SAN ANGELO – With two weeks remaining in the regular season, the Angelo State baseball team is ranked No. 6 in the initial NCAA Division II South Central regional rankings which were released on Wednesday.

ASU (25-19) has advanced to the regional tournament four times since the program was reinstated in 2005, including the past two seasons. In baseball, three automatic bids are earned to the South Central regional tournament by the tournament winners of the Lone Star, Heartland and Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference and then only three at-large bids are distributed to the top three teams who did not claim a tournament title. The Rams won the 2007 NCAA DII South Central Championships to advance to DII College World Series and also made the six-team regional tournament in 2009 (at-large), 2012 and 2013 (at-large).

"We feel fortunate to be in the hunt after we suffered a bad two weeks that we can't go back and change," ASU head coach Kevin Brooks said. "The good news is that we control our own destiny and can make this happen if we go out and play to our ability. The next two weeks and the conference tournament are really important for us. Our goals are within reach, but we have to go out and win."

Colorado Mesa (31-8) tops the regional rankings and leads the Heartland Conference standings with eight games remaining in its regular season. The Mavericks finish their season with four games at Colorado Christian and then host Colorado School of Mines. The RMAC is also represented by No. 7 New Mexico Highlands (25-16) and No. 8 Colorado State-Pueblo (23-18).

West Texas A&M (31-12) is second in the first regional rankings and second in the LSC standings with two weeks remaining. The Buffs are coming off a 1-2 series loss to the Rams and will host Tarleton State this weekend before finishing off their regular season with a three-game road set at Cameron. Texas A&M-Kingsville (29-14) is third in the regional rankings and will host the Rams this weekend before traveling to Stephenville for a three-game set next weekend.

Positioned in the middle of the initial rankings is St. Edward's (31-11) and St. Mary's (30-14) from the Heartland Conference. The Hilltoppers are 25-8 in regional play this season and will host Rogers Stat and McMurry to complete their schedule, while St. Mary's hosts Oklahoma Christian and Texas A&M International.

Angelo State has six regular-season games remaining and is currently in third place in the LSC standings. The Rams travel to Kingsville this weekend to play a three-game set against the Javelinas before traveling to Portales, N.M. next weekend to finish off the regular season with three games against the Greyhounds. ASU is 1-3 this season against TAMUK and 3-1 against ENMU.

"Being in the spot we're in right now is a dicey situation because we're right there on the brink," Brooks said. "If we're not able to win our conference tournament, we will need some help along the way. I think the odds of upsets are less this season, but it would be nice if we're able to play well the next three weeks to make it more safe."

The Lone Star Conference tournament is scheduled for May 8-10 and will be played at the regular season champion's home field. The NCAA DII South Central Championships will be played from May 15-18 at the top ranked team in the region. The tournament was hosted last season in Kingsville in the first year since the RMAC, Heartland and LSC have been paired together.
 

NCAA Division II South Central Baseball Rankings (April 23, 2014)
Ranking	Team	Overall Record	Regional Record	Remaining Schedule
1.	Colorado Mesa	31-8	30-6	at Regis (4); vs. Colorado School of Mines (4)
2.	West Texas A&M	31-12	30-12	vs. Tarleton State (3); at Cameron (3)
3.	Texas A&M-Kingsville	29-14	24-13	vs. Angelo State (3); vs. Tarleton State (3)
4.	St. Edward's	31-11	25-8	vs. Rogers State (3); vs. McMurry (3)
5.	St. Mary's	30-14	21-12	vs. Oklahoma Christian (3); vs. Texas A&M International (3)
6.	Angelo State	25-19	25-19	at Texas A&M-Kingsville (3); at Eastern New Mexico (3)
7.	New Mexico Highlands	25-16	25-16	at CSU-Pueblo (4); vs. Metro State (4)
8.	Colorado State-Pueblo	23-18	23-18	vs. New Mexico Highlands (4); at Adams State (4)