How a Texas college baseball team won a playoff game without a hit

Angelo State University pulled off a rare feat in the Lone Star Conference Championship tournament.

The No. 2-seeded Rams defeated No. 2 seed St. Mary's 3-2 in the quarterfinal at Irwin Field in Tyler, Texas, despite not collecting a single hit.

Yes, Angelo State pulled off a win without a single hit for the game. The Rattlers' pitching staff combined to not allow the Rams a single hit, but defensive errors ultimately did them in for the heartbreaking loss on Thursday, May 7.

"Last time we were on the road for the conference tournament, we didn't score one," Angelo State coach Kevin Brooks said in the postgame press conference. "So I hope this is not a precedent that we're not going to get a hit the whole time we're here."

The Rams earned five walks against the Rattlers' pitching staff, while St. Mary's also committed five fielding errors, costing them dearly. In the opening frame, ASU took a 1-0 lead when Blake Wilhoite scored on a throwing error from the catcher.

Gamaliel Jones came around to score later in the first inning on a throwing error from the pitcher on a pick-off attempt at first base to make it 2-0.

Garrett Brooks and Ethan Hughes hit solo home runs for St. Mary's to even the score 2-2 heading into the ninth inning.

In the bottom of the final frame, Jones reached on the fifth error from the Rattlers of the game, and then proceeded to steal second base. He advanced to third base on a groundball out by Chase Pendley and, following a pair of intentional walks, scored on a sacrifice fly from Payton Bush to secure the walk-off 3-2 win.

"Baseball is such a funny game. It's why a lot of people love it. I love it," Brooks said to Chron.com. "You can have a game like that, and who knows, tomorrow it may be 20 to 19. So we know we've got to do a lot of things better."

The Rams were scheduled to face the University of Texas-Tyler on Friday afternoon, with a spot in the Lone Star Conference title game at stake.