No. 2 Rams Host Top Five Matchup with No. 4 West Texas A&M - Angelo State University Athletics (2025)

SAN ANGELO - The No. 2 Angelo State baseball team will host a top five opponent this weekend as No. 4 West Texas A&M comes to San Angelo for a four-game series at Foster Field at 1^st Community Credit Union Stadium.

The Rams and Buffs have identical 16-2 records for the year and will kick off the series at 6:30 p.m. Friday. The series will continue with a doubleheader starting at 4 p.m. and conclude with the series finale at 1 p.m. Sunday.

ASU is coming off a four-game sweep of Texas Permian Basin this past weekend, averaging more than 10 runs per game on the weekend. As a team, the Rams have an on-base percentage of .441, which ranks No. 11 in the nation. Once on base, has run with relative ease so far this year, ranking No. 12 in total stolen bases and No. 11 in stolen bases per game.

Leading the way on the base paths for the Rams this season has been Matt Waller, Jonathan Soberanes and Michael Urquidi, who all have seven stolen bases. Waller was a run-producing machine at the plate this past weekend. In game two of the series on Saturday, Waller went 3-for-4 and was just a double shy of the cycle. He drove in six runs in that game alone, with two on his second home run of the year, and had 10 RBI on the weekend. The senior captain has started all 18 games behind the plate for ASU and is hitting .367 for the season.

Soberanes is the team's leading hitter for the season with a .433 batting average through the first 18 games of the season. The Northeast College transfer has 26 hits on the season including four doubles, and is in a three-way tie for the team lead in runs scored with 16. Michael Urquidi is also hitting above .300 as the Rams' regular left fielder, He has 14 hits including five doubles and 11 RBI on the year.

Tied for the team lead in RBI and leading the Rams in total bases for the season is infielder Jacob Boston. The Arizona native is hitting .375 for the season with four home runs and four doubles.

Seven other Rams are hitting above .300 for the year. Eiias Aguirre is batting .386 for the year with 12 RBI and a team second 15 runs scored. Nick Novak has come on of late, playing in just 10 games for the Rams this year and hitting .375 on the year. The Minnesota native has a pair of doubles and a triple as well.

The ASU shortstop, Tyler Coolbaugh, is hitting .326 on the year and has a team-second six doubles as well as one triple and one home run. Steven Pinales has one more home run on the year than Coolbaugh, and has a team-leading three triples on the year. Pinales is hitting .310 for the season and has been successful in all four of his stolen base attempts.

Mitch Henshaw is also hitting .304 in his first season with the Rams out of Angelina College, seeing most of his playing time in the designated hitter position. Henshaw has one home run and four doubles on the year.

On the mound, Angelo State has used Matt Shannon, Shane Browning, Ryan Smith and Kenton Schroter in the starting role. Shannon leads the team in innings pitched (27.2) and strikeouts (27). Browning has followed right behind Shannon in the strikeout column with 26 on the year, but has seven less innings pitched. Smith has only made a pair of starts on the year after starting the season in the bullpen, but has an ERA of just 3.26 on the year in almost 20 innings pitched and is tied for the team lead in wins with four. Schroter is the other pitcher he is tied with, as the Canadian has a 5.66 ERA in five starts, but has still earned four wins.

Out of the bullpen, Joe Hauser, Jake Mathys,. Dustin Angiel and Blake Barr have led the way for ASU. Hauser is second in the nation in saves this season with seven and has an ERA of just 0.93 in 19.1 innings pitched. His 10 appearances on the year leads the Rams.

Angiel has made the second most appearances on the year out of the pen with eight, and has held opponents to a .244 batting average on the year. Mathys has more wins than any bullpen pitcher with three on the season, pitching 18 innings in his seven appearances. Barr has just three appearances on the year, but has an ERA of just 2.08 in that time. Angelo State has also had Kellen Rholl, Logan Voth and Jhonatan Del Rosario make appearances this season.

West Texas A&M is coming off series sweep of No. 10 Texas A&M-Kingsville las weekend and has an overall record of 16-2 on the year. The Buffs are led by pitcher Marshall Kasowski, who has an ERA of 1.12 on the season and leads the Lone Star Conference in strikeouts with 61.