Tag Archives: Texas State

O’Connor grad Ramirez sparks home-run surge at Texas State

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Texas State catcher August Ramirez went four for 11 at the plate with two home runs in three games last weekend against the Northwestern Wildcats of the Big Ten. — Courtesy photo, Texas State athletics

By Jerry Briggs
For The JB Replay

With the first weekend of college baseball season in the record books, we’ll take some time today to examine the quality and depth of San Antonio-area talent in NCAA Division I.

Texas State catcher August Ramirez played in high school for the O’Connor Panthers.

Last year, we had players such as Jace Jung at Texas Tech, Dalton Shuffield at Texas State and Jalen Battles at Arkansas, and all made headlines for strong programs.

This year, those players have moved on in their careers. But, as usual, we discovered through a little research over the past few weeks dozens more from the local area on current Division I rosters.

Like Jung, Shuffield and Battles, a handful of them could make a significant impact on teams that will challenge for NCAA tournament berths in June.

A handful of the headliners this year include Texas A&M pitcher Nathan Dettmer from Johnson High School, TCU outfielder Luke Boyers (Boerne Champion) and Alabama catcher Dominic Tamez (also from Johnson).

Dettmer, who pitched in the College World Series last year, is rated by mlb.com as the No. 48 prospect for the 2023 MLB draft.

But after the opening weekend of play, we should probably also start talking about Texas State University catcher August Ramirez, a junior from O’Connor.

Ramirez stroked four hits, including two home runs, as the explosive Bobcats swept three games last weekend in a season-opening home series against the Big Ten’s Northwestern Wildcats.

The Bobcats, who notably recorded a 47-14 record and reached the finals of a Stanford-hosted NCAA regional last year, appear to be loaded once again.

Coach Steve Trout’s team hit .437 and exploded for 56 runs, all while bashing 13 home runs, on its opening weekend of the 2023 season. Ramirez hit safely in all three games against the visitors from Chicago, going 4 for 11.

In addition, he smashed a home run Saturday in a 20-5 victory. Ramirez, who bats from the left side, added another homer Sunday as the Texas State offense continued to sizzle, 24-9.

Last year, Ramirez played behind Peyton Lewis, who started at catcher in all four of the team’s NCAA games at Stanford. But when Ramirez played, he produced, batting .312 in 27 games. Eleven of his hits went for extra bases, and he had 16 RBIs.

This year, he’s started Texas State’s first three games at catcher, and he continues to swing a hot bat.

S.A. area connections

Here is our list of athletes from the San Antonio area playing in NCAA Division I baseball programs.

Texas State

August Ramirez, redshirt junior catcher from O’Connor HS and Cisco College
Rashawn Galloway, freshman catcher from Boerne HS
Colten Drake, junior left-handed pitcher from Kerrville Tivy and Blinn College

UTSA

Josh Killeen, senior catcher from Reagan HS, Wichita State
Ryan Beaird, sophomore pitcher from Reagan
Ruger Riojas, freshman pitcher from Wimberley
Ryan Ward, junior pitcher from Clemens
Garrett Brooks, redshirt freshman outfielder from Smithson Valley
Preston Freeman, freshman infielder from Floresville
Aiden Baumann, freshman outfielder from New Braunfels HS

Baylor

Austin Stracener, sophomore infielder from New Braunfels Canyon HS
Andrew Petrowski, junior pitcher from Clark

Texas

Porter Brown, junior outfielder from Reagan HS
DJ Burke, junior right-handed pitcher from Clark, Garden City and San Jacinto JC
Jalin Flores, freshman infielder from Brandeis
Travis Sthele, redshirt sophomore right-handed pitcher from Reagan
Sam Walbridge, sophomore left-handed pitcher from Saint Mary’s Hall

Texas Tech

Zac Vooletich, senior infielder/outfielder from Brandeis
Brandon Beckel, junior pitcher from Antonian

Texas A&M

Kasen Wells, freshman outfielder from Smithson Valley HS
Jordan Thompson, senior outfielder from Boerne Champion and Incarnate Word
Nathan Dettmer, junior right-handed pitcher from Johnson

