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The doubleheader is a pair of nine-inning games and the teams will meet again on Tuesday, April 8 for a doubleheader at Foster Field. The April doubleheader (7/7) was originally scheduled for this Sunday, but was postponed due to inclement weather forecasts. ASU will now start the season with eight straight road games before hosting Colorado School of Mines for a four-game series from Friday, Feb. 21 through Sunday, Feb. 23 at Foster Field. The home opener is a single game starting at 3 p.m. against the Orediggers who are coached by former ASU assistant Jerod Goodale.

The Rams enter the season ranked No. 22 (College Baseball Lineup), No. 36 (Collegiate Baseball), No. 36 (D2 Baseball News) and unranked in the National Collegiate Baseball Writer's Association preseason poll. ASU is fifth in the NCBWA Division II South Central preseason rankings.  ASU's roster has seven seniors, eight juniors, five sophomores and nine freshmen. There are five returning positional players and four pitchers who saw time on the mound last season. Transfers came in from two Division I programs (Baylor, Texas Tech) and six from the junior college ranks (Midland College, Western Texas, Blinn College, Odessa College and two from Cisco College).  The pitching staff consists of 11 right-handers and four left-handers.

ASU holds a 2-0 all-time advantage over the War Hawks after the two programs met for the first time last season. The Rams earned a 7-2 win in Abilene in February before taking a 10-3 victory in April at Foster Field. ASU finished last season with a 37-21 record and advanced to the NCAA Division II South Central Championship for the second consecutive season, while the War Hawks went 23-27 in the 2013 season.

"I think we are ready to start playing someone else besides ourselves," said ASU head coach Kevin Brooks, who has led the Rams to 342 wins and four regional appearances in nine years on the job. "You get to this time of year and it's exciting to see how you take what you've been working on in practice throughout the preseason into games. I think our guys are ready and hopefully we'll go out and execute and find ways to win ball games."

The probable starting pitching rotation for the Rams this weekend is Jake Feckley and Trae Davis. Feckley, who was a LSC first-team selection as a junior, is coming off a 10-5 season and is 15-11 in his career. He struck out 64 in 81 innings pitched as a junior and he enters the season needing only three wins to become the all-time wins leader in ASU history. A Wylie native who started his collegiate career at Texas A&M, Feckley is also fifth all-time with 112 career strikeouts and his 3.22 career ERA ranks third.  He was named a NCBWA preseason second-team all-region selection on Wednesday.

"Jake has been a really consistent pitcher for us since he got here," Brooks said. "He's going to give you a chance to win every game that he throws. He's going to throw strikes and will battle. You know what you're going to get out of him and that's a comforting feeling to have with a pitcher."

Davis pitched at Baylor the past three seasons and transfers to ASU as senior. A right-hander, Davis is a Mexia native who went 3-1 with 26 strikeouts as a Bear. He will also see time in right field this season and has the ability to provide offense for the Rams.

"Trae has really gotten better since he's been here and is a guy we are relying on to put together a strong year," Brooks said. "He's a hard thrower and is showing good command."

The ASU pitching staff will also look for strong performances throughout the season from Graylon Brown, Blake Bass, Jake Albert, Dillon Becker, Jason Zgardowski, Jamie MacLean, Bryce Zak, Mason Leavitt, Hayden Elrod and Eric Monson.

Brown led the Rams with 19 appearances (one start) last season, finishing his red-shirt freshman year with a 2-0 record and 26 strikeouts in 33.1 innings of work. Brown continued pitching last summer for the Hays Larks and was named the No. 3 Jawhawk League Prospect. With Brown as starter, the Rams will look for steady work from Albert and Becker out of the bullpen. Albert has made 45 appearances in his career at ASU after playing at Conroe HS. He has 55 strikeouts in 91.2 innings of work in his career and is second in program history by limiting opponents to a .258 batting average. Becker, a Bastrop native who transfers in from Blinn College, is slated as the team's closer coming into the season.

"Dillon has really been awesome in the preseason," Brooks said. "He throws really hard, has a great slider and is showing command. He has a strong presence on the mound and I expect him to stay there throughout the season. The valuable thing about Jake is that we can put him in any situation and he handles it with a lot of consistency. He was a solid starter for us at the end of last season after relieving most of the year. He can also close and will be a big factor."

