SAN ANGELO – The No. 11-ranked Angelo State baseball team will host Tarleton State this weekend in a four-game Lone Star Conference series at Foster Field.
ASU (13-4, 3-1 LSC) comes into the series on a three-game winning streak after taking the final three games of a four-game series last weekend at Cameron. The Texans (12-4, 3-1 LSC) opened LSC play last weekend with three wins over Eastern New Mexico where they scored 34 runs in the four games. TSU is the defending LSC regular-season champion and are 3-2 away from Stephenville this season. The two teams will meet again for a three-game series in Stephenville on April 11 and 12th.
The Rams enter this weekend's Lone Star Conference series against Tarleton State ranked No. 11 in the nation by the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association. ASU was unranked by the NCBWA in the preseason poll, but rose to No.20 last week before jumping to No. 11 in its rankings which were released on Tuesday. ASU is also ranked No. 27 by D2BaseballNews.com and No. 28 by Collegiate Baseball and CollegeBaseballLineup.com. The Rams are also ranked No. 2 in the South Central rankings by the NCBWA.
The series is scheduled to start with a 6:30 p.m. game on Friday, a 1 p.m. doubleheader on Saturday and a 1 p.m. series finale at Foster Field. ASU and TSU split their regular-season series last season before the Rams earned a 4-0 win over the Texans in the LSC Baseball Championships in Canyon. The Rams possess a 29-12 all-time record over Tarleton entering the weekend.
Jake Feckley (4-0) is scheduled to make the start in the series opener and enters the game with a 1.10 ERA with 30 strikeouts and only five walks in 32.2 innings of work. Feckley, a senior from Wylie, has earned two LSC Pitcher of the Week honors this season and did not allow an earned run through 32 innings to start the season. He has a 19-8 all-time record at ASU which makes him the winningest pitcher in the program's history.
Jason Zgardowski (2-0) will start the first game on Saturday after racking up 19 strikeouts in the course of his last two starts. A junior right-hander, Zgardowski is tied with Feckley with 30 strikeouts this season. He has allowed only six earned runs and 18 hits through 23.1 innings of work. He has made three starts and five appearances and is coming off a nine-strikeout performance against Cameron last week and a 10-strikeout, complete-game win over Colorado School of Mines two weeks ago. He also has one save, coming in a 3.0 inning outing against Texas A&M International.
Blake Bass (1-0) is coming off a complete-game win over Cameron last week and will be making his third start of the season. He had six strikeouts in 7.0 innings against the Aggies after throwing 4.2 innings with five strikeouts in a no-decision against Mines two weeks ago. A Lubbock native, Bass is the tallest player on the ASU roster at 6-foot-7, and has also been penciled into the lineup at first base, outfield and designated hitter this season. On the mound he has 12 strikeouts and no walks through 12.2 innings of work.
Dillon Becker (2-2) will make the start in the finale after earning a win over Cameron last weekend in relief after making his first collegiate start No. 3 St. Mary's. Becker leads the Rams with eight appearances this season and has a 4.76 ERA with nine strikeouts in 11.1 innings of work. A sophomore, he is in his first season at ASU after transferring from Blinn College.
Tyler Coughenour leads the Rams with a .436 batting average after starting the season with 24 hits in 55 at-bats. A senior from Wichita, Kan., Coughenour comes into this weekend's series on a four-game hitting streak. Just 17 games into the season, he already has seven multi-hit games and leads the Rams with 14 stolen bases. He has five doubles, two triples, two home runs, 11 RBI and has reached base in all 16 of the games he's played in. A LSC second-team selection last season, he also leads ASU after being hit by nine pitches. Â
Brett David is second on the team with 23 hits and has a .418 batting average through 55 at-bats. A junior from El Paso, David leads the Rams with eight doubles and also has 11 RBI. He has a .468 on-base percentage and four stolen bases. He has three games where he has three hits and four two-hit games this season. In the field, he has played third base, second base, first base and has also been the team's designated hitter.
Derek Tyner, a junior in his first season at ASU after transferring from Odessa College, is hitting .400 with 22 hits and 10 RBI. He has two doubles and 20 singles and is currently on a six-game hitting streak. He has seven multi-hit games and two multi-RBI games this season.
Coughenour and David have each been named LSC Hitters of the Week this season.
Hunter Choate and
David Goggin also have 22 hits this season. Choate, a sophomore from Athens, is currently leading the Rams with a seven-game hitting streak and has eight RBI. Choate hit .462 last weekend against Cameron with six hits, including three doubles. Goggin, last year's LSC Freshman of the Year, leads the Rams with 15 RBI and has two doubles, a triple and 19 singles. A utility player, he has played in the outfield, at catcher and second base this season. He leads the Rams with eight walks and has also reached twice by being hit by a pitch.
Nehwon Norkeh has started all 17 games in his freshman season and is hitting .279 with a double, three triples and a home run. A Minnesota native, Norkeh has 12 stolen bases and leads the Rams with 19 runs scored. A center fielder, Norkeh has been hit by six pitches and has walked five times to improve his on-base percentage to .380.
Cameron Massengill has 12 hits and six RBI in his first season at ASU, while
Christian Summers has 14 hits, including four doubles, a triple and a home run. He has three stolen bases and has reached six times on a walk.
Reggie Rodriguez has added four hits and five RBI, while
JP Zapata and
Blake Bass have six hits each.
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TARLETON STATE TEXAN REPORT (12-4, 3-1 LSC)
Jacob French (4-0) leads the Texans with 23 strikeouts through four starts and five appearances this season, while Garrett Kelly (2-0) has two wins in five relief appearances and Robert Baker is 3-2 with a 4.44 ERA in five starts this season. French is a junior from Kingwood who started his collegiate career at Tyler Junior College, while Baker is a senior from Garland. The Texans have not used a left-handed pitcher this season.
Rustin Thomas was named the NCBWA South Central Hitter of the Week on Tuesday and is at .444 with 20 hits. A senior from Mansfield, Thomas has five home runs and 16 RBI. Luke Slentz is hitting .415 with 17 hits and five RBI, while Keven Meredith has 19 hits and is tied with Thomas for the team lead with 16 RBI. Evan Robinson has 13 hits and 10 RBI, while Garrett Kilgore is hitting .314 with four doubles and 10 RBI.
Meredith, a junior from Manor, leads the team with seven stolen bases and Noel Nevarez has 11 RBI and 11 hits.
