SAN ANGELO – Round two between regional baseball powers Angelo State and St. Mary's will go down at 6 p.m. on Tuesday in a non-conference game at Dickson Stadium in San Antonio.

The Rams (26-12) are 1-0 against the Rattlers (28-8) this season after securing a 4-3 win back on March 31 at Foster Field and own a 13-7 advantage in the all-time series. ASU is 11-1 in non-conference games this season, including a 7-0 against Heartland Conference opponents. The Rattlers are 19-3 on their campus this season, including taking two of three games last weekend from No. 14-ranked St. Edward's.

Angelo State will follow its game at St. Mary's with a three-game set against West Texas A&M this weekend in Canyon for its final road games of the season before hosting Texas A&M-Kingsville and Eastern New Mexico to finish off the regular season. ASU will also host McMurry next Monday in its final non-conference game of the season at 6 p.m. at Foster Field.

Matt Shannon (2-1) will make the start for the Rams and enters the game with a 16 strikeouts and a 4.76 ERA through 10 appearances and 22 2/3 innings of work this season. Shannon is 1-0 this season against the Rattlers after striking out three and scattering six hits in the first meeting. He didn't walk a batter in the game and kept the Rams in the game by holding St. Mary's to two earned runs. Shannon, who is right-hander from Pleasanton, will be making his third start of the season after not appearing in a game last weekend against Tarleton State.

Graylon Brown leads the Lone Star Conference with eight saves this season, including securing a two-inning save against the Rattlers where he struck out four and did not allow a hit or run in the first meeting between the two teams. Brown (2-1) has been lights out for the Rams this season and owns a 0.30 ERA and has 30 strikeouts and only six walks in 30 innings of work. A junior right-hander from Brownwood, Brown has not allowed an earned run in his last 13 appearances and has allowed only one earned run in 19 appearances all season.    

Paxton DeLaGarza has hit safely in 19 of the last 21 games and leads the Rams and is second in the LSC with a .374 batting average. A junior shortstop from Lubbock, DeLaGarza has also been dynamic in the field by committing only seven errors all season. At the plate he has supplied 10 doubles, a triple, four home runs and has 37 singles. His 52 total hits leads the conference. He hit his fourth home run of the season last Saturday in the bottom of the seventh inning to force extra-innings against the Texans and went 1-for-3 against the Rattlers in the first meeting. J.C. Snyder leads the LSC with 16 doubles and is second on the team and in the conference with 46 total hits. Snyder has proved to be a versatile player for the Rams in his senior season having played in right field and at third base. He has started the last eight games at third base and has started all 38 games this season. Snyder has also provided five home runs and 20 RBI for the Rams.

Derek Tyner and Brett David both hit home runs for the Rams in the first game against the Rattlers and have been consistent hitters for ASU throughout the season. Tyner is coming off a two-home run game against Tarleton in the series finale and has provided four home runs to go along with a .333 batting average this season. A senior from Boerne, Tyner has eight doubles and 24 RBI from the designated hitter spot in the lineup. A four-year senior from El Paso, David also has four home runs this season and is hitting .286 while leading the Rams and conference with 29 RBI. One of the best fielding first basemen in the nation, David has 25 singles, six doubles and one triple to go along with his four home runs.

Nehwon Norkeh led the Rams with six hits in last weekend's series against Tarleton State and also leads the team with six home runs this season. Norkeh is hitting .304 in his sophomore season with 42 total hits from the leadoff position. A Minnesota native, Norkeh leads the team and conference with 37 runs scored and has 23 RBI. Norkeh led the Rams by going 2-for-4 with a run scored and an RBI in the first game against St. Mary's. Cameron Massengill has started all but one game at catcher this season and has proved 18 RBI on 28 hits for the Rams. Cody Semler and Sam Kohler have proved to be dynamic fielders throughout the season. Semler has played in the outfield recently and showcased his arm by gunning down a runner at the plate on Saturday and then having Tarleton hold up its runners after. Semler is hitting .218 with 19 hits and nine RBI through 87 at-bats, while Kohler is hitting .257 with 18 hits and six RBI.

The Rams are hitting .294 as a team and have outscored their opponents by a 205-117 combined score and lead the conference with 25 home runs. The ASU pitching staff has allowed just two home runs all season and has limited opponents to a .238 batting average coming into Tuesday's non-conference game.

St. Mary's comes into this week hitting .303 as a team with 61 doubles, 14 triples and 12 home runs this season. Brooks Orton leads the team with a .400 average which includes 11 doubles, two triples and three home runs. Orton went 1-for-5 against ASU pitching in the first game and leads the Rattlers with 52 total hits and 37 runs scored this season. Derek Hamilton went 2-for-4 against the Rams and is hitting .346 with 47 hits and 23 RBI this season, while AJ Perez also had a two-hit game against ASU and is hitting .343 with eight doubles and team-leading three triples this season.

The Rattler pitching staff owns a 3.23 ERA this season and has recorded 219 strikeouts and has allowed 131 walks through 295 innings. St. Mary's will resume Heartland Conference play this weekend with a three-game set against Oklahoma Christian at Dobson Field in Oklahoma City before travelling to play Tarleton State next Tuesday in Stephenville. The Rattlers also have a game at Texas A&M-Kingsville coming up on their schedule on Tuesday, April 28.