GAME ONE  //  GAME TWO  //  POSTGAME COMMENTS

CANYON – The Angelo State baseball team fell one win short of a Lone Star Conference tournament championship after overcoming an opening-game loss to win three straight games before falling 10-7 to Texas A&M-Kingsville in the final game of the tournament on Monday at Wilder Park.

ASU (36-19) forced the decisive game with a 7-5 win over A&M-Kingsville (39-18) in the first game on Monday after trailing 5-1 going into the seventh inning. The Rams scored four runs in the top of the seventh – highlighted by a three-run home run by Quaid McKinnon to left-center field to tie the game at five and then scored two runs on a Hunter Choate single in the eighth to earn the win.

“We battled and competed really hard,” ASU head coach Kevin Brooks said. “I'm proud of the way we competed all weekend and really didn't think we played well. I thought we won each game with character and heart. I think we'll play better if we get another opportunity and we'll still have that same character and heart.”

The Rams, who were playing in their fifth tournament finals, will now have to wait on the NCAA Division II selection committee to see where/if they'll advance to the regional tournament. The selections will not come until after next weekend. A&M-Kingsville earned the LSC's automatic bid to the South Central regional with the tournament championship.

Choate drove in the game-winning runs with a single through the middle of the infield that scored Reggie Rodriguez and Andrew LaCombe in the 7-5 win. Ryan Greer and Christian Summers also added RBI and Lee Neumann went 3 for 5 with two doubles and a single. Jake Feckley (10-3) earned the win with three innings of relief where he allowed no runs and only one hit. James Conlee allowed two runs on three hits in his first start of the season, while Mason Leavitt went 2.1 innings where he struck out two and gave up three runs.

McKinnon's home run was his fourth of the season, while Neumann now has 12 doubles on the season. The four-run inning started by David Goggin reaching on an error, Choate singling to right field and Greer coming through with an RBI sacrifice fly to bring in Goggin. McKinnon then stepped to the plate and drove the ball over the fence on a 2-2 count.

Angelo State continued to show its resolve in the final game, battling back from a 4-1 score after the first inning that would grow to a 9-2 deficit before the Rams scored five runs in the bottom of the seventh to turn a blowout into a contested game. Summers highlighted the inning with a three-run triple down the right-field line and then stole home to cap scoring in the inning.

The Javelinas scored an insurance run in the top of the eighth and Jeremy Flores came in to earn the save in the ninth to secure A&M-Kingsville's fifth LSC tournament title and first since 2008.

Greer went 3 for 5 in the game to lead ASU, while Summers and Choate also had two hits. Tyler Coughenour, LaCombe and McKinnon also had hits for the Rams. Michael Lange (4-4) received the loss after allowing four runs on four hits in the first inning, while Taylor Taska (9-2) earned the win for the Javelinas.

ASU is now 2-3 in LSC tournament finals and 18-11 all-time in tournament play. Summers led the Rams in the tournament with a .381 average with eight hits and seven RBI, while Choate had five hits and two RBI. McKinnon, Graylon Brown, Mike Weatherly and Greer were each named to the All-Tournament team. Greer provided the heroics on Sunday with a walk-off single to beat ACU, while Weatherly earned the 4-0 win over Tarleton State by throwing seven scoreless innings and having a 0.96 ERA in 9.1 innings of work over the weekend. Brown earned the win over ACU and had a 2.70 ERA in three appearances and 6.2 innings in the tournament. McKinnon finished the tournament with six RBI on four hits.

“I think you just move forward,” Brooks said. “I don't think it's extra motivation. It always stinks to watch another team celebrate, but I don't think it adds motivation. Hopefully that's already there and we'll find out in about 10 days if we'll have a chance to move forward. If we do, we're going to do everything we can to make the most of the opportunity.”