SAN ANGELO, Texas (February 17, 2017) – Angelo State had five players reach base without swinging the bat in the bottom of the ninth inning and Lubbock Christian University's Brent Bezio walked four batters including the final two with the bases loaded, allowing No.8 ASU to overcome a 6-3 deficit and claim a 7-6 walk-off victory over the No.6 Chaparrals Friday evening at Foster Field. The outcome overshadowed a two-home run performance by Caleb Koedyker, who finished the game with five runs-batted-in.
 
LCU led 6-4 heading into the bottom of the ninth inning and Bezio, last season's team co-leader in saves, came out of the bullpen seeking his first save of the season. Bezio walked the first batter he faced and hit the next batter to place the first two batters aboard. The only out the Chaps recorded in the inning was off a sacrifice bunt. First base was unoccupied for Matt Waller, who entered the at-bat 3-for-3 and as the winning run at the plate, but the Chaps chose to pitch to him. Waller took advanatage of the at-bat with an RBI single to cut the deficit to 6-5. He eventually stole second to eliminate the double-play situation, forcing the Chaps to counter by issuing an intentional walk to load the bases. Michael Uruidi and Mitch Henshaw each drew walks on the ensuing at-bats to end the game with the Rams win.
 
It was the first time the Rams had the lead in the game. LCU opened the scoring in the first inning with a three-run home run by Caleb Koedyker. LCU let their 3-0 lead slip away in the bottom of the second inning, as a four-hit inning, including a Tyler Coolbaugh triple, allowed the Rams to score a trio of runs to tie the game 3-3. The runs were the first earned runs allowed this season by Ricky Contreras, who was making his third start of the season.
 
The Chaps regained the lead in the top of the fifth inning with a two-run homer by Koedyker for his second homer of the game. It was mark the end of the night for Lone Star Conference Preseason Pitcher of the Year Matt Shannon, who went 4.2 innings and allowed six runs (four earned) off eight hits. Brandon Urquizo closed the scoring of the three-run inning with a base hit to put LCU up 6-3.
 
The Rams answered right back in the home half of the fifth inning with a Steven Pinales single to score a run. The Rams had the bases loaded with one out, but were able to get out of the jam. Reagan Lucia came out of the pen with the bases loaded and recorded a strikeout and groundout to keep LCU up 6-4. Lucia had replaced Contreras, who allowed four runs off nine hits in 4.1 innings.
 
Each team had 12 hits, with Koedyker leading LCU (3-for-5 with five RBI) and Waller (4-for-4) leading ASU. Koedyker's two home runs marked the first multi-home run game by a Chap since Ethan Kohnle hit a pair of home runs against West Texas A&M on Apr. 7, 2015.
 
Bezio fell to 0-1 on the season, allowing three runs in 0.1 innings pitched. He faced seven batters. Jake Mathys earned the win with valuable relief for the Rams, as he went 4.1 shutout innings and held LCU to four hits. He improved to 1-0.
 
The loss places LCU with a 7-2 mark on the season. The game was their first true road game of the season. ASU extended their win streak to six games and they are 6-1 on the season. The Rams have won six straight home games against LCU all-time.
 
INSIDE THE NUMBERS
4 | LCU relief pitcher Nick Hooper faced nine batters in relief and struck out four of the nine he faced.
4-of-9 | Both teams were 4-of-9 getting the lead-off batter aboard.
8 | Of the 10 outs Mathys recorded in his relief outing, eight were by ground outs.
8 | LCU's Jaime Bustamante went 0-for-5 and had his eight-game hit streak come to an end.
12 | Consecutive pitching appearances by Bezio in his LCU career without allowing more than two walks in an appearance until Friday.
13 | ASU won despite 13 runners stranded.
61 | LCU had won their prior 61 games when leading after eight innings of play. The last time LCU blew a lead in the ninth inning was on Feb. 16, 2013 at Foster Field, as Angelo State had a walk-off three-run home run for an 8-7 win.