SAN ANGELO – The No. 8-ranked Angelo State baseball team completed a four-game Lone Star Conference sweep of Cameron on Monday with 6-5 and 4-2 wins in a doubleheader at Foster Field and extended its winning streak to 13 games to match the program record.

The Rams (14-1, 4-0 LSC) opened the day with the 6-5 win after Nehwon Norkeh hit a game-winning single to center field to score Brett David and ASU scored all four of its runs in the sixth inning of its 4-2 win in the finale. ASU matched the program record of 13 straight wins which was previously established in 2006 and also earned its first four-game LSC sweep since taking four games against Abilene Christian by a combined score of 46-7 to finish of the 2012 regular season. Cameron fell to 6-9 on the season after taking the four losses in San Angelo to open LSC play.

"I think Cameron is a very good team and I told our guys that we gained ground in the conference because I don't think they'll be swept again this season," ASU head coach Kevin Brooks said. "I'm proud of how our guys played this weekend and think there's a lot of potential out there. It's hard to sweep a four-game series against a good team."

Graylon Brown (2-0) earned the win in the first game of the day after going 1 2/3 innings of relief with two strikeouts without allowing a run. The Rams led the opener 3-2 going into the seventh inning after a J.C. Snyder solo home run in the bottom of the sixth inning before the Aggies scored three runs on two hits in the top of the seventh to take a 5-3 lead. Down two runs going into the final scheduled inning, ASU tied the game after a series of breaks which included Hunter Spear leading off the inning with a strikeout but reaching on a wild pitch and throwing error. Chandler Patterson followed with a bunt single and then Cody Semler loaded the bases with a bunt single of his own. Sam Kohler, who pinch ran for Spear, would score from third on a wild pitch and then Patterson scored on a fielder's choice to tie the game. With the game tied at five after a flyout ended the seventh with the bases loaded, Brown held Cameron scoreless in the eighth and set up the win for the ASU offense.

David singled to lead off the inning and advanced to second on bunt single by Kohler. With runners at first and second, Norkeh stepped up with two outs and delivered the game-winning run with his second hit of the game. ASU finished the game with a 10-8 hit advantage and overcame two fielding errors. Bryce Zak struck out seven and allowed only two runs in 5 2/3 innings in the no-decision and now has 31 strikeouts on the year.
Patterson finished the game going 2-for-3 and scored one run, while Norkeh and Snyder each went 2-for-4 and drove in two runs. David went 1-for-3 in the game and extended his team-leading hitting streak to seven, while Massengill went 1-for-4 and has now hit safely in six straight games.

With the series win in hand, the Rams looked to sweep the Aggies and did so despite going scoreless in seven of eight innings. ASU was held in check for the most part by CU freshman pitcher Nolan Withrow (0-1) before a five-hit, four-run sixth inning put the Rams in command. The sixth inning featured a two-RBI double by Derek Tyner and a two-run double into the left-center field gap by Snyder. Matt Shannon (1-0) would earn his first collegiate win by going 4 1/3 innings of scoreless baseball in relief of starter Kellen Rholl who gave the Rams a 3 2/3 inning start where he struck out three and allowed only two runs. Dillon Becker came in for the final out to record his fourth save of the season after Brown had recorded the first two outs of the top of the ninth. Becker finished off the game with a strikeout with runners at second and third base.

 

Post by Angelo Sports.

"I think we found some answers today with Matt and Kellen having really strong performances," Brooks said. "That's huge for us. We came into this series not playing a four-game series yet, so that was a question for us. To have both of those guys step up was a huge relief and is something that we'll need the rest of the season."

Tyner led the Rams at the plate with a 2-for-4 performance and two RBI, while Snyder had one hit and added two RBI.

SERIES NOTES: The Rams won the four-game series by a 21-14 combined score and hit .312 against Cameron pitchers during the games… Norkeh and Massengill led the team with six hits each, while David and Paxton DeLaGarza had five hits each… Tyner led the Rams with four RBI during the four-game series on four hits… Norkeh went 6-for-16 with a triple and home run and now leads the team with four home runs this season… DeLaGarza leads ASU with nine multi-hit games, while Snyder and Tyner have eight multi-hit games… Snyder and David each have three home runs this season after Snyder hit a home run in the sixth inning of the first game of the day and for the season Snyder leads the team with a .415 batting average… ASU's pitching staff owned a 2.18 ERA during the four-game series and had 33 strikeouts in 33 innings of work… Steve Naemark record his third win of the season with six strikeouts and no earned runs in the opener, while Blake Bass (4-0) earned his fourth straight win after matching a career-high with seven strikeouts on Sunday night… Naemark now has 44 strikeouts and a 0.90 ERA this season, while Bass has a 1.55 ERA and 28 strikeouts… Becker appeared in all four games against the Aggies and record three saves… He now has four saves on the season and has 12 strikeouts in seven innings pitched.

"Our defense has been really strong for us all season because we have a lot of versatility," Brooks said. "We have a lot of great players who can play multiple spots and that's really helping us right now. Our pitching has been really impressive, but a major component to that is our defense. We are not only making the routine plays, but also the game-changing plays."

UP NEXT: Angelo State, which has played 13 straight home games, will travel to Stephenville next weekend for a four-game series against Tarleton State. The Texans were off this weekend after cancelling a LSC series which was supposed to be played at Eastern New Mexico.