No. 25 Angelo State and Incarnate Word will both be looking to dig themselves out of early holes in the Lone Star Conference standings after each team dropped their opening series 3-1 last weekend. The series starts with a 6 p.m. game on Friday followed by a 3 p.m. doubleheader on Saturday and the series finale at 1 p.m. on Sunday.

The Rams (15-9, 1-3 LSC) are coming off a series loss to No. 10 Texas A&M-Kingsville (19-5, 3-1 LSC), while the Cardinals (15-8, 1-3 LSC) dropped a road series at Abilene Christian (15-10, 3-1 LSC). UIW also fell 4-3 at No. 21 St. Edward's in a midweek game on Tuesday in Austin. The Cardinals have lost three straight one-run games entering the series against the Rams.

“You can't make too much out of it because there are too many games still to be played after it, but it is a big series for us and them,” ASU head coach Kevin Brooks said. “We need to come out and play better than we did last week and play with more confidence and effort. They are a really good team with great pitching so it's not going to be easy, but I think if we play like we are capable of then we'll have a good chance.”

UIW is 11-0 at home this season, while ASU is 7-2 on the road. The teams have not played a common opponent this season. Click for Ram Baseball Notes

Angelo State is 14-9 all-time against Incarnate Word, but the teams have split the 10 games played in San Antonio against each other. ASU won last season's series 3-1 (5-2, 8-3, 3-5, 12-4). Brooks was an assistant coach at Incarnate Word from 1994-98 and earned a graduate degree in physical education from UIW.

Each game of the series will be broadcasted on 1260 AM KKSA by Jeremy Bryant. Live stats will be provided by Incarnate Word through www.cardinalathletics.com. ASU is currently ranked No. 25 by College Baseball Lineup and No. 5 in the South Central region by the National Collegiate Baseball Writer's Association. UIW is currently unranked nationally in the four DII polls, but is ranked No. 6 in the South Central regional by the NCBWA.

ANGELO STATE NOTES
Angelo State enters the series hitting .320 as a team and with a 5.51 pitching staff ERA. The Rams are fifth in the conference in hitting and sixth in pitching. ASU has hit 54 doubles, 10 triples, eight home runs and 171 singles. The pitching staff has combined for 164 strikeouts, 88 walks and 237 hits allowed through 196 innings. ASU's triple total ranks eighth nationally in Division II, while it has also turned the seventh most double plays (26) this season.

Michael Lange (2-1) is scheduled to start Friday's game against Incarnate Word. Lange will be making his first start since a no-decision on Feb. 22 at Colorado State-Pueblo. The senior from Columbus, Neb. has made four appearances from the bullpen since the start in Colorado and has also played three games at third base this season. Lange is 11-2 all-time at Angelo State and was an all-region selection as a junior. He has 71 strikeouts in 100.2 innings of work in 24 appearances in his career at ASU.

Mike Weatherly (3-2) is tabbed to make his seventh start of the season in the first game of Saturday's doubleheader. Weatherly, who is sixth in the conference by limiting opponents to a .203 batting average, comes into the game with a 2.43 ERA and 29 strikeouts in 33.1 innings of work. Weatherly, who was ASU's closer last season and had nine saves, has recorded 75 strikeouts in 71.1 innings in his career at ASU. He started his collegiate career with two seasons at Eastfield College.

Jake Feckley (4-2) is the probable starter in the Saturday's nightcap. Feckley is coming off a nine-strikeout complete-game win over Texas A&M-Kingsville last Saturday. The junior from Wylie has made three starts and 10 appearances on the mound this season. Showing his versatility, he has been used as a starter, reliever and closer this season. He has three saves to go along with his four wins and is 9-5 in his career at Angelo State after transferring from Texas A&M. Feckley has struck out 75 batters in 83.2 inning of work as a Ram.
Angelo State's starter for Sunday has not been announced.

Lee Neumann leads Angelo State's offense through the first 24 games of the season with a .379 batting average. He is 16th in the conference in batting average and tied for second in triples. The senior center fielder has hit six doubles, three triples, one home run and 23 singles this season. An All-American as a junior, Neumann has also stolen nine bases and leads the Rams with 24 RBI. He is third in the conference with 24 runs scored.

