SAN ANGELO - The Angelo State baseball team opened its three-game nonconference series with Texas A&M-International by sweeping a doubleheader with 6-0 and 10-3 wins on Friday at Foster Field at 1st Community Credit Union Stadium.
The Rams (28-8, 8-3 LSC) outhit the Dustdevils (10-23, 4-11 Heartland) 24-12 on the day, allowing just three runs in the two games combined.
ASU starter Matt Shannon shut out TAMUI in the first game of the day, going the distance in a seven-inning series opener. The junior gave up just three hits and did not walk a batter in the game, striking out four en route to his sixth win of the season.
Shannon was also given an early lead from his offense in the first inning. Outfielder Elias Aguirre led off the game for the Rams by getting hit by a pitch to get on. First basemen Mitch Henshaw singled through the right side to advance Aguirre, and the run came around to score a batter later when Steven Pinales singled home the run to get the Rams on the board.
Angelo State added to the lead with another run in the second, as Jay Gonzales and Nate Ruane collected back-to-back singles. Elias Aguirre would follow with a walk to push Gonzales to third, and the senior would come around to score on a sacrifice fly from Henshaw.
It took until the sixth inning until the Rams scored again, but they did in explosive fashion. The inning started with a bang, as Pinales and Jacob Boston hit back-to-back triples. A batter later, Jonathan Soberanes doubled and Ruane had a single to keep the inning going. The Rams ended up with four runs in the inning, pushing to their six-run total for game one.
Shannon sat down the Dustdevils in order, including back-to-back strikeouts to the last two batters to close out the game one win.
Ryan Smith started game two on the mound for the Rams and also went seven full innings, the longest outing of his ASU career.
Smith shut out TAMI in the first two innings before his offense got him another early lead, this time by way of Jacob Boston. The Arizona native was hit by a pitch to lead off the inning and advanced to third when he and batter Tyler Coolbaugh executed a perfect hit-and-run. Boston then scored on a groundout from Gonzales.
The Rams added another run in the third and then broke the game open with three runs in the fifth. Urquidi started the third-inning scoring, coming in to pinch hit for Gonzales. The El Paso native turned on the third pitch he saw and sent it over the right field wall for a home run. Soberanes followed with a single, which was one of his four hits in the second game. Catcher Zach Fleet doubled to score Soberanes. Fleet then came around to score as well when the nine-hole hitter Ruane tripled off the right field wall.
Ruane's triple was one of his five hits in the two games combined, and the third basemen also walked once. A native of Washington, Ruane has hits in eight of his last 10 at-bats.
ASU scored twice more in the sixth when Soberanes, Fleet and Ruane all got on base with one out and both Soberanes and Fleet came around to the plate.
Another run came in the seventh, when with one out Jacob Boston took the first pitch he saw and hit it over the left field wall. The home run was his seventh of the year, which leads the Rams and is third in the Lone Star Conference.
The Rams added another two runs in the eighth when Soberanes and Fleet got hits again and came around to the plate.
Smith left after the seventh inning, allowing a pair bullpen pitchers to close out the game, and they did so without giving up a run. Lefties Jhonatan Del Rosario and Kellen Rholl pitched the eighth and ninth, respectively, and preserved the 10-3 win for the Rams.
ASU and TAMI will finish out the series with one game on Saturday at 1 p.m. at Foster Field at 1st Community Credit Union Stadium.
