Friday: WT won 5-4
(box score) (ASU season stats)
Saturday: 4 p.m. at Wilder Park (doubleheader)
Sunday: 1 p.m. at Wilder Park
Probable Pitching Matchups
Game One
WP: Justin Kuks (6-0). LP: Reyna (3-4)
Game Two
ASU: Jake Feckley, So. (3-1, 3.22 ERA, 36.1 IP, 36 H, 16 R, 13 ER, 9 BB, 27 K)
WT: Ryan Houston, Sr. (2-1, 4.15 ERA, 30.1 IP, 29 H, 15 R, 14 ER, 8 BB, 20 K)
Game Three
ASU: James Conlee, Jr. (2-0, 3.68 ERA, 29.1 IP, 26 H, 15 R, 12 ER, 17 BB, 25 K)
WT: Billy Gonzalez, Jr. (3-0, 2.82 ERA, 22.1 IP, 26 H, 9 R, 7 ER, 9BB, 26 K)
Game Four
ASU: Michael Lange, Jr. (3-0, 2.84 ERA, 25.1 IP, 23 H, 13 R, 8 ER, 6 BB, 21 K)
WT: TBA
Rankings
ASU: No. 7 Collegiate Baseball; No. 10 NCBWA; No. 20 College Baseball Lineup; No. 21 D2BaseballNews
WT: No. 22 Collegiate Baseball
Program vs. Program
Overall record: ASU leads 25-4
In Canyon: ASU leads 10-3
At the LSC Tournament: ASU leads 1-0
Last season: ASU won series, 3-0, in San Angelo
Media Links
Facebook.com/AngeloStateSports
Twitter.com/AngeloSports
Radio (All 4 games on KKSA & AngeloSports.com)
Live Stats
CANYON, Texas – No. 22 West Texas A&M scored five runs in the first two innings and held off No. 7 Angelo State, 5-4, in the first game of their Lone Star Conference series on Friday at Wilder Park.
ASU (21-8, 5-4 LSC) trailed 5-1 after two innings and were down 5-3 going into the ninth inning before falling by one run to the Buffs (21-6, 8-1 LSC). The Rams were never able to put together a big inning, scoring all four of their runs in four separate innings.
“I thought our pitchers really competed well after they were able to get those runs and gave us a chance to start chipping away at the lead,” ASU head coach
Kevin Brooks said. “They were hitting the ball pretty well against us and we got in some big-time jams, but were able to work out of them. We got back in the game but just weren't able to come all the way back. The way we came out to start the game was the difference.”
Doug Snover led the Rams' eight-hit offensive production in the game, finishing the night with two hits including a second-inning home run for ASU's first run and a double.
Toby Semler and
Tate Allison also had two hits each, while
Brett Parsons and
Tate Allison each added ninth-inning singles. Allison's single drove in
Blaine Perkins who was a pinch running for Parsons to cut the Buffs' lead down to a one-run game.
Lee Neumann, whose seven-game hitting streak came to a close, picked up his team-leading 24th run batted in of the season with a third-inning fielder's choice.
Rick Reyna (3-4) claims the loss for the Rams after going 5.0 innings against the conference-leading Buffs. Reyna struck out three, walked three and gave up seven hits against 22 batters in his eighth start of the season.
Jake Albert came in to provide 2.2 innings of relief after
Travis Stavinoha and
Austin Church faced three batters combined. Albert, a sophomore from Conroe, came into the game in the seventh inning with the bases loaded and one out and was able to coax a 5-4-3 double play to keep the Rams within striking distance.
“He has been great for us all year,” said Brooks of Albert. “He has been a tremendously consistent pitcher. He came in there in a tough situation where we needed a two-ball, and he got it. I'm proud of his effort tonight.”
Justin Kuks (6-0) threw 8.1 innings for the win, striking out seven and limiting the Rams to seven hits. Kendall Boone led WT with two RBI, while Jess Cooper and Parker Wood each had two hits.
The Rams and Buffs return to Wilder Park for a doubleheader starting at 4 p.m. on Saturday before closing out the series with a 1 p.m. game on Sunday.
Up next
Tuesday, April 3, at 5 p.m.
Angelo State at Texas Tech
Thursday-Saturday, April 5-7
Eastern New Mexico at Angelo State
Angelo State Baseball (3.30.2012) Gallery
