SAN ANGELO - The Angelo State baseball team will host a three-game nonconference series against Texas A&M-International on Friday and Saturday at Foster Field at 1stCommunity Credit Union Stadium.
The Rams (26-8, 8-3 LSC) will begin the series with a doubleheader against the Dustdevils (10-21, 4-11 Heartland) starting at 4 p.m. on Friday before finishing the series with a game at 1 p.m. on Saturday.
ASU is coming off a series split last weekend with Texas A&M-Kingsville. Ram infielder Tyler Coolbaugh had a strong weekend at the plate against the Javelinas, earning LSC Hitter of the Week honors for his performance. Coolbaugh collected 11 total bases to lead the team and racked up three RBI in the process. The senior had six hits, including a triple and a homer, as well as a pair of walks on the weekend.
Coolbaugh is not the only Ram hitter who has had a strong season at the plate so far though, as ASU ranks No. 2 nationally in on-base percentage and No. 8 in batting average. The Rams also rank in the top 25 nationally in walks, slugging percentage, stolen bases and triples.
Leading the team in both batting average and on-base percentage is Jacob Boston. The Arizona native has seen playing time in left field as well as first and third base this season, hitting .402 for the season and getting on base in more than half of his plate appearances. Boston leads the team in home runs with six and is second in RBI with 32 on the year.
Leading the team in RBI is senior catcher Matt Waller, who has collected 37 for the season. Waller is batting .397 on the year with 13 doubles, which places third in the LSC. He has hit three triples and four home runs for a team-leading 79 total bases. Waller is the only Ram to play in all 34 of the ASU games this season.
Junior outfielder Elias Aguirre has followed right behind Waller, hitting .391 in 33 games this season. Aguirre has the second most hits on the team with 45 as well as the third most runs scored with 29. He leads the team in stolen bases with 11.
Another four Ram players are hitting above .300 for the season. Freshman Nick Novak did not get into the ASU lineup until 10 games into the season, but has hit .372 since then. The Minnesota native has 29 hits including four doubles and one triple and is tied for third on the team with eight steals.
Mitch Henshaw is hitting .340 for the season and has provided another source of power in the Ram lineup. Henshaw has the second most home runs on the team with five this year and has collected eight doubles and a triple as well.
Jonathan Soberanes is hitting .327 on the year playing second base for the Rams. The Dallas native has seven doubles and one triple and has walked a team-leading 25 times this season, which also ranks second in the conference.
Rounding out the group of .300 hitters is outfielder Steven Pinales with a .327 average. Pinales leads the team and the conference in triples with five and has collected 22 RBI on the year as well.
Other contributors for the Rams this season have included Michael Urquidi, Jay Gonzales and Nate Ruane.
Ruane had a strong weekend against Texas A&M-Kingsville, going 4-for-5 at the plate with four RBI. Urquidi and Gonzales have seen time at left field and first base, respectively. Both have a home run on the season, and Gonzales has been hit by pitches the third most times in the conference this season.
On the mound, Angelo State has seen strong performance from Matt Shannon and Ryan Smith as starters this year. Shannon is 5-2 on the year in a team-leading 10 starts. The Pleasanton native has an ERA of 3.14 this season and leads the team in both innings pitched (57.1) and strikeouts (56). Smith started the season in the bullpen, but has made six starts on the year and leads the team with seven wins. The senior has 22 strikeouts in 39 innings this season.
Shane Browning, Blake Barr, Kenton Schroter and Jake Mathys have all made starts this season for the Rams as well. Barr has an ERA of 2.03 in 13 innings pitched on the year, while Mathys has an ERA over five. Schroter has the second most wins on the team with a 5-1 record.
Browning finally earned a decision in his ninth appearance of the season this past weekend, earning a 9-4 win over Texas A&M-Kingsville. Browning came on in relief, his first non-start of the season, in the second inning of the series finale. The Lubbock native proceeded to shut down the Javelinas for the next five innings, pitching the longest outing of his career so far. Browing also set a new single-game career high in strikeouts in the game, getting eight Javelina batters out on his own in the matchup.
Joe Hauser and Dustin Angiel have been the mainstays of the ASU bullpen so far this season. Angiel has made 14 appearance on the year and has an ERA just over four in that time. He has 20 strikeouts on the season. Hauser has been the Ram closer for the year with nine saves, which ranks third in the nation and first in the LSC. The Georgetown native has pitched more than 30 innings in 17 appearances this season.
Texas A&M-International comes to San Angelo off a series win against St. Mary's that saw them take two games 2-0 and 5-4. The Dust Devils also have wins over Lubbock Christian and Southeastern Oklahoma State this season. Alexander Cabezas leads the way for TAMI with a .393 batting average and three home runs.
All three games will be broadcast on RamTV Suddenlink channel 6/106 in HD and can also be heard locally on 1260 KKSA with Jeremy Bryant on the call.