Christian Summers and Tyler Coughenour return for their senior seasons, with Summers back and shortstop and Coughenour at second base. Both players were LSC second team selections as juniors. Summers was selected in the 19th round of the Major League Baseball draft by the San Diego Padres but decided to return to ASU. Summers also earned NABC second team all-region honors after leading the Rams with a .339 batting average, 19 doubles and seven triples. He had 19 multi-hit games in his first season after transferring from the University of Texas and also had 32 RBI and walked 33 times. Summers is a NCBWA preseason second-team all-region selection along with Feckley. Coughenour led the Rams with 25 stolen bases and finished the season with a .299 batting average and 24 RBI. A transfer from Wichita State, Coughenour had a .381 on-base percentage and proved to be one of the most dangerous base runners in the nation.

"It's huge to have both of them back for us," Brooks said. "With Christian and Tyler in there it makes us a strong team with them up the middle with the level of skill and talent that both of them bring."

David Goggin and Cameron Massengill will both see time behind the plate at catcher and will look to replace the production and leadership of Andrew LaCombe who graduated after earning Academic All-American honors and hitting .333 last season as a senior. Goggin returns from a freshman season where he earned LSC Freshman of the Year when he had 20 RBI and hit .279. A versatile baseball player, Goggin played 19 games in the outfield last season and caught 15 games. Massengill is a junior who transfers in from Cisco College where he hit .326 with 17 RBI last season.

"The catching position is something I've really been happy with throughout the preseason," Brooks said. "Both of those guys are really playing well for us. We feel like both guys are ones and that we don't lose anything when one of them is not catching. It's a challenging position and I think having both of them will keep them fresh throughout the season."

First base belonged to Quaid McKinnon the past two seasons and this season the Rams will look for Blake Bass and Derek Tyner to fill the position. Bass is a transfer from Texas Tech who will also pitch for the Rams, while Tyner has proved to be a versatile utility player throughout the preseason. Tyner, who transferred in from Odessa College, could also see time at third base, second base and play in the outfield.

"Blake is a really good defensive first baseman and is a power threat for us at the plate," Brooks said. "I'm looking forward to him being in the middle of the lineup and being a force for us. Derek provides us with a lot of options in the field and can hit. We're excited to see what both of them can do for our team."

Hunter Choate started 37 games at third base last season as a redshirt freshman and provided offensive heroics and defensive prowess. He had the game-winning hit against Abilene Christian in the regular season and showed range at third base. He finished the season hitting .271 with 21 RBI and five doubles. Brett David, a junior from El Paso, played in 28 games last season despite an early-season injury. David will open the season as the team's designated hitter.

"Choate found a way to get big hit after big hit for us last season," Brooks said. "He's improved his quickness and speed and has developed into a great hitter. Brett had a hand injury last season and I think he's back healthy. He's really been swinging the bat well throughout the preseason."

Reggie Rodriguez moves from right field to left this season for the Rams. A senior from Puerto Rico, Rodriguez hit .323 last season with 32 RBI, 15 doubles, 15 multi-hit games, three triples and three home runs. His most dramatic moments last season came with a walk-off home run against Lubbock Christian and then throwing out a runner from right field in the NCAA South Central tournament.

"I don't really see the move to left as being very big," Brooks said. "He's a strong outfielder wherever we put him and I think he'll do a great job there. He had a strong start at the plate last season, went through a slump and then picked it up again towards the end of the year. We really need him to remain consistent throughout the year. I think he can do that and really help our team."

Center field has been a strength for the Rams the past two seasons with All-American Lee Neumann and Gold Glove winner Ryan Greer tracking down everything in sight and providing offensive firepower to the ASU offense. That spot will now be filled by a freshman from Minneapolis, Minn. Nehwon Norkeh is slated to start in center field this season after he played catcher in high school. Brooks has no trepidation though about penciling him into the lineup based on preseason practices turned in by the 6-foot-2, 230 pound Norkeh.

"Nehwon is a really good player who could achieve some of those same accolades that Lee and Ryan had in their careers," Brooks said. "He's a special guy who is playing in the outfield for the first time in his career. He's a great athlete and that shows the type of baseball player he is. He's been a hard worker who brings a smile to the field every day."
Goggin and Tyner will play right field, while freshmen Chandler Patterson and JP Zapata could also earn playing time.

The Rams are entering their 10th season of baseball since the program was started in 2005 at Angelo State. The program is 342-187 all-time entering the 2014 season. ASU, which started playing baseball in 2005, won the 2006 Lone Star Conference South Division and then reached the 2007 Division II College World Series by winning the 2007 NCAA DII South Central Regional Championship. The Rams have won the LSC Championship two times (2007, 2012) and have advanced to the regional tournament four times (2007, 2009, 2012, 2013).

THE NEXT SERIES: Angelo State will continue an eight-game road trip to begin the season with a three-game series against Texas A&M-International in Laredo. The series against the Dust Devils starts with a 3 p.m. game on Friday, Feb. 7 before a 1 p.m. doubleheader on Saturday to conclude the series.