Slumping Rams to face Incarnate Word

The reigning Lone Star Conference champion Rams kicked off their Lone Star Conference schedule at home with four games against Texas A&M-Kingsville University over spring break.


The Rams went 1-3 in the series and are looking to end their slump in San Antonio against the University of the Incarnate Word Cardinals this weekend.


The Rams are 15-9 on the season and still have several things they need to work on.

“[We were] pretty average,” head coach Kevin Brooks said about the team’s overall performance so far this year. “We played good in spurts and haven’t been able to maintain a level of high play consistently, and that’s something we’ve been shooting for and striving for.”


Now that the conference season is here, Brooks said that the competition level gets higher because these are the Rams’ conference opponents.


Brooks said he doesn’t think that overconfidence and cockiness is the reason why the team has been struggling.


“I think confidence plays a part,” Brooks said. “But I think that’s just the course of the season; you go through some down spots at some points during the season.”


Consistency is what the Rams want, and they haven’t had that from their pitching staff.

“We have got to get more consistent starting pitching,” Brooks said. “We’ve got to find an answer out of the bullpen.”


Sophomore starting pitcher Bryce Zak has been awarded the Lone Star Conference Pitcher of the Week honor in consecutive weeks earlier in the season, but in his last start, he gave up five earned runs in one inning of pitching.


The team’s batting as a whole has been great at times, but they are in the top 5 in strikeouts, which is never a good statistic to be leading in.


“We start out each game well,” junior shortstop Christian Summers said. “We get our runs early and then we kind of shut it down. We get in cruise mode and we need to have a sense of urgency in every inning; not just 1-3 or 7-9.”


Summers, who transferred from the University of Texas, is hitting .339 with two home runs, three triples, and eight doubles.


The Central High School alumnus has started 19 games, scored 16 runs, and is second in the conference with a .661 slugging percentage.


The Rams’ first game against the Cardinals is on Friday, March 22, at 6:30 p.m. in San Antonio.