West Texas A&M was selected to repeat as Lone Star Conference baseball champions according to the preseason poll announced by league officials on Tuesday.
In a close vote, WT edged Texas A&M-Kingsville for the top spot after the Buffs and Javelinas were co-champions last season with identical 23-12 records.
WT received nine of the 18 first-place votes on the ballots cast by LSC coaches, sports information directors and various media representatives for 94 total points. The Buffs were 36-20 overall last year and made a second consecutive trip to the NCAA Division II South Central Regional.
TAMUK totaled 90 points with four first-place nods to finish right behind WT in the voting. Angelo State ranked third with 80 points and four first-place votes after advancing to the 2015 NCAA Division II Baseball Championship for the second time in program history.
Tarleton State (52), Cameron (31 and the remaining top vote), and Eastern New Mexico (31) rounded out the poll.
ASU’s Paxton DeLaGarza was tabbed LSC Preseason Player of the Year, while ASU’s Bryce Zak and WT’s Brooks Trujillo shared LSC Preseason Pitcher of the Year honors.
DeLaGarza, a senior infielder/pitcher from Lubbock, Texas, posted a LSC-leading .388 batting average with 88 total hits and 53 RBI last season. He started all 60 games for the Rams and finished the season with 16 doubles, two triples, nine home runs and only 11 errors in the field. DeLaGarza, the first ASU player in program history to be named ABCA first-team all-American, claimed Daktronics All-American first team, LSC Player of the Year, ABCA/Rawlings South Central Positional Player of the Year, Daktronics All-South Central and NCBWA All-South Central honors.
Zak, a senior pitcher from San Angelo, Texas, earned five wins in 70.2 innings. He closed out the season with a 2.67 ERA to earn second team All-LSC acclaim. Zak ranked second in the league in runs allowed (27) and earned runs allowed (21).
Trujillo, a senior pitcher from Parker, Colo., went 2-3 with a 3.65 ERA in 15 starts. In 79 innings, he held opponents to a .242 batting average, which ranked fifth in the LSC. Trujillo received second team All-LSC honors.
The 2015 season starts January 29 with LSC teams playing a 10-week schedule with a four-game series and three-game series against every other team. Each four-game series shall consist of a 9-inning game Friday, a 7x7 doubleheader Saturday and 9-inning contest Sunday, and each three-game series shall consist of a 9-inning game Friday and a 7x9 doubleheader Saturday.
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 NCAA postseason. The championship will be played May 12-13-14, at the No. 1 seed.
Here’s a closer look at the voting breakdown for the conference:
| Rank |
LSC Baseball |
1st |
TOTAL |
| 1 |
West Texas A&M |
9 |
94 |
| 2 |
Texas A&M-Kingsville |
4 |
90 |
| 3 |
Angelo State |
4 |
80 |
| 4 |
Tarleton State |
|
52 |
| T5 |
Cameron |
1 |
31 |
| T5 |
Eastern New Mexico |
|
31 |