Angelo State was selected to repeat as Lone Star Conference baseball champions according to the preseason poll announced by league officials on Wednesday.
ASU received 13 of the 19 first-place votes on the ballots cast by LSC coaches, sports information directors and various media representatives for 121 total points. The Rams made a second straight and third overall NCAA Division II Baseball Championship appearance last season with a 39-22 overall and 25-10 conference record.
Texas A&M-Kingsville finished second with two first-place nods and 109 points just in front of West Texas A&M. WT collected three top votes for 106 points to rank third.
Tarleton State (75 and the remaining first-place vote), Cameron (61), and Eastern New Mexico (30) and UT Permian Basin (30) rounded out the poll.
CU’s Cody Bower was tabbed LSC Preseason Player of the Year, while ASU’s Matt Shannon claimed LSC Preseason Pitcher of the Year honors.
Bower, a senior outfielder from Albuquerque, N.M., led the Aggies with 63 hits and 44 RBI last season to earn first-team All-LSC acclaim. He hit .330 with 14 doubles and seven homeruns and scored 37 runs
Shannon, a junior from Pleasanton, Texas, had a 2.71 ERA in a league-high 113 innings to earn first-team All-LSC honors. The right-hander was 7-5 with 118 strikeouts and held opponents to a .243 batting average.
The 2017 season starts February 3 with the seven LSC teams playing a 10-week schedule. A four-game series against every other team during weeks 8-14 will determine the LSC Champion. Conference series scheduled weeks 5-7 will not count toward the league standings. Each four-game series shall consist of a 9-inning game Friday, a 7x7 doubleheader Saturday and 9-inning contest Sunday.
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 double-elimination championship featuring the top four teams will be played May 11-12-13, at the No. 1 seed.
Here is a closer look at the voting breakdown for the conference:
| Rank |
LSC Baseball |
1st |
TOTAL |
| 1 |
Angelo State |
13 |
121 |
| 2 |
Texas A&M-Kingsville |
2 |
109 |
| 3 |
West Texas A&M |
3 |
106 |
| 4 |
Tarleton State |
1 |
75 |
| 5 |
Cameron |
|
61 |
| T6 |
Eastern New Mexico |
|
30 |
| T6 |
UT Permian Basin |
|
30 |