CANYON, Texas – The top two teams in the Lone Star Conference will take the field at Wilder Park this weekend in a Top-10 showdown as the #5 Buffaloes of West Texas A&M host the rival #10 Angelo State Rams in a three-game series beginning on Friday night with first pitch set for 7 p.m. in Canyon.
ANGELO STATE
The Rams enter the weekend with an overall record of 20-3 with a 15-3 mark in the Lone Star Conference to sit second in the league standings following a sweep of St. Edward's last weekend at Foster Field in San Angelo.
Kevin Brooks has built the ASU Baseball program into a national power during his time in San Angelo, holding an overall record of 609-304 over the past 17 years with three trips to the Division II College World Series (2007, 2015, 2016).
Reigning NCBWA South Central Regional Hitter of the Week Josh Elvir leads the way at the plate for the Rams as the Kemah, Texas product is hitting .448 on the season with 10 doubles, a triple and eight homeruns to drive in 26 RBI for a slugging percentage of .862 to go along with 20 walks and 21 strikeouts for an on-base clip of .561. LSC Preseason Pitcher of the Year and Friday night starter Trent Baker is 7-0 on the season with a 2.12 ERA, allowing 14 runs (11 earned) on 35 hits with six walks and 56 strikeouts for an opposing batting average of .206 with two complete games and a shutout.
WT HEAD COACH MATT VANDERBURG
Matt Vanderburg has built West Texas A&M Baseball into a regional and national contender as the Norman, Oklahoma native is now in his 13th season at the helm of the Buffs. He holds an overall record of 399-226 (.6378) during his time in Canyon while registering a career record of 498-293 (.630) in his 16 seasons in collegiate baseball.
THE COACHING STAFF
Cory Hall enters his 11th year at WT as the Buffs' Pitching Coach, serving the last five as the program's Associate Head Coach. Hall has had four different pitchers drafted in the MLB Draft during his time in Canyon with multiple other professional players learning under one of the top pitching minds in collegiate baseball. Assistant Coach
Shawn Neale returns for his fifth season in Canyon as the Buffs finished the 2020 season hitting .298 as a team with 76 extra-base hits and an on-base percentage of .403. WT also welcomes the program's all-time saves leader
Dominic Yearego to the coaching staff for his first season in the dugout.
2021 SCHEDULE
The 2021 schedule is highlighted by 22 regular season home games at Wilder Park with a maximum of 40 Division II contests, 36 of those coming in Lone Star Conference action with three-game series against all 12 member institutions. WT welcomes Great American Conference members Southwestern Oklahoma State and Oklahoma Baptist to Wilder Park on February 5-7 for a four-game round robin tournament to open the season. The "Bob Sloan Baseball Classic" will honor former WTAMU head coach Bob "Skip" Sloan with a dedication of a new pavilion at Wilder Park funded by former players, family and friends of Coach Sloan.
SENIOR LEADERSHIP
Eleven different seniors made the difficult decision following the shortened 2020 campaign to return to West Texas A&M for their final season as
Carter Brown,
Todd Danzeisen,
Chandler Dean,
Zach Dixon,
Cade Engle,
Mathieu Gauthier,
Keone Givens,
Cooper Harris,
Justin Martinez,
Kyle Moos and
Reese Patterson return for WT. Those 11 will be joined by senior transfers
Jonah Gonzales (San Francisco State),
Justin Robinson (Arkansas-Pine Bluff),
Jake Suddreth (Florida State) and
Jordon Wyke (Regis) as WT's senior class of 2021.
LOCAL TALENT STAYING HOME
The Buffs have made it a point to recruit local talent as they currently have 11 student-athletes that graduated high school within a 100-mile radius of campus. The local players are:
Clay Artho (Canyon),
Noah Bartlett (Randall),
Garrett Cobb (Canyon),
Ben Crist (Texico),
Cade Engle (Pampa),
Kix Ferrel (Memphis),
Caleb Flores (Amarillo),
Kason Haggard (Canyon),
Reese Patterson (Canyon),
Chris Rodriguez (Friona) and
Elijah Velasquez (Randall).
LSC DIGITAL NETWORK
Fans will be able to purchase a $10 daily pass that will give them access to all football, volleyball and basketball contests on the network that day as well as access to previously aired games from the current season for 24 hours. In addition to live and archived streaming options, viewers will have the option to purchase and download games from the 2020-21 season for $10 each.
Fans can watch games and purchase passes online at www.lonestarconferencenetwork.com on computer and mobile devices. Viewers can also tune in to games on the LSC Digital Network via OTT apps available on Apple TV, Amazon Fire TV, Android TV and Roku by searching for "LSC Digital Network".
