Rams’ tug-of-war with Buffs

Over the weekend, the Angelo State University Rams baseball team took on the West Texas A&M University Buffs in four home games from Friday, April 26 to Sunday, April 28. The Rams both won and lost two games with scores of 11-8, 2-7, 12-6 and 5-6.

Friday's game saw the Rams take a quick 2-point lead in their first inning, having a home run hit by sophomore infielder Conagher Sands with junior outfielder Jacob Guerrero on third, scoring both runs in a single play. With junior infielder Tayten Tredaway hitting a home run, the Rams secured their third run of the inning. The Buffs scored their first run by their third inning, with senior center Tripp Clark batting a home run as the first play of the Rams' third inning for a 4-1 lead. The following plays saw the Rams reach a 6-1 lead with two runs by Tredaway and junior outfielder Weston Valasek. Immediately afterward, junior infielder Kamden Kelton and junior outfielder Jaxon Weatherly secured a solid 8-1 lead with two more runs off of a single. After a quick run in their fourth inning for an 8-2 score, the Buffs began to catch up in their fifth inning, scoring four runs, narrowing the Rams' lead to just 2 points. Increasing their lead, the Rams scored another run by Kelton off of third base. One point shy of a tie, the Buffs locked in two more runs for a 9-8 score in their sixth inning. Reaching the final 11-8 score, Valasek and Sands scored two more runs for the Rams' first win of the weekend.

Saturday's first game kicked off with the Buffs taking a 0-2 lead in their first inning; however, the Rams would tie the score with two runs by Clark and Guerrero in their first inning. By their second inning, the Buffs made strides as they scored four runs for a 2-6 lead. The Buffs reached their winning score of 2-7 by their fourth inning as the Rams' first loss of the weekend.

Saturday's second game started with Tredaway scoring the first run of the game for a 1-0 lead in the Rams' first inning; however, the Buffs tied the score 1-1 soon after. The Rams' second inning kicked off with a home run by Valasek, shortly followed by a run by freshman infielder Ryder McDaniel for a 3-1 lead. Once again the Rams' inning kicked off with a home run by Clark, followed by a run by Sands off of third base. Soon after, Valasaek locked in another run for a 7-1 lead. The Rams strengthened their lead 9-1, with two runs by Valasek and McDaniel. Three runs were secured in a single play by the Rams as a home run by Clark with Guerrero and Tredaway on base placed them at a 12-1 lead. After a single run in the Buffs' sixth inning, they followed up with four more in their seventh inning, reaching the final 12-6 score as the Rams' second win of the weekend.

Sunday's game had a slow start, with the Rams' McDaneil scoring the first run of the game in their third inning. Shortly after, the Buffs tied the score 1-1 with a home run in their fourth inning. The Buffs' fifth inning saw them take the lead, scoring their second run and putting the score at 1-2. Taking a strong lead, the Buffs secured two more runs for a 1-4 lead in their sixth inning. After a home run for a 1-5 lead in their following inning, the Rams got their second run, scored by Guerrero in their eighth inning. The Buffs' ninth inning saw yet another home run, reaching a 2-6 lead. Afterward, the Rams were one run shy of a tie as Tredaway, Guerrero and junior center Christian Garnette scored three more runs for the final 5-6 score as the Rams' second loss of the weekend.

With two wins and losses to the WTAMU Buffs, the Rams now hold a 31-16 overall standing, ranking third in the Lone Star Conference. Next up, the Rams will take on the No. 6 Texas A&M International University Dustdevils in three games as part of the LSC Tournament from Friday, May 3 to Sunday, May 5, at ASU’s Mayer Field.