Reggie Rodriguez, a junior who transferred to ASU this year from North Central Texas College this year, leads the Rams with 34 hits and is hitting .370. His 34 hits rank sixth in the conference and he is also third in home runs. He has started each of the 24 games this season and leads the team with three home runs and has added 16 RBI and nine doubles.

Ryan Greer, an all-region selection last season, is hitting .356 with five doubles and 25 singles this season. He hit his first home run of the season in the series against the Javelinas last weekend and is tied with Tyler Coughenour with 14 stolen bases for the team lead. The 14 stolen bases put the two Rams in second in the conference behind UIW's Derrick Walls.

Quaid McKinnon, a first-team LSC selection and LSC tournament MVP last year, leads the Rams with 21 walks and is ninth in the nation in the category. McKinnon is hitting .345 with seven doubles, a triple and 21 singles this season. He has added 14 RBI and is 5 for 5 in stolen bases.

Christian Summers is hitting .339 with eight doubles, three triples and two home runs in his first season at Angelo State. A transfer from the University of Texas, Summers has started 19 games this year and has scored 16 runs. Summers is second in the conference with a .661 slugging percentage.

Andrew LaCombe is coming off a strong series against A&M-Kingsville where he hit .429 with six hits – including three doubles. LaCombe is hitting .338 for the season with 20 RBI and leads the team and conference with 11 doubles. A senior captain from Southlake, LaCombe has 60 RBI and 80 hits through his first 81 games played at ASU and is currently on an eight-game hitting streak.

Coughenour, a junior transfer from Wichita State, is hitting .316 with 13 runs scored. He is 14 of 14 on stolen base attempts and has 25 hits this season, including six multi-hit games.
 

INCARNATE WORD NOTES
Incarnate Word is hitting .323 as a team and has a 3.85 pitching staff ERA entering the series. The Cardinals have hit 36 doubles, 10 triples, six home runs and 182 singles this season. UIW pitching has combined for 168 strikeouts, 86 walks and 161 hits allowed through 177.2 innings this season.

Dylan Boss (3-2) is scheduled to make the Game 1 start for the Cardinals. A second-team LSC pitcher as freshman, Boss, who leads the conference by limiting opponents to a .158 batting average, has struck out 34 in 33 innings of work this season and has a 1.91 ERA. The left-hander from Boerne held the Rams in check last season with six scoreless innings, but the Rams battled back and took a 5-2 win in the series opener. Boss did not get a decision in the game where he struck out a Ram an inning.

UIW's pitching rotation for Saturday has not been solidified, but Jesus Berduzco (2-2) and Alexis Garza (3-0) are probable to make starts. Berduzco enters with a 5.04 ERA through 25 innings pitched, while Garza has a minuscule 0.93 ERA in four starts and 19.1 innings pitched. He has 29 strikeouts and only three walks. Berduzco is a left-handed pitcher from California and Garza is a right-hander from McAllen who transferred from the University of New Mexico. Garza was 2-2 with a 4.72 for the Lobos last season.

Adam Pena comes into the series leading the UIW offense with a .413 batting average. The senior infielder from Mission has 26 hits and 16 RBI this season and is currently eighth in the conference in hitting. John Zule is also above .400 with a .403 average and 17 RBI this season. Zule, a senior from San Antonio, has five doubles and a home run this season. His .403 average ranked 10th in the conference.  

UIW has seven hitters hitting in the .300s with 20 at-bats or more. Jordan Littlefield (.394) has two triples and 25 singles this season, while Derrick Walls is hitting .349 with 31 runs scored. Walls leads the LSC with 19 stolen bases on 20 attempts and 31 runs scored in his junior season out of San Antonio Reagan. Walls was a second-team LSC selection as a sophomore where he stole 16 bases.

Thomas Rinn (.325), Blake Woosley (.323), Ryan Pudwell (.319), Connor Snoga (.318) and Slade Brown (.310) round out the top hitters in the UIW lineup. Zac Russell, a senior catcher, is hitting .268 but leads the team with eight doubles and has added 12 RBI.
 

Up next: Angelo State will host West Texas A&M next week in another four-game Lone Star Conference series. The Rams and Buffs will move each day of the series up because of Easter and will play a single game at 6:30 p.m. on Thursday, March, 28 followed by a doubleheader starting at 4 p.m. on Friday, March 29 and the series finale at 1 p.m. on Saturday, March 30.