ASU sweeps past Hounds

PORTALES - For the first time in their four-game Lone Star Conference baseball series, Eastern New Mexico University made 12th-ranked Angelo State sweat at little bit on Saturday.

It pretty much came down to which side did the little things better, and that was ASU, which scored four two-out runs in the ninth to secure an 11-6 victory and a series sweep at Greyhound Field.

Third baseman Jordan Williams drew a bases-loaded walk from ENMU right-hander Tommy Perez, and designated hitter Tayten Tredaway followed with a bad-hop, three-run double past first base as the Rams (32-10, 30-10 LSC) improved to a startling 20-0 on the road this season.

"Those tack-on runs were pretty big for us," said Rams coach Kevin Brooks, whose team trails West Texas A&M by one game in the conference standings. "And I thought we played pretty good defense today."

After being outscored 51-10 in the first three games, the Greyhounds (15-25, 14-24) at least made a game of it behind a gritty pitching performance from sophomore right-hander Dalton Thatcher (2-4), who went seven innings and certainly pitched better than his final line indicated.

"We competed," said ENMU coach Riley Price, who served as a graduate assistant under Brooks for a couple of years. "That's the biggest thing we were looking for in Game 4."

Angelo State compiled its 62 runs in the series without benefit of a home run, although the Rams did pound 21 doubles. Essentially, they play the old "get 'em on, get 'em over, get 'em in" style.

Despite their somewhat modest long-ball power, they're capable of putting together big innings. ASU had six frames of four or more runs in the series, but none on Saturday until the late burst.

"You can't give this team free bases," said Price, whose squad leads the LSC in triples but is last in home runs with just 10. "They played our game on steroids."

ENMU chased Rams starter Carson Childers with five consecutive one-out hits in the third for a 4-1 lead. Relievers Kyle Moseley and Jackson Haga (5-1) combined for 6 2/3 innings, allowing just two runs and five hits.

Angelo went ahead for good 7-5 in the seventh on Koby Kelton's sacrifice fly and a run-scoring triple by left fielder Justin Lee. The Rams hit three sac flies and scored another on a squeeze bunt against Thatcher, a Texico High grad.

Meantime, the Hounds left 10 runners on base and missed a couple of chances with their better hitters in position to do damage.

"We made pitches when we had to," Brooks said. "Our offense is still a work in progress, although we're good at getting runners over, getting bunts down."

ENMU fell one spot to ninth in the LSC, with the top eight making the conference tournament in early May. The Hounds have four games this weekend at Texas A&M International (13-29, 13-27) before finishing the regular campaign at home against fourth-place Texas A&M-Kingsville (25-13, 23-13) the following weekend.

Angelo State 18-8, ENMU 5-1 (Friday) - The Rams, who tallied seven first-inning runs and finished with 25 runs on 27 hits in Thursday's series-opening rout, continued to score early and often in Friday's seven-inning contests.

In Game 1, ASU erupted for 10 runs in the first against ENMU freshman left-hander Ruger Bravo (5-4), who made it to the fourth inning. He allowed 13 runs - only five earned - on nine hits, striking out three.

For the game, the Rams collected 17 hits, with Lee and first baseman Aaron Walters both going 3-for-5 and combining to knock in seven runs. Catcher Tyler Boggs doubled twice and finished 3-for-3 with two walks, scoring twice and driving in three.

Brooks elected to save starter Aaron Munson by pulling him after one batter, and junior right-hander Jake Rogers (8-1) went the rest of the way, giving up 10 hits and three earned runs with six strikeouts.

The top three hitters in ENMU's order combined to go 7-for-11. Right fielder Cooper Hamilton hit a pair of run-scoring singles, while second baseman Dax Edmonds was 3-for-4 and center fielder Camden Matthews singled, tripled and scored three times.

Munson (6-2) then started Game 2, and the Rams built a 7-0 lead through four frames against ENMU's Damian Acosta (2-6). Price Siemering relieved Munson and earned a three-inning save.

Lee and center fielder Thomas Cain each notched two of Angelo's eight hits. Freshman designated hitter Spencer Roach went 2-for-3 for the Hounds and scored their only run on a sixth-inning double by third baseman Sammy Williamson.