Baseball splits series with WTAM

Photo by Kaitlyn Trujillo
Matt Shannon, junior, fires a pitch from the mound to a batter from West Texas A&M. Shannon received Lone Star Conference Pitcher of the Week for the second time this year.

Ram Baseball won two out of their four games in the March 17-19 series at Foster Field.

The No. 8 ranked Rams took on the No. 4 West Texas A&M Buffs and walked away with a series spilt.

Matt Shannon, junior pitcher, started the Rams off strong in game one after striking out six batters over seven innings and only giving up two hits.

Shannon was named the Lone Star Conference Pitcher of the Week for the second time this year.

"We really came out hot," Matt Waller, senior catcher, said. "Matt Shannon did a great job competing, getting in the strike zone early and setting the tone. I think that’s what carried us to get a win."

The Rams, who wore green jerseys in honor St. Patrick’s day, got lucky in the first inning of game one when the Buffs walked in three runs.

Their good fortune continued as the Rams plated four more runs, winning the game 7-1.

"Everything was on today," Shannon said. "We came and battled right off the bat."

Admission to the game was free for fans that wore green.

"It’s a special place here," Head Coach Kevin Brooks said. "We’re really blessed. We got the facilities and the support of the town. It means a lot to our guys."

Saturday’s double-header began with a 9-1 victory in favor of the Rams.

The scoring began in the first inning when Waller doubled down the third-base line, bringing in Jonathan Soberanes, junior second baseman, and Elias Aguirre, junior outfielder, followed by an RBI single by Jacob Boston, junior first baseman.

Steven Pinales, senior outfielder, brought in the next two runs in the second inning bringing the score up 5-0.

Tyler Coolbaugh, senior infielder, brought in another run in the third inning on a double.

The Rams secured their win with three more runs in the bottom of the sixth, beating the Buffs, 9-1.

Game three was a tighter battle between the teams. Both remained scoreless through the first five innings.

Shane Browning, junior pitcher, was a tough opponent for WT hitters. He struck out seven batters over his five innings on the mound.

WTAMU broke the scoreless tie when Browning was removed from the game.

The Rams scored one run in the final inning, but fell short 3-1.
"We got a bunch of tough guys," Browning said. "For us not to roll over like that is good to see."

The Rams fought hard in game four, but ultimately fell to Buffs 8-6.

"We got to get a lot better," Brooks said. "There were too many little things that we didn’t do well today and ultimately yesterday. We’re going to get better at that and keep working."

The Rams will play their Lone Star Conference opener against Cameron March 24 at 6:30 p.m. and continue through March 26 at Foster Field.