SAN ANGELO – The Angelo State baseball team will play their final regular-season road games of the season this weekend with a three-game Lone Star Conference set at West Texas A&M on Friday and Saturday at Wilder Park in Canyon.

The Rams (27-12, 15-11 LSC) are currently third in the conference standings with the Buffs (26-14, 16-10 LSC) just ahead of them with three weeks remaining. The series starts at 7 p.m. on Friday with a single game before the two teams play a 1 p.m. doubleheader (7/9 innings) on Saturday. ASU and WT split their first series of the year with both teams taking two wins in a four-game series in mid-March at Foster Field. The Rams are coming off a 10-9 win over No. 13-ranked St. Mary's on Tuesday, while WT earned a 6-5 win over Lubbock Christian in its midweek game.

Angelo State will play its final seven games of the regular season at Foster Field following this weekend's series at Canyon starting with a 6 p.m. game on Monday against McMurry before hosting Texas A&M-Kingsville (24-15, 18-8 LSC) and Eastern New Mexico (13-23, 8-15 LSC).

Angelo State leads the Lone Star Conference in 15 statistical categories including offensive stats in batting average (.297), doubles (72), total hits (359), home runs (26), home runs per game (0.37), on-base percentage (.370), sacrifice flies (19) and slugging percentage (.428). ASU's pitching staff and defense leads the LSC in ERA (2.93), fielding percentage (.974), strikeout-to-walk ratio (3.06), strikeouts per 9-innings (9.7) and WHIP (1.26). The team's .692 won-loss percentage also leads the conference.

ASU is seventh in the nation with its .974 fielding percentage and its 9.7 strikeouts per game and is 10th with its 2.93 pitching staff ERA. The Rams are second in the conference in six categories including stolen bases (43), walks (118), doubles per game (1.85), total runs (215), shutouts (4) and stolen bases per game (1.10).

Nehwon Norkeh leads conference in home runs (6) and runs (38), while J.C. Snyder is tops with 16 doubles, Cody Semler leads with 11 stolen bases and Paxton DeLaGarza leads the conference with 54 total hits. On the mound, Steve Naemark and Blake Bass are pacing the conference with seven wins and Naemark has the most strikeouts with 86 and the lowest ERA at 0.64. Naemark is currently seventh in the country in ERA and sixth in strikeouts. Graylon Brown is second in the conference and 12th in the nation with his eight saves. Brett David tops the conference by being hit by nine pitches and with 29 RBI.
 
ASU SEASON TRACKER
Overall Record:  27-12
Lone Star Conference Record:  15-11
At Foster Field:  18-4
Away from San Angelo:  9-8
Neutral Site Games:  0-0
LSC Home Games:  8-4
LSC Road Games:  7-7
Current Streak:  W2
Longest Winning Streak:  W15 (*program record)
Longest Losing Streak:  L4
Most runs scored:  18
Fewest runs scored:  0 (2)
Extra-inning games:  3-2
Vs. Cameron: 7-0
Vs. Eastern New Mexico: 1-3
Vs. Tarleton State: 4-3
Vs. Texas A&M-Kingsville: 1-3
Vs. West Texas A&M: 2-2
 
ANGELO STATE PROBABLE STARTING ROTATION
Game 1: Steve Naemark, Junior, LHP (7-1, 0.64 ERA, 1 SV, 86K, 12BB, 45H, 1CG, 70.0 IP)
Game 2: Blake Bass, Senior, RHP (7-2, 2.67 ERA, 67K, 16BB, 66H, 2CG, 64.0 IP)
Game 3: Bryce Zak, Junior, RHP (4-5, 2.19 ERA, 55K, 23BB, 39H, 49.1 IP)
 
