LSC BASEBALL
The top six Lone Star Conference baseball teams will meet in Canyon, Texas, May 3-6, for the annual LSC Baseball Championship.
The tournament features six teams and is taking place as part of the LSC Spring Championships Festival. The double-elimination event begins on Friday and concludes on Monday. All games will take place at Wilder Park on the campus of West Texas A&M University.
LSC Champion Tarleton State is the top seed and earned its first league title. Texas A&M-Kingsville is the No. 2 seed, while Angelo State is third, followed by West Texas A&M, Abilene Christian, and Incarnate Word.
An all-festival pass, which includes admission to the softball and track & field championships, will be $25 for adults and $10 for youth. Single day passes are $15 for adults and $6 for youth. All seats are considered general admission and are on a first-come, first-serve basis.
For fans that can’t make it out to the games, all of the tournament action will be broadcast online via a free live webcast. The webcast will include both video and audio with viewers needing only a computer with a high-speed DSL or cable modem connection to the internet. The webcasts will be carried on www.foxsportssouthwest.com.
The overall LSC Champion will be the team(s) with the best winning percentage in regular-season conference games, while the winner of the postseason championship will be recognized as LSC Tournament Champion and receive the league’s automatic qualification into the NCAA postseason.
LSC baseball teams are 216-171-1 overall this season. In the NCAA South Central Region, the teams are currently 14-12 combined versus Heartland Conference teams and 29-9 opposed to the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference.
DIAMOND PLAYERS OF THE WEEK
HITTERS
Noah Ringenberger, Tarleton State University, SR, OF, Flower Mound, Texas, Flower Mound HS
Ringenberger was masterful at getting on base this weekend and then staying on base and coming around to score when he could. The senior outfielder had five hits in eight official at bats to bat .625 on the weekend against Cameron. He also had six walks and was hit by a pitch to push his on-base-percentage to .800 over the final four games of the season. When on base, Ringenberger stole six bases in six attempts and scored a team-high six runs in a weekend where the Texans claimed its first-ever LSC Championship.
Taylor Taska, Texas A&M University - Kingsville, JR, 1B/DH/P, Kingwood, Texas, Kingwood HS
Taska continued to prove how valuable he is to the Javelinas versus Incarnate Word. At the plate, the junior hit .467 for the week, led the Javelinas with seven RBI, and hit a solo home run in the eighth inning to win the regular-season finale to clinch the second seed in the LSC Championship by a game. The home run was his seventh of the year to claim the home run crown in the LSC. Taska also tossed eight innings for a complete game in the first game of Saturday’s doubleheader as Kingsville won 12-1 via run rule. He scattered five hits, struck out four and walked one with an efficient 91 pitches on the day.
PITCHERS
Dylan James, West Texas A&M University, JR, P, Las Cruces, N.M., Mayfield HS
Had another outstanding outing as the Buffs run-ruled Eastern New Mexico 10-0 in the opener Friday. James went all seven innings, scattering five hits with four walks and 11 strikeouts in the complete game, shutout win. He set the school single-season record with 83 strikeouts breaking the previous record of 80 set in 1998. He allowed just one extra-base hit in the game and held the Greyhounds to a .192 average. It was his fifth complete game and first full shutout as he improved to 4-2 on the year and dropped his ERA to 2.09 in 10 starts. James is third in the league in ERA and second in strikeouts.
Matt Rhodes, Texas A&M University - Kingsville, JR, LHP, Pearland, Texas, Pearland HS
Rhodes tossed his second complete game as a Javelina going eight innings in Saturday’s series finale at Incarnate Word. He held the Cardinals scoreless until the sixth inning when the hosts got one run in. Rhodes allowed just three hits and only one was for extra bases. Only three runners reached second in the contest as he struck out three and walked one improving to 6-3.