SAN ANGELO, Texas – The second-seeded, No. 12 Angelo State baseball team secured its spot in the next round of the Lone Star Conference Championship with a 12-2 run-rule victory over seventh-seeded Texas A&M-Kingsville on Monday afternoon at Foster Field at 1st Community Credit Union Stadium.
With the win, the Rams improve to 38-15 overall and 19-11 at home while advancing to the double-elimination portion of the LSC Championship.
Texas A&M-Kingsville opened the scoring with an RBI single in the first inning against Angelo State starter
Clayton Broeder. The senior left-hander worked 2 1/3 innings, allowing one run on three hits and one walk while striking out three.
The Rams answered immediately in the bottom half of the inning, tying the game on a sacrifice fly from
Chase Pendley.
Angelo State broke the game open in the third inning. Pendley delivered a three-run home run to left field to spark the rally. Later in the frame,
Brett Smajstrla doubled to left-center,
Hunter Holt followed with a single, and
Jordan Kelly drove in a run on a fielder's choice to extend the lead to 7-1.
Pendley added his fifth RBI of the game with a sacrifice fly in the fourth inning. The Rams continued to add on in the fifth, as
Tate Greene,
Christian Garnette and Gam Jones each recorded RBIs to push the lead to double digits.
The Javelinas added a run in the seventh, but
Isaac Godard closed the game in relief. The right-hander tossed the final 4 2/3 innings, allowing one run on four hits and one walk while striking out four.
Angelo State now travels to Tyler, Texas, for the double-elimination round of the LSC Championship, opening against third-seeded St. Mary's on Thursday, May 7. First pitch is scheduled for 2 p.m..