TCU

Anthony Silva, freshman infielder from Clark HS
Luke Boyers, junior outfielder from Boerne Champion
Cohen Feser, sophomore right-handed pitcher from Reagan

Oklahoma

Will Carsten, junior pitcher from Reagan HS and McLennan CC

Arkansas

Hunter Grimes, junior infielder/outfielder from Kerrville Tivy HS, UTSA and McLennan CC

Alabama

Dominic Tamez, junior catcher from Johnson HS, Arkansas and McLennan CC

Tarleton State

Jake Burcham, sophomore pitcher-infielder from Reagan HS
Zane Badmaev, junior pitcher from Boerne HS

Wichita State

Kyte McDonald, junior outfielder from Antonian, Mississippi State, Alvin CC

Incarnate Word

Isaiah Zavala, senior pitcher from Southwest HS
EJ Garcia, freshman pitcher from New Braunfels Canyon
Joe Jimenez, grad student infielder from Johnson and Texas Lutheran University
Jacob Caraway, freshman outfielder from Boerne Champion
Matthew Flores-King, freshman outfielder from Johnson

Houston Christian

Jarek Wells, junior pitcher/outfielder from Smithson Valley HS and Midland College
Dylan LaRue, freshman catcher from Blanco
Tyler LaRue, senior catcher from Blanco, also Rice University and Grayson College
Lance Berkman, head coach, from New Braunfels Canyon

Texas A&M-Corpus Christi

Chance Reisdorph, sophomore catcher from New Braunfels Canyon HS
Cole Modgling, senior outfielder from Medina Valley, Northeast Texas CC
Jaime Ramirez, redshirt junior pitcher from Holy Cross HS
Evans Hendricks, junior pitcher from Navarro HS, and Temple Junior College
Zach Garcia, sophomore pitcher from New Braunfels HS
RJ Carver, junior first baseman from Smithson Valley and Western Texas College
Sean Moore, freshman pitcher from Fair Oaks Ranch and Cornerstone
Scott Malone, head coach, former assistant coach at UTSA

UT-Rio Grande Valley

Ulises Tovar, junior pitcher from Hays HS and North Central Texas College

Sam Houston State

Clayton Chadwick, junior outfielder from La Vernia HS
Alex Magers, junior pitcher from D’Hanis and Texas A&M

Stephen F. Austin

Cal Martin, junior infielder from Reagan HS

Editor’s note: This list remains a work in progress. We’ll add to it when when more information emerges. Thanks, Jerry

‘Batman’ powers Stanford past Texas State in NCAA baseball

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Who was that masked man?

Why, it was Stanford University slugger Carter Graham, who celebrated each of his two home runs Sunday night by rounding the bases and then briefly donning a ‘Batman’ mask as he high-fived his way through teammates en route to the team dugout.

The reason for the invocation of the ‘Dark Knight’ into an NCAA tournament game against the Texas State Bobcats wasn’t entirely clear.

But as the game moved along, it became evident that the top-seeded Cardinal were not about to allow the Bobcats to play ‘The Joker’ and eliminate them from the playoffs. Not in an NCAA regional on their home field in Palo Alto, Calif.

Beaten by the second-seeded Bobcats on Saturday night, the Cardinal responded on Sunday by winning twice, once against UC Santa Barbara in the afternoon and then again against the Bobcats on Sunday night, both of them by scores of 8-4.

As a result, they ruined Texas State’s dream of a victory that would have clinched the school’s first title in a four-team NCAA baseball regional. Now, the same two teams will meet again Monday at Klein Field at Sunken Diamond in a winner-take-all for the championship.

The Bobcats raced off to a fast start, with Jose Gonzalez stroking a solo homer in the first inning for an early lead. It was Gonzalez’s third home run in the regional after hitting two in a 5-2 victory over the Cardinal on Saturday.

