SAN ANGELO – The No. 16-ranked Angelo State baseball team will take on Bellarmine University in a two-game set on Monday and Tuesday with both games starting at 6:30 p.m. at Foster Field.

The Rams (10-5) have never played the Knights (3-2) who are from Louisville, Kent. and are on a southern swing which also includes games against Tarleton State and Abilene Christian. BU fell 10-7 on Sunday to the Texans in Abilene to begin its Texas road trip.

The pair of nine-inning games will be the first time ASU has played a school from Kentucky. Bellarmine, which went 27-23 last season, plays out of the Great Lakes Valley Conference and started its baseball program in 1952.

Angelo State is 5-5 in its last 10 games, including splitting a four-game series last weekend at Colorado State-Pueblo. The Rams held leads in both of their losses to the ThunderWolves, but couldn't eradicate big innings from their opponent in a disappointing regional split. ASU comes into the games with a 3-3 record at Foster Field after going 24-4 at home in the 2012 season.

“I really want to see us come out here and play hard remain focused all 18 innings,” said ASU head coach Kevin Brooks, who has guided the program to a 315-171 record since 2005. “We have to be more consistent and eliminate mental mistakes. Our team needs to maintain a high level of play throughout the game.”

Bryce Zak (2-0, 1.93 ERA) will start Monday's game for the Rams, while Bryant Rutledge (0-1, 11.12 ERA) is slated for Tuesday's start. Zak is coming off his best start of the season where he went eight innings of scoreless baseball in a 2-0 win over CSU-Pueblo. Zak, who will be making his fourth start and fifth appearance, was named the Lone Star Conference's Diamond Pitcher of the Week for his performance. Rutledge is also coming off a strong outing in Pueblo, but did not receive a decision in the series finale. Rutledge went 6.1 innings, striking out four and gave up only one earned run. He will be making his third start of the season and fifth appearance.

Lee Neumann continues to lead the Angelo State offense with a .429 batting average which includes five doubles, three triples and a home run. Neumann, who was the National Collegiate Baseball Writer's Association Player of the Week and the LSC's Hitter of the Week two weeks ago, leads the Rams with 19 RBI and also has seven stolen bases through the first 15 games of the season. He has reached base in all 15 of those games.

Reggie Rodriguez comes into the two-game set with a .381 batting average and leads the Rams with eight multi-hit games this season. The junior right fielder is tied with Neumann for the team's lead with 24 hits and is tied with Christian Summers with two home runs. Rodriguez, who delivered a two-run walk-off home run in the series against Lubbock Christian, leads ASU with seven doubles and also has 10 RBI. Summers, who had his best series as a Rams at CSU-Pueblo, has a .333 batting average with six doubles and two triples to go along with his two homers.

Ryan Greer and Tyler Coughenour each come into the series with .315 batting averages, while Quaid McKinnon is at .304. Greer has four doubles, while Coughenour leads the team with 11 stolen bases. McKinnon and Andrew LaCombe are tied for the team lead with Rodriguez with seven doubles.

ASU is hitting .315 as a team, but have struggled the last 10 games in situational hitting. The Rams have stranded 108 runners on base this season despite hitting .313 with runners on base.

“We feel like if we go out and play our game and execute like we can, then it should produce the desired result,” Brooks said.

Bellarmine, which saw Tarleton State score eight runs in the first inning on Sunday, had a .260 team batting average following its four-game series against Findlay. Michael Morrissette, a senior utility player, led the Knights in the series with seven hits in 14 at-bats, while Joel Trewartha had three hits and two RBI. Austin Crutcher hit a triple in the series with Andy Gehr having a team-leading three RBI. Phillip Leopold went 3 for 4 against Tarleton State with Graham Spencer adding three RBI.

Kyle Grana, a 2012 first-team GLVC selection, struck out five in his first start of the season but did not receive a decision in five innings of work. Justin Strohmeier, a second-team all-conference pitcher last season, has made two appearances out of the bullpen and has not allowed a hit in two innings. He has recorded one save. Both pitchers are right-handed seniors. Jason Sterrett, a right-handed senior, struck out five in five innings for a win against Findlay, while Phil Forbis (RHP, senior) and Austin Warner (LHP, freshman) recorded wins in relief appearances.Curtis McCombs (1-2) was tagged with the loss on Sunday to TSU after allowing seven runs and not recording an out in the first inning.

The Knights are coached by Matt Tyler who is in his second year at the school. Tyner, who was previously an assistant at Butler University, played collegiately in the late 1970s for the Miami Hurricanes and legendary coach Ron Fraser. He was drafted in the ninth round of the Major League Baseball draft by the Baltimore Orioles.

The two-game set will be carried on 1260 KKSA with a simulcast on AngeloSports.com along with live stats and video streaming. Jeremy Bryant, who will call the series on the radio, will also host the Sports Huddle starting at 5 p.m. on Monday at Foster Field. Bryant will hold contests for tickets to the Texas Rangers game against the Seattle Mariners on Saturday, April 20. The contest winner will also have an opportunity to throw out the first pitch of Monday's game.

Poll Watch: Angelo State is ranked No. 16 by College Baseball Lineup, but tumbled to No. 30 in the Collegiate Baseball poll and completely out of the D2BaseballNews.com and NCBWA's polls following the split at CSU-Pueblo.