SERIES SCHEDULE @ Foster Field: 6:30 p.m., Friday; 1 p.m., Saturday (doubleheader)
MEDIA LINKS: said. "Offensively, we need to do a better job of getting to them than we did the first time. The biggest thing for us is that we need to make great pitches and come through with big at-bats throughout the series. When it's on the line, we need to execute. We have been inconsistent with that, but we have to come through this weekend."
The series will open with a nine-inning game starting at 6:30 p.m. on Friday before a 1 p.m. doubleheader starting at 1 p.m. on Saturday. The first game of the doubleheader is scheduled for seven innings, while the series finale is scheduled for nine. ASU will finish the regular season with road series at Texas A&M-Kingsville and Eastern New Mexico.
The Rams are 11-8 in one-run games this season and are 30-12 all-time against the Buffs. WT comes into this weekend with a 6-5 record in its last 11 games after splitting a four-game series with Cameron and falling 2-1 to the Javelinas. The Buffs are 14-6 away from Canyon this season and are 7-2 against the Rams over the past two seasons. They are currently nationally ranked No. 6 by the NCBWA, No. 26 by D2BaseballNews, No. 24 by College Baseball Lineup and No. 9 by Collegiate Baseball. The Rams, who were ranked No. 10 in the nation during the first series against WT, are unranked going into this weekend's play.
"There are a lot of teams that are playing games right now without any pressure because they're already out of it," Brooks said. "We're not in that situation though. These games matter for us and I think feeling the pressure is a good thing. That's why we all do this. People can look at pressure as a negative, but we don't. I think our guys came here to Angelo State because they wanted to play pressure games in April and May and we believe they can respond to it."
Angelo State Ram Report
ASU enters this weekend with a .287 team batting average with 58 doubles, 14 triples, 12 home runs and a conference-leading 82 stolen bases. The Rams are hitting .263 in conference play and .282 in home games. The pitching staff has a 3.48 ERA with 290 strikeouts, 111 walks and 131 earned runs in 339 innings of work this season.
Blake Bass (3-3) is scheduled to start the first game of the series on Friday and will be making his ninth start and 10th appearance of the season. A 6-foot-7 junior from Lubbock, Bass has a 2.20 ERA with 29 strikeouts and only seven walks in 49.0 innings of work this season. He is in his first season at Angelo State after playing the last two years at Texas Tech. Bass is 2-1 with a 1.52 ERA through five starts at Foster Field this season and has earned one LSC Pitcher of the Week honor.
Jason Zgardowski (4-4) is a two-time LSC Pitcher of the Week and enters this weekend second in the conference with 62 strikeouts. He has a 2.95 ERA and has limited the opposition to a .235 batting average throughout the season. At home, Zgardowski is 3-1 with a 1.54 ERA with 34 strikeouts in 35.0 innings. He is in his first season at ASU after pitching the past two seasons at Midland College. Zgardowski went 6 2/3 innings of scoreless baseball with four strikeouts against WT in the first series, but took the loss in a 1-0 defeat that came on a walk-off unearned run. He is scheduled to start the 1 p.m. game on Saturday which is scheduled for seven innings.
Jake Feckley (5-2) is the all-time winningest pitcher in ASU's history with 20 wins and will start Saturday's second game. A senior from Wylie, Feckley has recorded 51 strikeouts and has limited the opposition to a .239 batting average through 70.0 innings this season. He is currently second in program history with 163 career strikeouts in 209 2/3 innings of work. Feckley has pitched for the Rams for three seasons after starting his collegiate career at Texas A&M where he was the Aggies closer during his freshman season. Feckley was named the LSC Pitcher of the Week the first two weeks of this season.
Brett David leads the Rams with a .320 batting average in his junior season. He has recorded 12 multi-hit games and has eight doubles, one home run and 20 RBI. Tyler Coughenour also has 12 multi-hit games and is hitting .311 with a team-leading 11 doubles which is second in the conference. David currently ranks 17th in the LSC in batting average and Coughenour is 19th. Coughenour, a senior who transferred to ASU last season from Wichita State, is tied for second in the conference with 18 stolen bases and is also tied for the team lead with three home runs with freshman Nehwon Norkeh.
Derek Tyner enters this weekend with a .308 batting average and 18 RBI, while Cameron Massengill is hitting .302 with four doubles and 12 RBI. Tyner and Massengill both have 11 multi-hit games in their first season with the Rams. Tyner transferred to ASU this season from Odessa College, while Massengill has started 37 games at catcher after transferring from Cisco College.
David Goggin leads the Rams with 26 RBI and 42 hits in his sophomore season and enters the weekend with a .296 batting average. Last season's LSC Freshman of the Year, Goggin has eight multi-RBI games this season and is coming off a weekend where he went 5-for-12 in games against McMurry and Tarleton. He hit the game-tying single in the top of the ninth in the series finale against Tarleton for the third of four runs by the Rams in their comeback attempt. Goggin went 8-for-16 with four RBI during the first four games against WT this season.
Christian Summers enters his final weekend playing at home with a .293 batting average with 41 hits which includes eight doubles, two triples and two home runs. He is second on the team with 25 RBI and has stolen 13 of 14 base attempts in his senior season. A San Angelo native who played his first two seasons at the University of Texas, Summers is hitting .441 with seven doubles, two triples and a home run at Foster Field this season.