STARTER REPORT: Steve Naemark (7-1) leads the Lone Star Conference with 86 strikeouts and a 0.64 ERA through 70 innings of work this season. He is only three strikeouts away from tying Michael Gunter (2007) for the Angelo State single-season strikeout record. A junior left-hander, Naemark is coming off a seven-inning win over Tarleton State last Friday where he struck out six and limited the Texans in a 6-0 victory at Foster Field. He made his first appearance out of the bullpen on Tuesday, throwing six pitches and recording the final two out and a save in the 10-9 win at St. Mary's. A two-time LSC Pitcher of the Week and an NCBWA and Collegiate Baseball National Pitcher of the Week winner, Naemark will be making his 12th start and 13th appearance of the season when he takes the mound on Friday in the series opener against West Texas A&M. Naemark earned a win over the Buffs in the first meeting between the two teams after throwing eight scoreless innings where he struck out six in a 1-0 win by the Rams. He has five or more strikeouts in 10 starts this season, including establishing a program-best 15 strikeouts against Regis after matching the program record with 12 strikeouts against Lubbock Christian. His third double-digit strikeout performance came against Eastern New Mexico when he struck out 11 in Portales. He has given up only 45 hits and has allowed only 12 walks in his 70 innings this season.

Blake Bass (7-2) is coming off a tough loss where he limited Tarleton State to three runs but lost 3-1 after limited run production by the Rams offense. Bass will start the first game of Saturday's doubleheader against West Texas A&M and will be making his 12th start of the season and the 24th start of his two-year career at Angelo. Bass enters this weekend tied for the conference lead in wins with Naemark and is second in strikeouts with 67. A senior who played his first two seasons at Texas Tech as a positional player, Bass has recorded 106 strikeouts in his career with the Rams through 140 innings and has a 2.70 career ERA. He has been dominant this season having recorded five or more strikeouts in nine games this season, including establishing a career-high with 10 strikeouts in a win at Tarleton State and nine strikeouts in five innings against West Texas A&M where he did not receive a decision. Bass has walked only 16 batters through 64.0 innings pitched. He was an LSC first-team and all-region selection last season as a junior and was this year's LSC Preseason Pitcher of the Year. He is 11-6 in his career at Angelo State.

Bryce Zak (4-5) enters this weekend with a 9-6 career record at Angelo State and with 93 career strikeouts in 95.0 innings of work. A junior right-hander, Zak will be making his 10th start of the season in the second game of Saturday's doubleheader against the Buffs. Zak earned his fourth win of the season in the last meeting against WT where he threw 5 2/3 innings of scoreless baseball by limiting the Buffs to four hits. He struck out only one in the game but also didn't walk a batter in a game where the Rams took a 2-0 win. Zak established a career-best earlier this season by striking out 11 in a win over Regis and has had five or more strikeouts in eight games this season. He is coming off a loss to Tarleton State last Saturday where he struck out five and gave up only two runs in a 2-1 loss. He goes into Canyon with a 2.19 ERA which ranks second in the conference.

LINEUP REPORT: Angelo State sophomore Nehwon Norkeh leads the Rams with six home runs and 38 runs scored from the lead-off spot in the lineup this season and has currently reached base in 10 straight games. Norkeh is hitting .303 this season with 10 doubles, a triple and 26 singles to go along with his six home runs. Ranked as the No. 5 top Division II professional prospect by Baseball America, Norkeh has 10 career home runs and has 42 RBI through 89 games and 307 at-bats in his two seasons at ASU. He also has 68 putouts in center field this season without an error. He had six hits in last week's four-game series against Tarleton State to lead the Rams and had one hit in Tuesday's win at St. Mary's. Paxton DeLaGarza continues to lead the Rams at the plate where he is hitting .375 with a conference-leading 54 total hits. DeLaGarza hit a two-run home run in the first inning at St. Mary's for his fifth home run of the season and also has 10 doubles and a triple. A junior shortstop, DeLaGarza has hit safely in 20 of the past 22 games and is tied with Derek Tyner for the team lead with 16 multi-hit games. Tyner hit two home runs last Sunday in the series-finale win over the Texans and is now hitting .328 with four home runs and 24 RBI in his senior season. In the lineup for all 39 games this season at designated hitter, Tyner enters this weekend with 96 career hits for the Rams.

