Recap: Rambelles Softball and Rams Baseball Play Multiple Games over Weekend

Softball

The Games: The #10 Angelo State Rambelles softball team played 2 double-headers over the weekend for a total of 4 games versus #24 Midwestern State University.

Friday, the Rambelles beat Midwestern 10-2 in the first bout and 9-1 in the second. Both games ended in the fifth inning as part of the NCAA “mercy rule” that is invoked if a team is winning by 8 runs or more after 5 innings.

The offense in the first game was led by senior center fielder Morgan Spearman and freshman designated hitter Kenedy Urbany. Spearman, the leadoff hitter, had only 1 hit in 1 official at-bat, but walked 3 times, scoring 3 runs and batting in another 2. Meanwhile, Urbany had 2 hits in 3 plate appearances, batting in 3 additional runs. 

In the second game, the offense was solid up and down the lineup, with 3 different players batting in 2 runs each. Junior right fielder Rachel Moore, junior third baseman Tina Cisneros, and senior first baseman Carly Peters each had 1 hit and 2 R.B.I.’s each.

Senior pitcher Mary Kate McKay was also stellar, pitching through both games, combining for a total of 10 innings while giving up just 3 total runs on 5 hits with 3 strikeouts against 2 walks. McKay’s record for the season improved to 6 wins against 3 losses.

Saturday saw the Rambelles continue their hot streak, winning the first game 11-2 by way of the mercy rule and the second game in a slugfest, 14-13.

The offense in the first game continued to pound the ball with junior second baseman Micherie Koria leading the way, going 2-3 with 2 R.B.I.’s and 2 runs scored. Sophomore shortstop Ambra Hill also had a strong showing, collecting 2 hits, 2 R.B.I.’s, and 2 runs scored. Overall, the team went 11-22, an even .500 batting average for the game, and not striking out a single time.

Pitcher McKay continued her dominance, going 5 innings while giving up 2 runs in 5 hits and striking out an additional 2 batters. With the win, McKay improved her overall record to 7-3 on the season, nearly doubling her win total over the weekend.

The second and final game of the weekend proved to be the closest for the Rambelles. Urbany, who was the game’s starting pitcher for Angelo State, had a massive game, offensively smacking 3 hits for 6 R.B.I.’s while scoring twice. Center fielder Spearman hit a single, double, home run, and a triple for the cycle, ending with 4 hits, 4 times scored, and 2 runs batted in.

The game saw both teams score in every inning except one. While starting pitcher Urbany gave up only 1 earned run on 4 hits through 2 innings, 5 total runs were scored against her in part due to the 6 errors committed by the Rambelles defense.

Outcome: The #12 Rambelles improved to 28-9 on the season and 13-3 in Lone Star Conference play, good enough for 1st place in the conference. The Rambelles also stand to move up even further in the national standings this week.

They Said It: Head Coach Travis Scott said during a postgame interview posted at angelosports.com, “Well I just thought it was outstanding to be able to come out here and sweep a very good Midwestern State team and make up that two game [difference] in the loss column that we had and to gain two on [Midwestern State] is huge. We are trying to win a conference title and we’ve put ourselves in a lot better shape right now after that. We still got WT at the end of the year but, boy; we put ourselves in good position. And Mary Kate McKay, I can’t say enough about how awesome she was this weekend and that’s what you would expect to see out of a senior: step up in big games and she was excited and pumped and focused and hopefully we can get those kind of performances again throughout the season.”

Due Up: Angelo State will stay at home and take their 6 game winning streak into a new series this weekend against Eastern New Mexico State University. The first game starts at 7 p.m. Friday night with the first game of a Saturday double-header starting at 1 p.m.

Baseball

The Games: The Angelo State Rams baseball team played a 4 game series over 3 days this weekend versus the Eastern New Mexico State Greyhounds. 

Friday night, the Rams spent most of the game trailing, with the deficit becoming as high as 3 runs in the seventh inning. The Rams, however, turned up the offensive heat at the right time to charge back for a 9-8 vicotry that saw Angelo State score 3 times in the bottom of the ninth to close out the game. The game was decided on a throwing error by Eastern New Mexico’s third baseman that allowed senior third baseman Christian Summers to score from third base.

