BOX SCORE

CANYON – Mike Weatherly didn't allow a run in seven innings of work and Christian Summers drove in two runs to help lead the Angelo State baseball team to a 4-0 win over Tarleton State and stave off elimination at the Lone Star Conference Championships on Saturday at Wilder Park.

ASU (34-18) bounced back from an opening-round loss to West Texas A&M on Friday by holding the regular-season champion Texans scoreless and not committing an error in the game. The Rams move on to play Abilene Christian at 3:30 p.m. on Sunday in an elimination game.

“I've always thought that this team has great character, and they showed it today with our backs against the wall,” ASU head coach Kevin Brooks said. “They competed hard for nine innings and never gave in. We just stayed focused on what we were trying to do and didn't try to force anything all day.”

Weatherly (7-3) scattered seven hits over his seven innings. He struck out only one, but also walked only two in a 102-pitch effort.

“We did a great job of making the timely play and getting timely hitting,” Weatherly said. “They made some really good double plays behind me and some big catches to get out of trouble. It was just great team baseball today where we were able to get out of situations on defense and produce runs at the plate.”

“He was at 92-93 today and that's when he's at his best,” Brooks said. “He had good command of his fastball and worked in his slider. I thought he did a great job of dominating with his fastball today.”

Summers drove in the first run of the game with a single through the right side of the infield in the top of the fourth inning and then drove in another run with a double to left field in the sixth. Reggie Rodriguez drove in a run in the fourth with a single up the middle, while Summers scored the last run of the game on a double play in the sixth.

“We really needed to put the ball on the ground and quit making easy outs by hitting pop flies,” Summers said. “We stayed with that approach even when they kept making plays and it worked out. We got a lead which gave us confidence that we carried over to defense.”

Andrew LaCombe collected two hits for ASU, while David Goggin and Tyler Coughenour also had singles in an eight-hit effort. Graylon Brown recorded the final six outs of the game for the Rams on the mound, striking out two and not allowing a hit. The Rams, who struck out 12 times against WT's Dylan James on Friday, struck out only once on Saturday.

Pete Perez (5-2) received the loss for the Texans after allowing two earned runs on eight hits in eight innings of work. Rustin Thomas and Jared Musgrove led the TSU offense with two hits each.

Angelo State will meet ACU for the fifth time this season on Sunday after the Wildcats eliminated Incarnate Word on Saturday. The Rams took the season series 3-1 last weekend in Abilene, but the Wildcats hold a 5-3 advantage over ASU in tournament play and a 24-20 all-time advantage. Probable starters have not been announced from either team.