SAN ANGELO – The second half of Lone Star Conference play begins this weekend for the Angelo State baseball team when it hosts Cameron in a three-game set at Foster Field.
ASU (20-13, 10-10 LSC) earned a 3-1 series win over the Aggies (11-18, 6-12 LSC) in the first series between the two teams a month ago. The Rams are coming off a 3-1 series win over Eastern New Mexico last weekend, while CU split its four-game series against LSC-leading West Texas A&M in Canyon. ASU is 11-5 at Foster Field this season and is currently third in the LSC standings behind WT and Texas A&M-Kingsville with 15 conference games remaining on the schedule.
"We need our starting pitching to continue giving us what it's been doing all year and we are going to need some of our player in our lineup to step up to overcome some of the injuries that we're dealing with," ASU head coach
Kevin Brooks said. "I thought we made some strides at the plate last weekend, but we still need improvements and we need to play with a sense of urgency throughout the game."
The second half of LSC play will be played as three-game sets with the first and third games being scheduled for nine innings with the second game being a seven-inning game. ASU will follow up this weekend's series with a midweek non-conference 3 p.m. doubleheader against McMurry on Tuesday at Foster Field. The two games were originally scheduled for Feb. 2, but were pushed back due to inclement weather.
Angelo State enters the weekend with a 2.96 pitching staff earned run average which ranks third in the conference and a .284 batting average which is fourth. The Rams, who have 49, doubles, 11 triples, 11 home runs and lead the LSC with 67 stolen bases, have played 33 games this season with 16 of those games being decided by one run. ASU is 10-6 in one-run games and improved to 2-5 in extra-inning games with a 9-8 win in 12 innings last Saturday against ENMU.
The Rams are 23-16 all-time against the Aggies, including winning nine of the last 12 meetings.
"They are coming off a great weekend taking two of four at West Texas which no one has been able to do this season," said Brooks of Cameron. "Their pitchers throw strikes and they do a good job of attacking you. Hitting wise, they can explode on you in a hurry if you lose focus. They are a team that always competes and they need this series to get back in the hunt to make the conference tournament."
ON THE MOUNDJason Zgardowski (3-2) was named the LSC Pitcher of the Week for the first time in his career after striking out 11 and earning a complete-game win over ENMU last weekend. A junior right-hander from San Antonio, Zgardowski transferred from Midland College and will make the start on Friday night. He enters the weekend with 55 strikeouts which is second in the LSC and 23rd nationally. His 1.94 ERA through 51.0 innings of work is ninth in the conference. He earned a win over the Aggies in his first game against them after striking out nine in 8 1/3 innings of work. He has only walked 10 batters this season and has limited the opposition to a .214 batting average. Zgardowski will be making his eighth start and 10th appearance.
"He wasn't even at his best during the game which speaks volumes to the great season he's having for us," said Brooks of Zgardowski. "Pitchers need to be able to overcome that sometimes and he did on Saturday. He put us on his back like he's done so many times before and thankfully we were able to score enough runs to get him a win."
Blake Bass (3-1) is third in the LSC and 36th nationally with a 1.24 ERA and will start the first game on Saturday. Bass has 26 strikeouts and only two walks through 36 1/3 innings of work this season. He is in his first year at ASU after playing the past two seasons at Texas Tech. A Lubbock native, Bass has limited opponents to a .237 batting average and has allowed only nine earned runs. He earned a complete-game win over the Aggies in the first series between the two teams this season in Lawton. He struck out six, walked none, and allowed only four hits in the seven-inning game.
Dillon Becker (3-3) is scheduled to start the third game of the series and comes into the weekend with 33 strikeouts and a 4.1 ERA through 36.1 innings of work. He did not receive a decision after striking out six in 8.0 innings last Sunday against ENMU. Becker, a sophomore from Bastrop, has struck out 24 in 25.0 innings in conference play this season. He will be making his sixth start and 13th appearance.
With the shift to a three-game series, ASU's
Jake Feckley (4-2) could see his first appearance out of the bullpen after making nine starts this season. The winningest pitcher in program history, Feckley is fifth in the LSC with 45 strikeouts with a 1.91 ERA through 61 1/3 innings this season. He has three saves on his career resume which includes 19 wins and 157 strikeouts. His strikeout total is second in program history behind Joe Key's 212 strikeouts.
Graylon Brown enters this weekend with a team-leading 16 appearances and has a 3-2 record which included a win last weekend in the series opener against ENMU. Brown, a sophomore from Brownwood, has 27 strikeouts and has limited opponents to a .209 average in 36 2/3 innings. He has four saves this season which ranks third in the conference.
AT THE PLATEHunter Choate hit .462 against the Aggies in the first series between the two teams and comes into this weekend with a .292 average with five doubles, one triple, one home run and 26 singles. He has 14 RBI this season and nine multi-hit games which includes a four-hit performance against the Aggies. Choate has played third base and second base this season and has a .932 fielding percentage with 48 assists and 21 putouts. A sophomore from Athens, he was named the LSC Hitter of the Week on March 11.
