BOX SCORE: Angelo State 7, Texas A&M-Kingsville 6
PHOTO GALLERY: #RamBaseball @ LSC Baseball Championship

KINGSVILLE – Where do you want to start with this one from the Lone Star Conference Baseball Championship?

"I really don't know what to say dude. I'm kind of just babbling right now," said ASU head coach Kevin Brooks as he ended his postgame interview.  

The Angelo State baseball team was mired in a one-run game, down 1-0 through five innings to start. It trailed 5-0 after Texas A&M-Kingsville seemed to take control of Thursday's game with four runs in the bottom of the sixth. It got three runners on base in the bottom of the seventh and saw dramatics with a pinch hit grand slam. Two more runs came in for the Rams with a double in the top of the eighth to take a one-run lead and then a ninth inning home run gave them a two-run cushion. A quick run by the Javelinas cut the lead to one again and even quicker the bases were loaded with only one out. A foul out just feet from the dugout made it two out. A called strikeout ended it.

The result: Angelo State 7, Texas A&M-Kingsville 6

"We've shown that throughout the season that we can win games like this," Brooks said. "We had some opportunities early and didn't get a run in and that hurt us a little bit. I can't say enough about our pitchers. We used six and they each came in and did their jobs. It's a gutsy win and the type you have to have at the end of the year if you want to keep playing. We'll take it and move on to tomorrow."

The win sets up a 3 p.m. second-round game against Tarleton State which was a 9-4 winner over West Texas A&M in the first game of the tournament.

In a game between the previous two tournament champions, the fourth-seeded Rams earned the win and advanced to play Tarleton State at 3 p.m. on Friday in the second round. How it happened came with clutch hits, two home runs and six ASU pitchers doing their situational jobs.

Down 5-0 going into the seventh inning, ASU showed its first sign of offensive life with David Goggin singling. Christian Summers followed by being hit by a pitch and Derek Tyner had a one-out infield single. Up came pinch hitter Brett David, a coach's decision to try and get an offense going that had not scored and had only stranded two through six innings. David delivered, driving a pitch over the left-field fence to score Goggin, Summers and Tyner and cut the deficit to one.

"They told me a few innings before that I might go in and pinch hit with runners on base," David said. "I was just looking for a good pitch to drive. With one out, I needed to put it in play and make something happen."

The bottom of the seventh was a game of chess for Brooks. After replacing starter Blake Bass after he had kept the Rams in the game with five solid innings before a four-run sixth, Brooks went to left-handed freshman Erik Monson. TAMUK's Clint Wallace singled off Monson and brought out the second pitcher on ASU's staff with senior Jake Albert coming in. Albert fielded a sacrifice bunt and recorded the first out of the inning, but Wallace was now on second. Switching from right-handed Albert to left-handed Mason Leavitt proved to be the right decision as TAMUK leadoff hitter and LSC Player of the Year Derrick Walls grounded out to second. With a runner at third, the fourth ASU pitcher came in as Graylon Brown ran in from the bullpen with two outs. The tying run stayed there though as Brown coaxed a foul out to Massengill behind the plate.

ASU (27-24) took its first lead of the game in the eighth, an inning started with Tyler Coughenour hitting a one-out infield single to shortstop. Goggin was again a part of the scoring rally, singling to center and setting up a first and second situation. After a strikeout, Cameron Massengill came to the plate with two outs and responded by hitting a two-run double to left-center field to give the Rams a 6-5 lead.

Brown recorded two more outs in the eighth in between a walk. A wild pitch sent the tying run to second and the sixth ASU pitcher would come in. Jason Zgardowski, who is usually used in a starter's role, came in and got James Black to fly out to end the inning. Black had earlier proved a three-run home run for the Javelinas to make it 5-0.

The ninth inning saw two quick outs from the Rams. After a season of close games, getting an insurance run seemed to be a good idea. With two outs, freshman Nehwon Norkeh provided that run with a home run to left field – his fourth home run of the season and a run which gave the Rams a 7-5 advantage.

With Zgardowski back on the mound – with two saves on his resume this season – ASU looked to close out the game with an easy inning. That didn't happen, but the end result created an even better story. After hitting the leadoff hitter, Zgardowski would record the first out on a flyout. A Cline Andrew's pinch hit single set up a first-and-third situation. Walls then hit a one-out double to left-center field to score Julian Duran who had been hit by a pitch and set up the Javelinas with two runners in scoring position. A foul out by Matt Perez was the second out as ASU first baseman Derek Tyner ranged over to the dugout and secured a foul out which may have drifted out of play if not for a strong wind. An intentional walk to Taylor Taska loaded the bases and provided more drama than ASU would have liked, but Zgardowski would strikeout Travis Laird on a called third strike to win the game.

"It was crazy at the end and I made it interesting," said Zgardowski, who recorded his third save of the season. "I really was just out there trying to shut the door without that excitement. When coach (John) Anderson came out to talk to me he told me we were going to win this game. We weren't going to just quit."

Coughenour led the Rams at the plate in the game, going 3-for-4, while Goggin went 2-for-4 and scored two runs. ASU finished the game with 11 hits with Summers, Massengill, Tyner, David and Norkeh each having one hit each. Massengill extended his hitting streak to 11 games with his two-run double.

On the mound, Bass went six innings in his start. He struck out three and held TAMUK scoreless for four innings after a first-inning run. Brown (6-3) received the win after recording three outs with one strikeout and two fly outs.

Cody Williams (5-6) took the loss after allowing three runs on five hits, while starter Dallas Ponder did not receive a decision after striking out three and limiting the Rams to six hits in 6 1/3 innings. Walls le the Javelinas with two hits and two walks, while Black went 2-for-3 with his three-run home run in the sixth inning highlighting the Javelinas' day. 

TAMUK was eliminated from the tournament after falling 4-3 to West Texas A&M in an elimination game following its loss to ASU. The Buffs will face the loser of Tarleton State and ASU at 7 p.m. in an elimination game with the winner advancing to play in the finals on Saturday.