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SAN ANGELO – The Angelo State baseball team ventures outside Lone Star Conference play with a single midweek game against nationally ranked St. Mary's on Tuesday at Nelson W. Wolff Stadium in San Antonio.

No. 29 ASU (20-12) is coming off a LSC series split against West Texas A&M at Foster Field, while the Rattlers (22-9) swept Arkansas Fort Smith in a three-game Heartland Conference road series.

Angelo State is 10-3 on the road this season and 14-6 in non-conference games this season. ASU is hitting .313 this season with 70 doubles, 14 triples, 10 home runs and 110 singles. The Rams have stolen 82 bases, while opponents have only stolen 35.The ASU pitching staff enters the midweek game with a 5.32 staff ERA with 211 strikeouts and 119 walks in 259 innings of work.

Angelo State is 11-6 all-time against the Rattlers after the two teams split their home-and-away series last season. St. Mary's went on to advance to the NCAA Division II College World Series after winning the NCAA DII South Central Championship in Warrensburg, Mo. The Rattlers are coached by Charlie Migl who is three wins shy of 1,000 in his career. He led St. Mary's to the 2001 DII National Championship and the past three Heartland Conference titles.  

St. Mary's, which is currently on a five-game winning streak, is 2-1 this season against LSC opponents with a win over Tarleton and splitting a home-and-away set against Texas A&M-Kingsville.

Wolff Stadium is the home to the San Antonio Missions which are the Double-A affiliate of the San Diego Padres. St. Mary's is using the stadium as it renovates its on-campus baseball field.

Poll Watch: Angelo State is ranked No. 29 by College Baseball Lineup and unranked in each of the other polls. St. Mary's was ranked No. 7 last week by the National Collegiate Baseball Writer's Association and is ranked No. 11 by College Baseball Lineup, No. 16 by College Baseball Newspaper and No. 17 by D2BaseballNews.
 
Angelo State Notes
Bryce Zak (3-1) is the probable starter for Angelo State against St. Mary's on Tuesday. Zak is coming off a rough start at Incarnate Word, but has shown promise this season. He is a two-time LSC Pitcher of the Week and has struck out 22 in 32 innings of work in his first season at ASU. The sophomore right hander has a 5.06 ERA with 15 walks this season.

Lee Neumann leads Angelo State with a .371 batting average, 31 RBI, six triples and 35 runs scored coming into the game at St. Mary's. The senior, who is coming off an All-American season and is the reigning LSC Player of the Year, has reached base in 11 straight games and is hitting .392 on the road this season. He is a .383 career hitter through his first 324 at-bats at ASU and has played in 89 games. His career stats included the program's record of 15 triples along with 26 doubles and nine home runs.

Christian Summers has provided great range at shortstop this season for the Rams and is also putting together a strong season at the plate in his first year at ASU. The junior is hitting .360 with 12 doubles, three triples, two home runs and 14 singles. He leads the team with a .640 slugging percentage and has a .515 batting average on the road.

Quaid McKinnon, one of the most complete hitters in the conference, is hitting .354 following a six-hit performance in the four-game series against WT last weekend. McKinnon is a .355 career hitter through his first 310 at-bats at Angelo State and leads the team with 26 walks this season. The senior from Phoenix has 11 doubles, a triple, 28 singles and is 8 for 8 stolen base attempts this season. He has 13 multi-hit games this season and has 110 hits through 89 games played in his career at ASU.

Andrew LaCombe is fourth on the team with a .344 batting average and second with 28 RBI. The senior catcher has also played in left field in the past two series to add to his importance to the team. LaCombe has a .340 career batting average at Angelo State with four home runs and 68 home runs. He is only 11 hits shy of 100 in his career.

Reggie Rodriguez is hitting .339 in his first season at ASU and has provided 22 RBI. The Puerto Rico native has started all 32 games in right field and leads the team with three home runs. He also has 11 doubles, a triple and 25 singles.

Ryan Greer is coming off an all-region year as a junior and is hitting .313 as a senior with six doubles and 10 RBI. The Glendale, Ariz. native is a .346 career hitter though 306 at-bats at ASU and has 106 career hits. He has stolen 48 bases at ASU and leads the team this season with 19. Greer has 68 RBI in his career and has eight multi-hit games this season.

Tyler Coughenour has stolen 18 bases this season and is hitting .292 in his first season at ASU. Coughenour has three doubles, a triple and 27 singles as a junior. A transfer from Wichita State, Coughenour has started 28 of 30 games this season and has a .367 on-base percentage.

Hunter Choate has started the last eight games at third base for the Rams and is hitting .293 in his redshirt freshman season. Choate, an Athens native, has 12 hits and 10 RBI this season. David Goggin, a true freshman, has played at catcher and in the outfield this season. He has played in 22 games and is hitting .292 with 14 hits and seven RBI.
 
St. Mary's Notes
Mario Maldonado leads the Rattlers at the plate this season with a .374 batting average with 40 hits – including five doubles and 11 walks. A sophomore from Laredo, Maldonado has added 14 RBI and has scored 15 runs a year after being named second team All-Heartland as a freshman. Brandon Bates, a senior from Boerne, tops the Rattlers with 25 RBI and is hitting .355 with 38 hits. Kyle Bumpas, who doubles as a pitcher, is at .321 through his first 53 at-bats.

Al Gonzalez, a redshirt freshman infielder from Pasadena, leads the team with seven doubles and is hitting .294 with 15 RBI, while Derek Moczygemba is hitting .287 with 29 hits in 101 at-bats. Moczygemba, who is also 1-1 with a 2.23 ERA on the mound in 32.1 innings of work, is the probable starting pitcher against the Rams on Tuesday. Ivan Sigala has added 12 RBI and 25 hits, while Billy Richard has 23 hits and 10 RBI.

Pitching is the strength of the Rattlers as the team has a 1.98 staff ERA with 191 strikeouts and 83 walks through the first 259.2 innings of the season. Opponents are hitting .215 against a staff which has seen 11 different hurlers see time on the mound.

Carl O'Neal (8-1) leads St. Mary's with an impressive 1.14 ERA through nine starts and 55.1 innings of work. The senior right hander from San Antonio's Clark High School, has only walked 22 to go along with his 35 strikeouts. O'Neal was an All-American as a junior and also earned the Daktronics Pitcher of the Year award.

Matt McLain (4-2) leads the Rattlers with 60 strikeouts in 58.1 innings of work, while Rene Solis (4-0) has a 1.24 ERA through 43.2 innings. Solis, a left-hander from San Antonio, was a second-team All-American as a sophomore. Jonathan Perez (4-2) has a 1.35 ERA in his senior season with six saves. Perez has 27 saves in his career.


MEDIA COVERAGE: Angelo State's game at St. Mary's will be broadcasted locally on 1260 KKSA with a simulcast on AngeloSports.com with Jeremy Bryant calling the game. Live stats and video will be provided at www.rattlersathletics.com, while in-game updates from Angelo Sports can be experienced on www.twitter.com/AngeloSports.