SAN ANGELO, TX. — It was an afternoon to look back but also to look forward as the fifth-ranked Angelo State baseball team kicked off their 2023 season.

Prior to opening pitch, the Rams would receive their 2022 championship rings for their accomplishments last season, making another return trip to the Division II College World Series in Cary, North Carolina.

After the opening pitch, it would be dominance from start to finish for the Rams, as they started the 2023 season with an 11-1 run-rule victory over Eastern New Mexico, only playing seven innings.

ASU’s catcher Tripp Clark would start the game off with a big, bases-clearing double that would put the Rams on the board first.

The Rams would add to their lead in the fourth thanks to a Jackson Hardy RBI single scoring Justin Harris and a Jordan Williams RBI groundout scoring Hardy.

In the home half of the fifth, ASU would show off their power at the plate as Thomas Cain, Harris, and Williams would hit home runs over the left field wall extending their lead to 10-1.

Hardy, Harris, and Williams would go for a combined 8-for-12 with seven RBIs Friday afternoon. Rams starter Aaron Munson would throw six innings of four-hit ball, allowing just one earned run while striking out seven. Jude Cook would come in for the seventh, striking out two and allowing just one hit.

The Rams and Greyhounds continue their four-game series Saturday afternoon at Foster Field and First Community Credit Union Stadium with a doubleheader beginning at 1 p.m.