Christian Summers was selected as the LSC Hitter of the Week for the second consecutive week after putting together back-to-back strong series against Texas A&M-Kingsville and Eastern New Mexico. Summers, a senior from San Angelo, is currently on an eight-game hitting streak and has steadily raised his batting average to .274 after early-season struggles. He is tied with
David Goggin for the team lead with 21 RBI this season and has six doubles, two triples and two home runs through 113 at-bats this season.
"It's exciting to see him step up the past two weeks," Brooks said. "He's doing a really good job of staying with his approach that makes him a dangerous hitter for us. We have a lot of injuries right now, so we're going to need him to continue playing the way he is right now."
A 19th round selection by the San Diego Padres in last summer's Major League Baseball draft, Summers is a career .314 hitter with nine triples and four home runs in his two seasons at ASU. He has made two appearances on the mound this season, recording a save against the Javelinas before striking out seven in 3.0 innings of relief work last weekend against ENMU. He is hitting .451 with five doubles, two triples and a home run in the 16 home games this season and has seven multi-hit games on his resume. He will look for revenge against a Cameron pitching staff which limited him to one hit in 15 at-bats in the first series against the Aggies.
Goggin comes into this weekend with a .301 batting average with five doubles, two triples and 29 singles. He leads the team with six multi-RBI games and is the only Ram to start all 33 games this season. Last season's LSC Freshman of the Year, Goggin is a career .291 hitter with 74 total hits in his two seasons at ASU. He is tied with
Hunter Choate and
Tyler Coughenour for the team lead by piecing together 11-game hitting streaks this season and has eight multi-hit games this season. Coughenour is hitting .315 this season and is second in the LSC with 17 stolen bases behind ASU freshman
Nehwon Norkeh who has 18 stolen bases. Coughenour, a senior from Wichita, Kan., leads the Rams with nine doubles and three home runs. His home run total includes an inside-the-park homer and he hit .429 with four RBI in the first series against Cameron.
Derek Tyner leads the Rams with a .322 average and 37 hits in his first season at Angelo State. He is currently 14th in the conference in batting average and sixth in total hits. A junior from Boerne, Tyner transferred from Odessa College and has played the majority of the season at first base and has also been in the lineup at designated hitter. He has 10 multi-hit games and delivered the two-run, game-winning single last Saturday in ASU's 12-inning win over ENMU. He had a season-high eight game hitting streak earlier in the season and has hit safely in the past four games. He hit .333 with two RBI in the series in Lawton against the Aggies.
Cameron Massengill leads ASU with a .333 batting average in LSC play and is hitting .318 throughout his first season with the Rams. The starting catcher in 29 games, Massengill transferred from Cisco College after his high school career at Kennedale High. He enters this weekend's series with three doubles, 25 singles and 11 RBI.
Brett David is coming off a five-RBI weekend against ENMU where he drove in the game-winning run in the first game last Saturday before hitting a two-out, three-run home run in the bottom of the ninth to tie the game and keep the Rams alive in a game they won in the 12th. David, a junior from El Paso, is hitting .303 with 17 RBI this season. He currently has eight doubles, a home run and 21 singles and was named the LSC Hitter of the Week on Feb. 11.
Reggie Rodriguez comes into this weekend with 14 hits, including hitting a three-run home run last weekend against ENMU for his first home run of the season. A senior outfielder from Puerto Rico, Rodriguez has 10 RBI and three stolen bases this season.
JP Zapata, a freshman from San Angelo, is hitting .400 through his first 25 at-bats with the Rams. Zapata graduated from Lake View High School in 2007 and spent four years in the Army before enrolling at ASU this season and making the team in an open tryout. Zapata has made seven starts and began his career 5-for-5 with a walk to begin his career. He is currently on a two-game hitting streak, including his first two-hit game last Sunday which included his first triple of his career. Norkeh is hitting .250 this season with two home runs, four doubles and leads the team with three triples. Bass has been added to the lineup the past three weekends and has four RBI, including hitting a solo home run against the Javelinas. He has 11 hits this season with five coming in LSC play.
CAMERON AGGIE REPORT (11-18, 6-12 LSC)The Aggies are coming off splitting their four-game series last weekend at West Texas A&M and dropped an 11-3 decision on Tuesday against Southwestern Oklahoma in Lawton. CU is 5-9 on the road this season and comes into San Angelo with a .256 team batting average which includes 33 doubles, eight triples and four home runs. The pitching staff has a 4.88 ERA with 126 strikeouts and 64 walks through 223.0 innings of work and has allowed 13 home runs.
Brad Blumer and Codey McElroy lead the Aggies with .319 batting averages, while Tobin Mateychick leads the team with 14 RBI this season. Blumer, a senior from Montana, has 30 hits with 26 singles and four doubles. McElroy leads CU with nine doubles and two triples in his junior season. McElroy is a junior from Chattanooga, Okla. who went to the University of Texas before transferring to Cameron. He is coming off a three-home run weekend against WT where he also had six RBI. Jordan Climpson is hitting .264 with 12 RBI and Mateychick has six doubles. Mateychick, a senior from Enid, Okla., led the Aggies with five RBI against the Rams in the first series.
Â
