SAN ANGELO, Texas – Postseason play has arrived and for the Angelo State baseball team, it begins with a best-of-three series in the Lone Star Conference Championship against Texas A&M-Kingsville.

Due to inclement weather, the series has been pushed back a day, now scheduled to begin on Saturday, May 2.

LAST TIME OUT
The Rams extended its winning streak to nine games after picking up the second consecutive series sweep against Cameron to close the regular season last weekend.

PITCHING
The Rams pitching staff only allowed 15 earned runs throughout the weekend. Johnny Stacy had a major bounce back, tossing three shutout innings while striking out four. Luke Spencer produced the longest start on the weekend, going all seven innings allowing just one run while striking out nine. Garrett Baumann recorded the most strikeouts on the weekend with 10 through the final five innings to secure Friday's win.

HITTING
The Angelo State bats had its up and downs over the course of the weekend. Major highs include Brett Smajstrla, who hit a .667 clip and a 1.714 OPS, collecting eight hits and attributed 15 of the team's 37 runs scored on the weekend. Chase Pendley and Tate Greene each recorded a batting average over .400 with Pendley hitting his first two home runs of the season.

THE SERIES
(2) No. 12 Angelo State Rams (36-14, 36-14 LSC)
vs (7) Texas A&M-Kingsville Javelinas (25-25, 25-25 LSC)
Foster Field at 1^st Community Credit Union Stadium – San Angelo, Texas

SERIES HISTORY
All-Time Series: ASU leads 52-34
Last Meeting: Mar. 29, 2026 – ASU, 16-10 – San Angelo, Texas
The Rams and Javelinas previously met at the end of March of this season, the Rams took three of four against TAMUK with the lone loss being a 14 inning thriller in game one of the series.
SERIES SCHEDULE
Game 1: Saturday, May 2, 3 p.m.
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Game 2: Sunday, May 3, 3 p.m.
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Game 3 (If Necessary): Monday, May 4, 1 p.m.
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SCOUTING THE JAVELINAS
The Javelinas concluded the regular season with a 25-25 record to secure the seventh and final seed in the Lone Star Conference Championship. Most recently, TAMUK took three of four games against West Texas A&M at home.

HITTING
As a team, the Javelinas enter the weekend with a .319 batting average, which is tied for eighth in the Lone Star Conference, while averaging 6.72 runs a game.

TAMUK have three players amongst their qualified hitters who have a batting average over .300. Nick Reyes leads the way with a .343 batting average. Landon Salinas, who is hitting at a .321 clip, leads the team with 53 hits and 42 runs scored and 12 doubles.

PITCHING
Texas A&M-Kingsville has a staff ERA of 6.08, sixth in the LSC. Where they have been successful with all season is the strikeout, as they have recorded 401 of them this season, the most in the conference. Garrett Nail spotlights the staff as he leads the conference with 85 strikeouts and is followed by his teammate, Tyler Schumann who has 64. Schumann does also lead the staff with a 4.44 ERA.

RAMBLINGS ABOUT THE RAMS
RAMS IN THE RANKINGS
No. 12 – Perfect Game
No. 14 – American Baseball Coaches Association
No. 19  – National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association
No. 21 – D2Baseball

RAMS IN THE (regional) RANKINGS
The Rams debut at No. 3 in the South Central Regional rankings behind Colorado Mesa and UT Tyler, who hold the top two spots in the initial poll. St. Mary's, Lubbock Christian and St. Edward's round out the top six, with MSU Denver and West Texas A&M occupying the final two positions.

