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SAN ANTONIO – Tyler Coughenour delivered a two-out, two-RBI single to cap a four-run seventh inning to help lead Angelo State to a 10-9 Lone Star Conference win over Incarnate Word in the first game of their four-game series at Daniel Sullivan Field.

The Rams (15-9, 2-3 LSC) overcame six errors in the game and worked out of bases loaded jams in the seventh and eighth innings to improve to 8-2 on the road, while the Cardinals (15-9, 1-4 LSC) fall to 11-1 at home.

“We did not play very well early, but we kept competing and had a great effort by the bullpen,” ASU head coach Kevin Brooks said. “We haven't been able to get out of trouble the last couple of weeks, so that was really good to see tonight. Hopefully we can feed off this and get on roll.”

Jake Albert (1-1) earned the win for the Rams after limiting the Cardinals to one run in two innings of work, while Bryant Rutledge earned a six-out save by striking out to and keeping UIW off the board in the final two frames. Albert entered the game with no outs and a runner on first base in the fifth inning in his first win of the season, while Rutledge now has two saves on the season to go along with his 2-1 record.   

Lee Neumann finished the game with four RBI off a first-inning triple that scored Coughenour and Quaid McKinnon and a two-run home run in the third inning. Neumann, who is hitting .379 on the season, now has four triples, two home runs and 28 RBI on the season.

“Lee did a good job of being patient and getting hits when he got good pitches to handle,” Brooks said.

Andrew LaCombe went 4 for 5 with a solo home run in the third inning that gave the Rams a 6-5 lead. LaCombe, who scored the first run of the seventh inning on a UIW throwing error to cut the Rams' deficit to 9-7, is now 10 for 18 in conference play this season at the plate. The senior catcher is hiting .338 with 20 RBI through the first 25 games of the ASU season.

The Rams finished the game with 12 hits, including hits from McKinnon, Christian Summers, Reggie Rodriguez, Ryan Greer and Brett David. Greer's hit came on a single to right field in the seventh inning to score Summers and cut UIW's lead to 9-8. Coughenour finished the game 1 for 3 with a run scored and the two RBI in the seventh.

Angelo State starter Michael Lange struck out two and allowed four earned runs in 2.2 innings of work, while James Conlee worked an inning of scoreless baseball that included coaxing a Lukas Miller pop fly to second base to strand the bases loaded in the home half of the seventh inning following the Rams' four-run effort in the top of the inning.

Incarnate Word finished the game with 13 hits and committed only one error in the field in the loss. Derrick Walls led the Cardinals with three hits and two stolen bases, while John Zule had three RBI on two hits. Jordan Littlefield and Miller each added two hits, while Dylan Boss (3-3) takes the loss after giving up each of the 10 earned runs in the game in six innings of work.

The Rams and Cardinals return to action at 3 p.m. on Saturday for a doubleheader back at Sullivan Field. Mike Weatherly (3-2) is scheduled to make the start in the first game for the Rams, while Jake Feckley (4-2) is set to make the start in the nightcap.