J.C. Snyder is coming off his 15th multi-hit game of the season after going 3-for-4 with three singles and a walk in the win at St. Mary's. Snyder is hitting .360 and lead the Rams and conference with 16 doubles. A senior who transferred from BYU, Snyder has 49 total hits this season and is tied with DeLaGarza for second on the team with five home runs. He has had three or more hits in three games this season, including having four-hit performances against Texas A&M International and Tarleton State. He has 20 RBI and a .588 slugging percentage. Brett David leads the Rams and conference with 29 RBI this season and has four home runs and six doubles. A senior first baseman, David has had seven multi-RBI performances this season and enters this weekend with eight home runs and 108 total hits in his career. An El Paso native, David had a career-high four hits in a win over Tarleton State earlier this season and also had a grand slam in a win over TAMIU. Cameron Massengill has started all but one game at catcher this season and has thrown out 18 runners attempting to steal. He is a returning all-conference selection and has provided 36 total hits and 18 RBI for the Rams this season. Cody Semler, a senior transfer from West Virginia, is coming off his second three-RBI performance of the season after going 2-for-4 with a double in the win at St. Mary's. Semler has started the past seven games in the outfield where he has two assists in the past three games. Sam Kohler is the starting second baseman and has moved up to second in the lineup. A junior from Dripping Springs, Kohler has provided 18 total hits and has six RBI for the Rams. David Goggin has worked his way back into the lineup after missing the first part of the season with injury and is a career .282 hitter with 105 total hits and 61 RBI for the Rams. A junior who earned Academic All-American honors last season, Goggin is the team captain this season and has played in the past 18 games.
 
Angelo State Single-Season Records Watch

Most strikeouts
1. 89 - Michael Gunter - 2007
2. 88 - Kenny Elkind - 2009
3. 86 - Joseph Key – 2009
    86 - Steve Naemark – 2015
5. 81 - J. W. Nastoupil - 2006
Most strikeouts looking
1. 28 - Sean Winscher - 2008
2. 27 - Steve Naemark - 2015
3. 24 - R. Reyna - 2012
    24 - Mike Weatherly - 2013
Most saves
1. 9 - Mike Weatherly - 2012
2. 8 - Joseph Key - 2008
3. 8 - Graylon Brown – 2015
Lowest opponent batting avg. (min. 37 IP)
1. .147 - Tommy Rafferty (52.0 IP) - 2006
2. .179 - Steve Naemark (70.0 IP) - 2015
3. .220 - J. W. Nastoupil (82.0 IP) – 2006
Lowest earned run avg. (min. 37 IP)
1. 0.64 - Steve Naemark (70.0 IP) - 2015
2. 1.73 - Tommy Rafferty (52.0 IP) - 2006
3. 1.45 – Graylon Brown (31.0 IP) – 2015
4. 2.19 - Bryce Zak (49.1 IP) – 2015
Most strikeouts/9 inn game (min. 37 IP)
1. 11.55 - Steve Naemark (62.1 IP) - 2015
2. 10.89 - Mike Weatherly (38.0 IP) - 2012
3. 10.63 - Bryce Zak (42.1 IP) - 2015
4. 9.58 - Austin Church (41.1 IP) - 2012
5. 9.32 - Blake Bass (57.0 IP) – 2015
Most caught stealing by
1. 25 - Andrew LaCombe - 2012
2. 18 - Cameron Massengill - 2015
3. 16 - Trey Carter - 2009
Most doubles
1. 28 - Steven Allred - 2007
2. 24 - Clay Calfee - 2008
3. 23 - Shan Sullivan - 2008
4. 22 - Austin Lasprilla - 2009
    22 - Nate Hemm - 2005
6. 20 - Zak Leonhardt - 2010
7. 19 - Lee Neumann - 2012
    19 - Bucky Strickland - 2007
    19 - Christian Summers - 2013
    19 - Garrett Harris - 2011
11.18 - Clay Puckett - 2010
     18 - Trey Carter - 2009
     18 - Clay Calfee - 2007
     18 - Matt Lenderman - 2007
     18 - Toby Semler - 2012
16. 17 - Quaid McKinnon - 2012
      17 - Kyle Mandelbaum - 2005
      17 - Brad Hough - 2006
19. 16 - Drew Caraway - 2007
      16 - J.C. Snyder - 2015