Hunter Choate is hitting .283 with five doubles and 17 RBI, while Norkeh leads the conference with 19 stolen bases and is hitting .237 with three triples and three home runs in his first season in San Angelo. Reggie Rodriguez, who led the Rams with seven hits last week, comes into this weekend with a .235 batting average that includes three doubles, a triple, a home run and has produced 13 RBI. JP Zapata, a freshman from San Angelo, is hitting .400 with 16 hits. His .525 on-base percentage leads the Rams and he has two triples and three RBI in 40 at-bats.
The final three home games of the season will also be the final home games in the career of Jake Albert, Tyler Coughenour, Jake Feckley, Mason Leavitt, Reggie Rodriguez and Christian Summers. Albert is a four-year player for the Rams who redshirted his first season at ASU and has seven wins and 73 strikeouts in his career. Coughenour transferred to ASU last season as a junior and currently has 20 doubles, five triples, four home runs and 43 stolen bases in his two seasons. Feckley is 20-10 in three seasons at ASU after transferring from Texas A&M and is the all-time winningest pitcher in program history and is second with 163 strikeouts. Leavitt is in his second season with the Rams and has recorded 16 strikeouts on the mound. Rodriguez, a Puerto Rico native, joined the Rams last season and is a career .293 hitter with four triples, four home runs and 45 RBI. Summers is also in his second season at ASU after transferring from the University of Texas. A San Angelo native, Summers returned to his hometown for his final two years where he is a career .319 hitter with 27 doubles, nine triples, four home runs, 57 RBI and 30 stolen bases in 93 games played for the Rams.
SENIOR QUOTES
Jake Albert // RHP // Conroe, Texas
On what it's meant to him to play baseball at Angelo State:
"It's been a great experience ever since I got here. I have enjoyed being around all my teammates and the coaches over the years. I just wanted to be a guy who would come in and throw strikes to get batters out. I always enjoyed the pressure situations of coming in the game in relief and getting our team out of trouble."
Tyler Coughenour // IF // Wichita, Kansas
On what it's meant to him to play baseball at Angelo State:
"I've had a lot of fun here playing baseball. This team has always been about having a good time and also taking baseball seriously. I always wanted to be able to play wherever the team needed me to be and wasn't worried about personal things. I've always been a team guy just like all us out here. I just wanted to do whatever I could to help the team."
Jake Feckley // RHP // Wylie, Texas
On what it's meant to him to play baseball at Angelo State:
"It was probably the best decision I've ever made in my life to transfer here. I've enjoyed every part of it and am really grateful for the opportunity. It's been an amazing experience and is really hard to express with words how much I cherish every moment. I have always been about the team. If they needed me to start, I would start. If I needed to come out of the bullpen I would do that. I can come in to close and I can go in at second base. It's all about the team here."
Mason Leavitt // LHP // Frisco, Texas
On what it's meant to him to play baseball at Angelo State:
"I've enjoyed every moment of being a part of this program. I didn't play for a few years and that made me realize how much baseball meant to me. Having this opportunity has been incredible for me. I'm here to help the team out any way I can and just do a job."
Reggie Rodriguez // OF // Puerto, Rico
On what it's meant to him to play baseball at Angelo State:
"From my teammates to our coaches, the experience here has been really great. Everything is about working together as a team and it's always fun. I came here looking for an opportunity to continue playing. Even when I'm struggling I try to be a leader and make it fun."
Christian Summers // IF // San Angelo, Texas
On what the final home series means to him:
"I'm looking forward to playing the series, but it's going to be a bittersweet weekend knowing it's my final time playing games in San Angelo. It's important to our seniors who are in their last seasons and the entire team who have worked so hard to put ourselves in position to reach our goals. We're not going to go down without fighting and trying to do everything we can to keep playing and advancing."
WEST TEXAS A&M BUFF REPORT
The Buffs enter this weekend's series in San Angelo with a .315 team batting average and a 3.01 pitching staff ERA. WT hitters have connected for 70 doubles, 18 triples and 13 home runs, while its pitchers have 317 strikeouts through 337 1/3 innings.
Tyler McKnight leads the Buffs and is second in the LSC with a .410 batting average which includes 10 doubles, four triples a home run and has produced 20 RBI. He is also 7-for-7 on stolen bases this season. Nick Chapman is third in the LSC with a .376 batting average and has seven doubles, three triples, two home runs and 19 RBI, while Aaron Blair leads the conference with 30 RBI. Blair is hitting .338 with three doubles and two home runs.
Matt Redfearn is at .321 with 21 RBI and Dylan Dyson has seven doubles, 22 RBI and is hitting .323. Redfearn leads the Buffs with 18 walks and Blair has reached base 17 times on walks.
Dylan James (7-2) leads the conference with 90 strikeouts and has a 2.07 ERA through 69.2 innings on the mound, while Scott Cone (5-1) has 53 strikeouts in 59 1/3 innings and Joshua Weyker (6-4) has 48 strikeouts through 59 innings. Cone is fourth in the conference in strikeouts and James is sixth in ERA. Paul Lujan (2-2) is the team's closer and has six saves and 16 strikeouts in 17 1/3 innings on the mound.
Â
|