But Graham, not to be outdone, responded with a soaring two-run blast of his own in the bottom of the first for a 2-1 advantage. He added a three-run shot in the fourth inning, boosting the Cardinal into a 5-2 lead.

After the Bobcats scored single runs in the fifth and sixth to pull within one run, Drew Bowser hit a two-run homer in a three-run seventh, an uprising that seemed to take the starch out of the visitors from San Marcos, Texas.

Stanford’s offense was just too relentless to contain.

Not only did the Cardinal hit the ball over the fence three times, but they also sprayed line-drive singles to the outfield. They even scored on a squeeze bunt single by Adam Crampton that brought a runner in from third.

In all, the Cardinal produced 13 hits to only four for the Bobcats. Stanford pitchers Ty Uber (4-1), Brandt Pancer and Ryan Bruno combined for eight walks and seven strikeouts. Texas State starter Tony Robie (4-1) took the loss.

Robie pitched 4 and 1/3 innings and gave up five runs on eight hits. Offensively, the Bobcats were sparked by home runs from both Gonzalez and from San Antonio’s Dalton Shuffield, a senior from Johnson High School.

Records

Texas State 47-13
Stanford 44-15

Coming up

Monday — Stanford regional title game between Texas State and Stanford, 9 p.m.

Quotable

Texas State coach Steve Trout said: “You have to give credit to Stanford. They made some really big swings in big moments and did a good job with their arms as well. As I told the team, we are over it. This is the beauty of being in the winner’s bracket. You get to come back tomorrow and play one game to move onto the Super Regional.”

Jung, Vooletich power Texas Tech as San Antonio area talent shines

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San Antonio-area baseball players crushed it on Sunday afternoon. Starring in four different games, in four cities, ball players who grew up in the area led their teams to victories. Here’s the way it happened:

Texas Tech 7, Kansas State 6
At Lubbock

Jace Jung, a Texas Tech sophomore from MacArthur — Hit a two-run homer in the ninth inning to win the game.

Zac Vooletich, a Texas Tech junior from Brandeis — Started the fourth-ranked Red Raiders’ ninth-inning rally with a solo homer.

Texas 7, TCU 3
At Austin

Travis Sthele, a Texas redshirt freshman from Reagan — Came out of the bullpen and pitched one and 1/3 scoreless innings to pick up his third win of the season.

Douglas Hodo III, a Texas redshirt sophomore from Boerne — Stroked an RBI double off the wall in the seventh inning for the seventh-ranked Longhorns.

UTSA 13, Old Dominion 4
At Norfolk, Va.

Ian Bailey, a UTSA senior from Stevens — Enjoyed a four-for-five day with a triple, a double and two singles. He also scored four runs and drove in three.

Texas State 10, Georgia Southern 9
At San Marcos

Dalton Shuffield, a Texas State senior from Johnson — Belted a solo homer to lead off the bottom of the first. Went two for three on the day with three RBIs for the 10th-ranked Bobcats.

x-Rankings, according to D1 Baseball.

UTSA vs. Texas state photo gallery

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UTSA's Atem Bior goes in for a shot. Texas State beat UTSA 69-68 on Saturday, Dec. 1, 2018 at the UTSA Convocation Center. - photo by Joe Alexander

UTSA’s Atem Bior goes in for a shot against Texas State.

Texas State beat UTSA 69-68 on Saturday, Dec. 1, 2018 at the UTSA Convocation Center.

Texas State extends winning streak to six games

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Nijal Pearson scored 17 points and Tre Nottingham had 16 Thursday night as the Texas State Bobcats held off the Louisiana-Monroe Warhawks, 55-52, for their sixth straight victory.

Texas State (13-7, 6-1 Sun Belt Conference) had a 14-point lead in the second half, struggled through a scoring drought and then held on at the end to secure the win.

The Bobcats host the Louisiana Ragin’ Cajuns (16-3, 6-0) on Saturday at 4:30 p.m. for the conference lead.

The Cajuns rallied for a 77-65 win in Arlington against the UT Arlington Mavericks. It was the sixth straight win for Louisiana, winners of 13 out of 14 overall.