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Angelo State stops Lubbock Christian University baseball in super regional

don williams, lubbock avalanche-journal
·4 min read

The Angelo State baseball team made it into the Division II NCAA Tournament as a No. 6 seed in a six-team regional. In the postseason, though, the Rams are playing to their pedigree.

They won the Division II national championship last year, and they're going back to the D-II College World Series for the fourth year in a row.

Jacob Guerrero launched a grand slam in the second inning, and Christian Garnette hit a three-run homer in the third, sending 17th-ranked Angelo State on its way to a 17-4 conquest of No. 4 Lubbock Christian University baseball in Saturday's deciding third game of the best-of-three South Central super regional at Hays Field.

"We were pretty ticked off when we were sixth (seed)," Rams coach Kevin Brooks said. "I thought that was ridiculous. I think it was great. Thank you for doing that. I'm sure we'll have the toughest road again when we get to Cary (North Carolina), but that's OK."

Angelo State baseball players celebrate a home run by Conagher Sands (12) in Friday's first game of a Division II NCAA Tournament super-regional series at Hays Field. Angelo State beat Lubbock Christian University in three games, winning 7-6, losing 25-12 and winning 17-4.
Angelo State baseball players celebrate a home run by Conagher Sands (12) in Friday's first game of a Division II NCAA Tournament super-regional series at Hays Field. Angelo State beat Lubbock Christian University in three games, winning 7-6, losing 25-12 and winning 17-4.

Rams starting pitcher Alezeah Gutierrez (9-4) took a shutout into the eighth. The junior lefthander from El Paso Montwood yielded a run on four hits in 7 2/3 innings, striking out six.

"He did an outstanding job," LCU coach Nathan Blackwood said. "To shut us out at Hays Field with the wind blowing out like that, credit him."

The D-II College World Series plays out June 1-8 at the USA Baseball national training complex in Cary, North Carolina. That's where the Rams (41-19) wrapped up a 56-9 season last year.

Game 1 recap: LCU baseball drops super regional opener to Angelo State

Regional tournament recap: LCU baseball takes Division II regional with six homers in win over UTPB

LCU (45-16) last made a national-tournament final site in 2011 when the Chaps reached the NAIA World Series for the third year in a row.

"We all very clearly wanted to go real bad," said LCU shortstop Carson Ogilvie, the South Central Region player of the year. "We've got a really tight group, so it's tough to realize it's done. We all really wanted it and obviously put our best foot out there, but they played better."

The Rams ended the Chaparrals' year for the third time in the past five full seasons, eliminating LCU at regional in 2019 and the Lone Star Conference tournament in 2021. Even with the conference regular-season and tournament titles, home field and a 13-game win streak going into the weekend, the Chaps couldn't break the hex.

"Obviously, we're disappointed," Blackwood said. "We wanted to go to Cary. I wanted this group to go to Cary, but what this group did — furthest we've been at the D-II level, paving the way — we're going to look back on this group and always remember how special this crew was."

Angelo State won Friday's series opener 7-6 and shook off a 25-12 loss earlier Saturday in the second game. It was the second-most runs the Rams have ever allowed in a game.

On an afternoon that had 26-mph wind gusting to 39 and blowing straight out, the Chaps pounded 26 hits, 17 for extra bases. Ryan Ball went 5-for-6 with two home runs and six runs batted in, and Brevin McCool went 5-for-7 with a school-record four doubles.

Jarred Gibson, Nate Van Maanen and Shea Bowen homered, and Carson Ogilvie and Van Maanen finished 4-for-6.

LCU catcher Jarred Gibson (25) homered in Saturday's second and third games of the Chaps' NCAA super-regional series against Angelo State. LCU won game two 25-12, but Angelo State won game three 17-4 to take the series and a berth in the Division II College World Series.
LCU catcher Jarred Gibson (25) homered in Saturday's second and third games of the Chaps' NCAA super-regional series against Angelo State. LCU won game two 25-12, but Angelo State won game three 17-4 to take the series and a berth in the Division II College World Series.

None of that foreshadowed game three. After Angelo State turned a bases-loaded/no-outs opportunity in the second into bases-loaded/two-outs, Guerrero took Chaps starter Andrew Duran (6-1) over the wall in left-center. An inning later against Coleson Abel, Garnette crushed a one-out blast to left for a 7-0 lead.

The Rams led 12-0 before the Chaps rallied for four in the eighth, capped by Gibson's two-run homer.

In a March 23 regular-season game in San Angelo, LCU won 10-5 and tagged Gutierrez for 10 runs on 11 hits.

"I was impressed with him today," Blackwood said. "I thought we hit him pretty good last time we faced him. I really felt we win game one (Saturday) and go up against him, I really thought we were going to win, so credit him. He did a really good job of kind of feeding off our aggressiveness and keeping the ball down. ... You could tell as soon as he got out of the game, we were back to normal."

This article originally appeared on Lubbock Avalanche-Journal: Angelo State tops Lubbock Christian University baseball in super regional