CANYON, Texas – Fresh off of its first Lone Star Conference series victory over Eastern New Mexico, the West Texas A&M baseball team returns to the road this weekend in a key LSC series at No. 5 Angelo State. The series is scheduled for a single game Friday evening at 6:30 p.m., followed by a doubleheader Saturday beginning at 4 p.m. and a single game Sunday at 1 p.m.
The Buffs are 12-8 overall and 4-4 in Lone Star Conference play, while Angelo State enters with a 16-2 mark and a 6-1 record in league play. WT took thee-of-four games from Eastern New Mexico over the weekend in its conference home opener. ASU, which won 15-straight, went 2-1 at Tarleton State over the weekend in a series which was supposed to be four games, but was shortened to three due to inclement weather. Despite the loss in the finale, ASU outscored Tarleton State 29-5 in the series.
WT's offensive struggles continued this past weekend, but solid pitching and some timely hitting – two home runs, including a walk-off grand slam in the finale, propelled the team to the series win. In the opener, the Buffs were down 6-5 in the eighth inning and used a two-run home run from senior
Jacob Caples highlighted a three-run frame and a save from senior
Paul Lujan sealed the win. In the finale, junior
Brooks Trujillo pitched a two-hit shutout through 8.1 innings before ENMU took a 4-2 lead in the ninth. In the bottom of the frame, WT loaded the bases and senior
Aaron Blair hit a walk-off grand slam for the win.
On Saturday's doubleheader, ENMU won the opener 9-2 and the Buffs came back winning the nightcap 9-8 for the ninth game this season decided by one run. WT is 4-5 this season in one run games.
For the series, WT hit .239 with 28 hits, including seven doubles, two triples and two home runs. The Buffs slugged .385 and reached base at a .366 clip. ENMU hit .266 for the series. WT committed 12 errors in the series leading to seven unearned runs.
On the mound, Trujillo and senior
Tyler Gibson each held the Greyhounds to hit under .150, but were unable to come away with victories. Lujan had a win and two saves, while redshirt junior
Kyle Tinius earned two wins in relief.
For the season, the Buffs are hitting .257 with 159 hits, including 32 doubles, six triples and seven home runs. WT has driven in 104 and scored 110 runs. WT is slugging .362 and reaching base at a .339 clip. The Buffs are 12 of 18 in stolen bases and have committed 33 errors for a .953 fielding percentage.
On the bump, the Buffs are led by Trujillo who has pitched a season-high 32.2 innings and 28 strikeouts. He has a 1-2 record on the year with a 2.20 ERA in five starts. Teams are hitting just .198 against Trujillo. Gibson is second in innings pitched at 31.2 and leads the team with 32 strikeouts. He is 2-1 with a 3.69 ERA in six appearances with five starts. Lujan leads the team with three saves, while Tinius has a team-leading 2.19 ERA in seven relief appearances and a 2-0 record.
As a team, the Buffs have a 3.91 ERA in 20 games and 156.1 innings. The Buffs have 144 strikeouts to 55 walks as teams are hitting .259 against them. WT has committed 33 errors on the year (.953 fielding percentage) and have allowed 16 unearned runs and 84 total runs.
Angelo State is led by J.C. Snyder, the reigning LSC Player of the Week. Snyder is hitting a team-best .453 on the year with 29 hits, 12 doubles and four home runs. He has driven in 15 and scored 17 runs. Snyder is slugging .828 and reaching base at a .521 clip. Brett David is second in average at a .403 clip. He has 25 hits with four doubles, one triple and three home runs. Nehwon Norkeh leads the team with 21 runs scored and is tied with Snyder with four home runs to lead the Rams.
As a team, ASU has eight players hitting over .300 and the Rams are hitting a blistering .344 as a team with 201 hits, 45 doubles, three triples and 14 round-trippers. The Rams are slugging .503 and reaching base at a .410 clip. ASU has committed just 13 errors on the year for a .978 fielding percentage.
The staff has a 2.53 ERA and is holding teams to a .225 average. The Rams have struck out 175 and walked just 53 on the season in 146 innings. ASU has allowed 51 runs with just 10 unearned runs, while the team has scored 132 runs. Steve Naemark (4-0) leads the team with a 0.77 ERA in six starts. He has pitched 35 innings with 52 strikeouts to just six walks, while allowing six runs with three earned on 23 hits. Bryce Zak (3-2) has a 1.44 ERA with 36 strikeouts and Blake Bass has a 1.54 ERA and a 5-0 record in 35 innings with 38 strikeouts. Dillon Becker has a team-high four saves, while Graylon Brown has three. No ASU pitcher, who has pitched more than eight innings, is allowing the opposition to hit better than .260
The Rams lead the all-time series 32-14, however WT has won nine of the past 11 in the series since 2013. The Buffs swept the Rams in Canyon last season for the first time in series history and ended the Rams' season with a 5-3 victory in 10-innings in the LSC tournament last season. WT went 6-2 against the Rams last season.
