SAN ANGELO, Texas – The sixth-ranked Angelo State baseball team downed host and second-seeded Colorado Mesa 15-8 on day two of the South Central Regional Tournament at the Diamond on Friday night.
The Rams improved to 38-18 overall on the year and 2-0 in the regional tournament. They are now one win away from advancing to the Super Regional for the third consecutive year.
After leading off with a single, the Mavs moved the runner around and scored on a wild pitch for the early 1-0 lead.
In the bottom half of the inning, the Rams put two runners on but couldn't bring in a run as Mesa made a diving catch in center field before a ground out ended the inning.
The Rams took the lead in the bottom of the second inning as Justin Harris hit a two-run homer to left-center, scoring Kamden Kelton on the play.
Mesa responded in the third, hitting a solo home run to tie the game.
Braxton Pearson was the starter on the mound for the Rams, tossing five innings with five runs on seven hits along with four strikeouts. He earned the win to improve to 6-2 on the season.
Harris put the Rams on top again in the fourth inning, hitting his second two-run homer of the game to make it 4-2. The Rams added another run on an RBI single by Jacob Guerrero to score Hunter Holt.
The Mavs cut into the lead again in the top of the fifth, hitting a two-run home run to make it a one-score ball game.
In the bottom half of the frame, the Rams loaded the bases with no outs before Christian Garnette came in as a pinch hitter, singling to right field for his first two RBIs of the season. Holt followed up by laying down a bunt to the pitcher, scoring Harris who slid under the tag.
The Rams continued to extend the lead in the inning as Conagher Sands singled to score Holt and Garnette to make it a 10-4 advantage.
Mesa loaded the bases in the following inning, scoring a run on a fielder's choice but a strikeout from reliever Caleb Heuertz and a ground out limited the damage to one run.
ASU had a similar result in the bottom half of the sixth, loading the bases and getting one run as Tayten Tredway hit a sac fly to make it 11-5.
Weston Valasek added another run for the Rams in the seventh on a blooper to right field to score Tripp Clark.
Colby Casey entered in relief in the seventh inning and retired his first six batters in a row. He finished with three innings pitched, allowing three runs on two hits with two strikeouts.
The Rams tallied three runs in the eighth inning, scoring on a triple by Jacob Guerrero followed by a double from Clark and a single by Sands.
In the ninth, the Mavs scored on a wild pitch before a two-run home run brought the game to its final score.
Harris finished with four RBIs in the game, going 2-for-3 at the plate while Sands added three RBIs, Guerrero collected three hits, and Kelton came around to score four times.
The Rams will close out the regional on Saturday in a rematch against third-seeded West Texas A&M with first pitch set for 3 p.m. CST. The Buffs will have to win two games against the Rams to advance.
Justin Harris Two-Run Home Run:
