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Angelo State Rams
Lone Star Conference |
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Four years ago Angelo State Athletic Director
Jerry Vandergriff made that announcement that ASU would be
adding baseball to its athletics’ program. The San Angelo
Colts, a member of the independent professional United League,
made their recently built home park of Foster Field available
to the Rams at minimal cost. Furthermore, Angelo State’s
close proximity to Lone Star Conference schools and other
collegiate teams curtailed travel costs. A baseball program
had been a recurring request of ASU students, thus a program
was born.
 Kevin
Brooks, the director of operations for the San Angelo Youth
Baseball Association, was tabbed as the Rams first head coach.
Brooks has previously been an assistant coach for a handful
of Texas teams including both Texas A&M and Texas-San
Antonio. Additionally Brooks had founded the Ranger Baseball
Club, a competitive high school program in which he actively
recruited players, ran practices and managed games. With a
program in place and a man to guide it was time to get players
on the field.
Considering the program was being started
from scratch, even the most optimistic in San Angelo couldn’t
have foreseen the rapid rise of Ram baseball. The Rams dropped
their inaugural game to Incarnate Word and then a pair to
DI Texas State; however they quickly reeled off five straight
wins and haven’t looked back since. Angelo State finished
their first season at 30-25 (and second in the LSC South),
an impressive debut at any level. The wins kept coming the
Ram’s sophomore season as ASU ended at 41-16 and won
the Lone Star Conference South Division title; yet the Rams
were far from being satisfied. Angelo State failed to receive
a regional berth for postseason play and had their season
ended prematurely. Feeling a bit slighted after being overlooked,
the Rams set their goals on winning the title outright in
2007 and earning the automatic bid that comes with the title
and capture the crown they did. Brooks’ Rams finished
the year with a 51-20 record and a number six ranking in the
final NCAA DII national poll. In just their third year of
existence, the ASU Rams went an incredible 11-4 in postseason
play (which included a 7-1 mark in elimination games) and
advanced to the NCAA DII World Series. No team at any collegiate
level has ever been able to reach the series in quicker fashion.
For his part in guiding the team Brooks was named the ABCA/Diamond
NCAA DII South Central Region Coach of the Year by the American
Baseball Coaches Association.
 As
the 2008 season approaches, the resolute Rams will once again
be looking to build upon past seasons’ success. With
a returning roster full of seasoned accomplished players,
simply repeating last year’s accomplishments won’t
be enough; the Rams have their sights set on winning the DII
championship. Returning for ASU is junior Clay Calfee, an
All-American last year, who hit .397 and started all 71 Ram
games. Included in his 96 hits were 18 doubles, three triples
and nine homeruns. He also led had 70 RBI, stole 18 bases
and started 10 games as a pitcher (5-4 in 13 appearances)
striking out 51 batters in 57.1 innings. Also retuning offensively
is All-American second baseman Steven Allred who hit .408
with a .623 slugging percentage and 27 stolen bases, and senior
third baseman Jimmy Cox who also paced ASU with a .408 batting
average.
Back on the mound will be LSC First Team
left-handed hurler Michael Gunter who brilliantly pitched
a conference single season record 121.1 innings. Gunter went
10-5 with a 3.34 ERA and struck out 89 batters while issuing
only 10 walks. Back in the bullpen will be big 6’4”,
240 pound Joe Key (6-6, 4.37) who settled into the closer
role towards the middle of last season. Key tied for the team
lead with four saves after starting seven games. Also returning
to the Angelo State campus are Bradley Durst and Brett Nightingale.
The tandem combined for a 9-1 record (5-1 and 4-0 respectively),
16 starts and six complete games. Durst also batted .343 in
limited action in the outfield (12 hits in 35 at bats).
PREVIOUS DII SPOTLIGHTS
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