3 things to watch ahead of the Rams NCAA Division II World Series matchup

Angelo State won the South Central Super Regional beating Colorado Mesa University on Saturday to advance to their third-straight NCAA DII World Series.

The Rams (52-9) enter the tournament as the third seed and will face off against Southern New Hampshire, who is the sixth seed in the first round.

Here are three things to know before the matchup.

Angelo State versus Southern New Hampshire

The Rams and Penmen (42-11) played each other for the first time in the opening round of last year’s NCAA DII World Series. The Rams won 7-4 after facing an early three-run deficit in the second inning. Angelo State scored six unanswered runs and came out on top after nine innings.

Looking at this year’s matchup, Angelo State has the fourth-best team batting average in Division II at .346 and the Penmen sit at 15th with a .327 batting average. The Rams have the second best on-base-percentage at .461 with the Penmen 11th at .434.

Defensively, the Rams have the best fielding percentage in Division II at .983 while the Penmen sit at 15th with a .975 percentage. The Rams are also allowing 7.53 hits per game and the Penmen are close behind in fourth allowing 7.82.

Stars to Watch

The Rams landed five players on the American Baseball Coaches Association South Central All-Region teams and Kade Bragg was named the Region Pitcher of the Year.

Bragg leads all of Division II with a 1.03 earned-run average and leads the country in wins with a 14-1 overall record.

Joining Bragg on the First-Team All-Region list was pitcher Aaron Munson. Munson holds a 9-2 overall record, a 3.83 ERA and 100 strikeouts this season.

Another member making the First-Team All-Region squad was Jacob Guerrero, who leads the Rams with a .424 batting average with a team-high 23 doubles.

Earning Second-Team All-Region honors was designated hitter Tripp Clark with a .370 batting average and 62 RBI. Starting pitcher Braxton Pearson was also named Second-Team All-Region with a 2.89 ERA and a 7-2 record on the season.

Where and When

All the games will take place at the USA Baseball National Training Complex in Cary, North Carolina. The tournament starts on Saturday but the Rams play at 1:30 p.m. Sunday.

The tournament is a double-elimination bracket that will run from June 3-10 and the full schedule and bracket can be found here.