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The Angelo State baseball team won a conference tournament game over league rival St. Mary’s on Thursday. It did so without recording a hit.
The Rams showed grit to battle to a one-run victory. They were the beneficiaries of a dozen Rattler mistakes.
The box score explained how we landed at the final result. St. Mary’s allowed several baserunners despite throwing a combined no-hitter.
Angelo State accomplishes rare college baseball feat.
Only six times in MLB history have teams won a game without getting a hit across at least nine innings of play. The most recent instance came in 2022 when the Pirates beat the Reds.
It’s a bit more common in college baseball given the dip in talent, but far from typical. The rare feat was accomplished in Texas this week.
St. Mary’s and Angelo State are conference rivals separated by a three-hour drivetime and 200 miles. It makes for a quick bus ride from school to school.
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The rivals finished No. 2 and 3 in the Lone Star Conference standings during the regular season. Angelo State swept the regular season with four wins over the Rattlers in February.
They’d secure a fifth in bizarre fashion in the postseason.
St. Mary’s threw a no-hitter.
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Four pitchers combined to keep the Rams out of the hit column. They were unable, however, to keep them off the scoreboard.
Angelo State scored two runs in its first at-bat. It walked the game off with a sac fly in the bottom of the ninth to advance to the quarterfinals. St. Mary’s suffered an awful loss.
The Rattlers walked six batters and hit another. They compounded those issues with five errors and three surrendered stolen bases.
Four of the errors came in the first inning, as did two bases on balls, allowing the Rams to grab a quick 2-0 lead. The Rattlers would play sound ball over the next seven frames, recording 21 outs across 22 batters.
The mishaps resurfaced in the final inning.
After tying the game at 2-2, the Rattlers recorded their fifth error in the bottom of the ninth. They then proceeded to load the bases with free passes to set up the game-winning sacrifice.
Angelo State head coach Kevin Brooks spoke on the victory after the fact. He was impressed with the team’s determination, though he hopes the offense can record a hit the next time out.
College baseball can produce some of the most bizarre box scores around. Look no further than the 2026 season.
Just last month, a game in Minnesota went 21 innings only to end on a walk-off balk. A few days earlier, a Pennsylvania baseball team scored 20 first-inning runs on just three hits.
Anything can happen each time out. It makes the sport great. Always expect the unexpected.
St. Mary’s landed on the wrong side of baseball history with its no-hit loss. Angelo State will advance in the conference tournament to face UT Tyler.