SAN ANGELO – The Angelo State baseball team will complete the first half of Lone Star Conference play with a four-game series against Eastern New Mexico this weekend at Foster Field.
ASU (17-12, 7-9 LSC) and ENMU (15-13, 5-11 LSC) will open the series at 6:30 p.m. on Friday before playing a 4 p.m. doubleheader on Saturday and the series finale at 1 p.m. on Sunday. The program will announce its All-Decade Team prior to Saturday's games. The team was voted on by fans and had 28,482 selections made throughout the process. Additionally, ASU student assistant coach
Ryan Greer will be presented the ABCA Rawlings Gold Glove he earned last season.
As a team, the Rams enter the ninth week of the season with a pitching staff ERA of 2.74 (243.0 IP), a team batting average of .282 and leading the LSC with 60 stolen bases. ASU is ranked fourth in team batting average, second in pitching and are fourth in fielding percentage (.961). The Rams are 8-4 at Foster Field this season and are 25-11 all-time against ENMU, including owning a 15-5 record against the Greyhounds in San Angelo. ASU won last year's series 3-1 in Portales, N.M. with the Greyhounds overcoming a 7-1 deficit to take the series finale 8-7 and avoid the sweep.
Angelo State has played 13 games this season which have been determined by one run and is 7-6 in those outcomes. The Rams are 1-3 in games with two-run differential and are 3-3 in three-run outcomes. ASU has won six games by four runs or more this season and has not lost by more than three runs. The team has outscored its opponents 144-101 this season, but is 1-5 in extra-inning games.
Jake Feckley will make his 31st career start at Angelo State in the series opener on Friday and enters the game as the all-time winningest pitcher in program history and second with 154 strikeouts. Feckley (4-2) is a senior right-hander from Wylie who is coming off a nine-strikeout performance where he went 9.2 innings but took the loss against Texas A&M-Kingsville last weekend. Among Feckley's career highlights he also ranks first with a 2.79 career ERA to go along with program-leading 19 wins. He will be making his ninth start of the season on Friday and enters the game with a 1.65 ERA and 42 strikeouts in 54.2 innings of work. He has only walked 10 batters and is limiting the opposition to a .202 batting average. His strikeout total currently ranks fourth in the LSC and his ERA is seventh.
Jason Zgardowski (2-2) is second in the LSC this season with 44 strikeouts and 10th with a 2.05 ERA in his first season at ASU. A junior right-hander from San Antonio, Zgardowski has taken his two losses the last two weeks despite two solid starts. He did not allow an earned run in 6.2 innings against West Texas A&M after taking a no-decision against Tarleton State where he went 7.0 innings allowing only one earned run. He has recorded nine strikeouts in two games this season coming against Colorado School of Mines and Cameron and is 42nd in the nation in strikeouts.
Blake Bass (3-1) is scheduled to make his sixth start and seventh appearance for the Rams in the second game of Saturday's doubleheader. Bass, a junior right-hander from Lubbock, is in his first season at ASU after transferring from Texas Tech. He is fourth in the LSC with a 1.08 ERA through 33.1 innings of work and is fifth in the nation with 12-1 strikeout-to-walk ration (24 strikeouts, two walks). Bass has limited the opposition to a .220 batting average.
Dillon Becker (3-3) will make the fifth start of his career on Sunday and enters the game with a 3.81 ERA through 28.1 innings of work. A sophomore from Bastrop, Becker has recorded 27 strikeouts and has 13 walks. He is coming off a seven-strikeout performance against Texas A&M-Kingsville which matched his career high which he also had against Tarleton State.
Tyler Coughenour enters this weekend hitting .313 with eight doubles, two triples, three home runs and 13 RBI. A junior from Wichita, Kan., Coughenour is seventh in program history with 49 career stolen bases and is 16-for-21 this season. He leads the team with a .412 on-base percentage with the addition of seven walks and being hit by 10 pitches. His hit-by-pitch total leads the LSC and is 17th in the nation. He is tied with freshman
Nehwon Norkeh for the team and conference lead with 26 runs scored this season. Norkeh leads the LSC with 18 stolen bases on 21 attempts and is currently hitting .243 with three doubles, three triples and two home runs. He is the only Ram positional player to start every game at the same spot with 29 starts in center field this season.
