in the series, holding a perfect 27-0 record. ASU averages 11 runs per game when facing UTPB, holding the Falcons to just under four runs per game. The Rams held off a late comeback by the Falcons in their last matchup, winning 7-6 after two late runs by UTPB in the ninth.
 
SCOUTING THE FALCONS:
UTPB enters the weekend with a 3-5 overall record after falling in their first series of the season to St. Mary's three games to one while splitting against Lubbock Christian. The Falcons are 12^th in the conference in batting average (.219) and 10^th overall in team ERA (8.13).
 
Third baseman Carson Johnson leads UTPB at the plate with a .409 batting average while Cooper Ciesielski is hitting .350 to begin the year and Austin Hall leads with 7 RBIs and two home runs.
 
On the mound, Andrew Troppmann is 2-0 on the year with a 3.18 ERA through 5 2/3 innings pitched. Cade Pollard holds a 3.86 ERA after tossing seven innings of work.
 
MOVING UP IN THE POLL:
The Rams jumped up two spots in the first week of the NCBWA Top 25 poll, holding the No. 3 spot and the highest ranking this season.
 
LEADING THE REGION:
The Rams came in at No. 1 in the latest NCBWA South-Central Regional Poll, earning all eight first-place votes. Behind ASU are Colorado Mesa and St. Edward's to round out the top three.
 
WEEKLY HONORS:
Braxton was named the LSC Pitcher of the Week for his performance against the Aggies. He is the first Ram this season to earn a weekly honor.
 
QUICK HITS:
-The Rams hold the second-best team ERA in all of Division II at 1.62, trailing only Harding.
-ASU has allowed the fewest hits per nine innings out of any team in DII and has the fourth-best WHIP.
-The Rams are seventh in the country in stolen bases and rank eighth in on-base percentage (.477) and runs scored (76).
- Valasek ranks fourth in the conference in batting average (.500), on-base percentage (.609), and RBIs (12).
-Jackson Hardy and Jordan Williams rank third and fourth respectively in the LSC in runs scored with 13 and 12.
-Austin Beck leads the conference in walks with eight.
-ASU has the top three base stealers in the conference in Hardy (6), Beck (5), and Valasek (4).
-The Rams have three pitchers in the top four in ERA in the conference with Kade Bragg leading at 0.00.
-Aaron Munson has the third most strikeouts at 17.
-Pearson is holding opponents to the lowest batting average in the LSC at .098.
 
CONFERENCE FAVORITES:
The Rams were selected as the favorites to take the 2023 LSC crown, earning the top spot in the preseason poll with 407 points, including 23 first-place votes. Coming in second was West Texas A&M followed by Texas A&M- Kingsville and Lubbock Christian.
 
NCBWA PRESEASON ALL-REGION:
The Rams had two players selected to the NCBWA Preseason All-Region Team, infielder Austin Beck and starting pitcher Aaron Munson. Beck was selected as the LSC Freshman of the Year last season after hitting .420 with 59 RBIs and 84 runs scored. He earned two All-American honors and led the Rams in stolen bases with 33. Munson led the Rams in wins a season ago, finishing with an overall record of 11-3 while collecting 81 strikeouts. He held opponents to a .277 hitting average while throwing 94 1/3 innings on the year.