Offensively, the Rams were led by Summers, who continued his hot streak of late going 3-5, hitting a solo home run and two singles to drive in 3 runs. Summers also scored twice, with the second time being the deciding run in the ninth inning.

Senior starting pitcher Jake Feckley lasted 6 2/3 innings, giving up 3 earned runs and 2 unearned runs on 8 hits while striking out 3 batters. The win, however, went to sophomore relief pitcher Graylon Brown, who was the fifth Rams pitcher to pitch in the game.

Saturday afternoon, the Rams played a double-header at Foster Field where the late-inning drama continued. The final score for the first game was 2-1 and the second game was 9-8 in 12 innings.

The first contest saw only 9 hits between the 2 teams. The Rams scored in the bottom of the third inning on a sacrifice fly by senior shortstop Tyler Coughenour but Eastern New Mexico came right back in the top of the fourth inning with a run of their own. The scoring would stop until the bottom of the seventh when the Rams would load the bases on a double by junior designated hitter Derek Tyner and two intentional walks by Eastern New Mexico. The two free passes brought junior second baseman Brett David to the plate. He made the Greyhounds pay with a single to right field to bring home Tyner to win the game.

David was most of the offense for the Rams, going 1 for 2 with 1 run batted in, 1 run scored, and 1 walk. In addition to scoring the game-winning run, Tyner had 2 hits in 3 plate appearances.

Junior Jason Zgardowski pitched a gem for the Rams going the full 7 innings and only giving up 1 earned run on 4 hits while striking out 11 batters for the game. The win brought his record to 3-2 for the season.

The second game was a bit longer and a bit higher scoring. Trailing 3-1 entering the bottom of the sixth inning, the Rams received an offensive jolt in a 3 run home run from senior outfielder Reggie Rodriguez. Eastern New Mexico tied the game in the top of the seventh to send the game into extra innings.

After Eastern New Mexico scored 3 unearned runs in the top of the ninth inning, the Rams seemed all but done, needing another miracle to keep the game going. After two quick outs, a Cameron Massengill walk, and a Hunter Choate single, Brett David stepped into the box and crushed another game-saving 3 run home run.

The game went on into the bottom of the twelfth inning seeing Eastern New Mexico on top again after scoring one run in the top of the inning. The Rams started off with two quick outs, but after a David Goggin two-out walk, a Christian Summers single, and a wild pitch to move both runners into scoring position, Derek Tyner stepped into the batter’s box and delivered the game-winning hit on a single up the middle to score both Goggin and Summers.

The Rams had a total of 13 hits for the game and had to survive through leaving 14 runners on base and committing 5 errors in the field. 6 pitchers were used in the win as well, with Erik Monson earing his first career win.

Sunday saw the Rams lead for much of the game, with the scoreboard reading 5-3 entering the final two innings of the game. Emulating the Rams 3 previous wins from Friday and Saturday, Eastern New Mexico scored 4 times in the final two innings to pull away and steal a win 7-5 from the Rams.

Offensively, the Rams were led once again by Summers, going 1 for 2 with 1 run batted in, 1 run scored, and two walks to cap off an impressive individual weekend performance. Coughenour also led the way with Summers, smacking 2 hits in 2 at-bats with 1 run scored and 1 run batted in as well. However, Coughenour left the game late due to a recurring injury.

The Rams received a solid pitching effort from starter Dillon Becker who gave up 5 runs on 11 hits over 8 innings of work, striking out 6 along the way. The bullpen, however, was unable to hold the 5-5 tie entering the ninth, with last night’s winner Erik Monson taking the loss after allowing 2 runs on 2 hits in just a third of an inning’s worth of work.  

Outcome: The Rams took the series 3-1 from Eastern New Mexico University. The 3 wins take the Rams’ record to 20-13 overall and a 10-10 record in the Lone Star Conference. Those 10 wins put Angelo State in 3rd place entering the latter part of the season.

They Said It: On the postgame radio show, head coach Kevin Brooks said, “Really disappointed [with the loss] but, on the other hand, we showed some fight, some resiliency, and, again, we could have easily gotten swept. We probably should take our three [wins] and be happy.”

Due Up: Angelo State will stay at home in a 3 game series against conference foe Cameron University. This first game will take place Friday, April 4 at 6:30 p.m. at Foster Field. A doubleheader will follow on Saturday, April 5 with the first game scheduled for a 1 p.m. first pitch.