Christian Summers earned the first LSC Hitter of the Week honor of his career on Monday after he went 7-for-12 with two doubles, a triple and three RBI against Texas A&M-Kingsville last weekend. Summers, who bounced back from an 0-for-11 slump at West Texas A&M the week before, is currently on a four-game hitting streak and is hitting .229 in conference play and .245 throughout the season. A San Angelo native, Summers is a career .306 hitter for the Rams in his two seasons at ASU. He is third all-time with nine triples and has 22 career stolen bases. He has played the majority of his career at shortstop, but started at third base last weekend, played at second base in some situations and earned a save by striking out one and recording the final three outs last Saturday in his first pitching appearance of his career. He currently has five multi-hit games and three multi-RBI performances this season.
Cameron Massengill leads the Rams with a .318 batting average in conference play and is on a four-game hitting streak entering the weekend series against the Greyhounds. Massengill, a junior from Kennedale, is in his first season at ASU after transferring from Cisco College. He has started 25 games at catcher this season and has 22 singles, a double and nine RBI. He provided three game-winning RBI three weeks ago against Tarleton State.
David Goggin went through his first slump of the season last weekend, going 0-for-11 against Javelina pitching following leading the Rams with an 8-for-16 performance two weeks ago at West Texas A&M. A sophomore from Red Wing, Minn., Goggin leads the Rams with a .330 batting average this season with four doubles, two triples, 28 singles and a team-leading 21 RBI. He also leads the conference in RBI. Despite his struggles at the plate last weekend, Goggin produced two RBI with productive ground outs in the series. He is a career .301 hitter with 41 RBI in his two seasons at ASU and leads the Rams with six multi-RBI games this season. A versatile player who earned LSC Freshman of the Year last season, Goggin has started all 29 games this season with most of his starts in left field. He has also played right field, catcher and second base this season.
Derek Tyner is second on the team with a .320 batting average, including 28 singles and two doubles. A junior from Boerne, Tyner is in his first season at ASU after transferring from Odessa College. He has eight multi-hit games this season and three multi-RBI performances in 28 starts. He has played the majority of the season at first base, but has also been in the lineup at designated hitter and in the outfield.
Hunter Choate is also showing his versatility by moving to second base last weekend against the Javelinas. A sophomore from Athens, Choate has started every game this season and is hitting .305 with five doubles, a triple and home run to go along with 25 singles. He is tied with Tyner and Coughenour for third on the team with 13 RBI.
Brett David is hitting .292 with eight doubles as the team's designated hitter. He was named the LSC Hitter of the Week following the second weekend of the season and has produced seven multi-hit games.
Bass, who has shined as a pitcher throughout the season, emerged as an offensive threat for the Rams last weekend. Bass had three hits in the series, including blasting a solo home run in the series opener against the Javelinas in the eighth inning. He is currently hitting .214 with two doubles, a home run, six singles and nine RBI.
JP Zapata is hitting .398 through 18 at-bats with seven singles and two runs scored.
Â
EASTERN NEW MEXICO GREYHOUND REPORT
The Greyhounds are coming off dropping three of four at Cameron last weekend and are currently fifth in the LSC standings. ENMU is third in the conference with a .293 team batting average, third with a .962 fielding percentage and sixth with a 4.50 pitching staff ERA. The Greyhounds are coached by David Gomez who is in his first season at ENMU after being an assistant coach at Alcorn State the past four seasons.
ENMU's probable starting rotation is Ben Monticello (4-2, 3.72 ERA, 46.0 IP), Matthew Artalejo (4-2, 3.20 ERA, 45.0 IP), Rusty Edwards (3-3, 3.18 ERA, 34.0 IP) and Kiegan Basso (3-2, 1 SV, 3.75 ERA, 24.0 IP). Monticello is a senior right-hander from California who has 25 strikeouts and seven walks this season, while Artalejo is a junior right-hander who has 23 strikeouts. Edwards will be making his eighth start of the season and is a left-hander from California. Edwards has 24 strikeouts and 14 walks this season. Basso will be making his fifth start and 10th appearance on Sunday. A right-handed freshman from Arizona, Basso has 24 strikeouts, 15 walks and has limited the opposition to a .205 batting average.
Ryan Forkel leads ENMU and is sixth in the LSC with a .369 batting average this season. Forkel, a senior outfielder from California, has four doubles and 27 singles entering the weekend. Brett Ackerman is second on the team and ninth in the LSC with a .359 batting average after 78 at-bats. A senior shortstop from San Diego, Ackerman has one double, one triple and 26 singles on his resume.
Blake Cooper has provided power for the lineup, leading the team with five home runs which ranks second in the conference. Cooper, another California native on the roster, leads the conference with nine doubles and has 19 RBI. Matthew Burks hitting .304 with three home runs, six doubles and 14 RBI, while Sam Hedrick also has 19 RBI and is hitting .300 with a conference-leading five triples.