NEW KIDS (ON THE DIAMOND)
The Angelo State baseball program has seen numerous contributions from new faces throughout the 2026 campaign:

- Gamaliel Jones : .446 on base percentage, 23 stolen bases
- Garrett Baumann: 9-4 record, 3.74 ERA, 53.0 innings pitched, 59 strikeouts
- Nick Gray: 6-1 record, 4.03 ERA, .188 opponents' batting average
- Payton Bush: .361 batting average, .471 on base percentage, 61 hits
- Tate Greene: .326 batting average, 5 triples, 3 home runs

AUSTIN BECK…RECORD BREAKER
Austin Beck has broken numerous school and Lone Star Conference Records over the course of his stellar career in the Blue and Gold. As of the publishing of this article, the Allen, Texas native owns the records for:

- Games Played in a Career, 238
- Games Started in a Career, 233
- Hits (Career), 315
- Runs Batted In (Career), 218
- Runs Scored (Career), 304
- Runs Scored (Career) Lone Star Conference, 304
- Runs Scored (Career) NCAA, 304
- Stolen Bases (Career), 161
- Total Bases (Career), 489
- Triples (Career), 18
- Walks (Game), 4

Beck now has his sights set on more records, including…

- Lone Star Conference Record for Triples in a Career, 2 Away

THE MAN WITH THE GOLDEN GLOVE
Blake Wilhoite has been exceptional this season, improving in all statistics since he's arrived on campus just two seasons ago. The Gold Glove winner from Midlothian, Texas boasts a .344 batting average and a .547 on base percentage (second in the LSC), picking up 45 hits, 40 walks and 20 hit by pitches.

BAU-WOW-MANN
Through the many roles he's played in the pitching staff this season, Garrett Baumann has been crucial to the Rams' success on the mound. The Poth, Texas native boasts a 9-4 record and a 3.74 ERA in his 53 innings of work through 21 appearances. The redshirt senior leads the team with 59 strikeouts while limiting hitters to a .254 batting average.

THE SKIP: KEVIN BROOKS
Kevin Brooks has guided the Angelo State baseball program to seven NCAA Division II College World Series appearances, including seven South Central Championships, and has compiled an impressive overall record of 872-378 since starting the ASU program in 2005. In 2023, the Rams claimed the Division II National Championship for the first time in program history.

IN SEASON AWARDS
NCBWA NATIONAL HITTER OF THE WEEK
Feb. 19 – Austin Beck

NCBWA SOUTH CENTRAL REGIONAL HITTER OF THE WEEK
Apr. 22 – Austin Beck
Feb. 25 – Austin Beck
Feb. 18 – Austin Beck

LONE STAR CONFERENCE PITCHER OF THE WEEK
Mar. 2 – Garrett Baumann

LONE STAR CONFERENCE HITTER OF THE WEEK
Apr. 20 – Austin Beck
Feb. 23 – Austin Beck
Feb. 17 – Austin Beck

THE SCHEDULE LOOKS…DIFFERENT
With the addition of UT Dallas in the Fall of 2025, the Lone Star Conference had to make adjustments to the schedule to adhere to the 50-game regular season limit imposed by the NCAA. Therefore, all games on the Rams' 2026 schedule are Lone Star Conference games, with the first two series of the season will be three games each before transitioning back to a four-game series format beginning in week three.

PRESEASON HONORS
NCBWA PRESEASON SOUTH CENTRAL ALL-REGION
Chase Pendley – Designated Hitter

LONE STAR CONFERENCE PRESEASON POLL
The Angelo State baseball team was picked to finish as the runner-up, totaling 599 points and collecting 20 of the possible 42 first-place votes. UT Tyler was selected to win the LSC with 603 points and garnered an additional 20 first-place votes. Lubbock Christian, St. Edward's and West Texas A&M rounded out the top five, with the last two first-place votes going to Texas A&M-Kingsville and Texas A&M International.

LONE STAR CONFERENCE PLAYERS TO WATCH
Chase Pendley – Designated Hitter/Infielder
Josh Reed – Left-Handed Pitcher

2025 SEASON RECAP
Last season, ASU accumulated a 48-10 overall record and went 39-7 in Lone Star Conference play on the way to capturing the LSC Regular Season and Tournament Titles before falling to UT Tyler in the South Central Super Regional.