GRAND PRAIRIE - Angelo State pitcher Tyler Lesley struck out seven batters over seven innings while allowing just two runs as ASU beat Southern Arkansas 5-2 Saturday night in the Air Hogs D-II Classic.
The Rams (3-0) scored runs in four different innings against the Muleriders (2-1) en route to the victory.
"Tyler was just great tonight," Angelo State head baseball coach Kevin Brooks said, "and that's what we expect from all of our pitchers. He just set the tone from the start by attacking the zone and throwing all his pitches for strikes, so that was great to see."
Lesley made his first ASU start in the game and had an outing to remember. But before the San Antonio native got on the mound, the Rams went to bat and got him a lead before he even threw a pitch.
Nicholas Novak led off the game and was hit by a pitch to get on base. Novak quickly moved into scoring position with a stolen base and then got to third on a single from Michael Urquidi. The stolen base was the first of five on the night for the Rams
Bradley Mathiowetz then brought Novak home with a ground ball to the right side to put Angelo State in front, where they would stay for the remainder of the game.
Lesley then got to work on the mound, getting his first strikeout and his first of three shutdown innings in the game.
The Ram offense gave their starting pitcher another run to work with in the second inning thanks to a two-out rally. Catcher Alex Salcido started off the rally when he hit a two-strike pitch down the left field line for a double.
Redshirt freshman Parker Bramlett, making his first collegiate start, followed with a single through the left side to score Salcido, earning his first career RBI.
Lesley again shut down the Muleriders in order in the bottom half of the inning.
ASU continued to attack offensively in the third, as Jonathan Soberanes and Michael Urquidi both got on base to start the inning and promptly worked a double steal to get both into scoring position. A batter later, first basemen Andrew Morales brought the pair in, singling through the right side of the infield.
SAU finally got their first hit of the game in the bottom of the third, but were unable to get anything else in that inning or either of the next two.
The Rams were unable to score in the fourth or fifth innings either, but tacked on one final run in the sixth inning. Elias Aguirre led off the inning with a bunt single and advanced to second on an errant throw from the SAU third basemen. Salcido then got his second hit of the evening to get Aguirre to third and Bramlett followed with a walk to load the bases.
A ground ball from Novak scored Aguirre, but Angelo State was unable to do any further damage in the inning.
SAU also got their only two runs in the sixth inning after Lesley gave up back-to-back hits for the first and only time all night with the second being a home run.
The junior worked back-to-back strikeouts after the home run however, and struck out two more in his seventh and final inning on the mound. Overall, Lesley pitched seven innings while scattering four hits and one walk and striking out seven Muleriders.
Jared Velasco came in to relieve Lesley for the eighth inning and struck out a pair of batters as well in his first inning of work on the season.
Kellen Rholl then came in to pitch the ninth inning, making his third appearance in as many games. The southpaw struck out the side around a bloop single and a walk, bring his season total to six Ks and earning his second save of the weekend.
The Rams will play one final game in the Air Hogs D-II Classic, taking on Oklahoma Christian at 4 p.m. on Sunday in Grand Prairie.
