SAN ANGELO – The Angelo State Rams will open the 2015 NCAA Division II Baseball National Finals at 2 p.m. (CDT) on Saturday against Henderson State at the USA Baseball National Training Complex in the Town of Cary, North Carolina.

The Rams (41-16) have won 14 of their last 16 games, including winning four straight to earn the NCAA DII South Central Championship after opening the regional tournament with a loss. ASU is making its second National Finals appearance after also making the eight-team tournament in 2007 when the tournament was hosted in Montgomery, Alabama. The Rams opened that tournament with a win, but then lost the next two to end their season. ASU, which is 7-1 in this postseason after sweeping through the Lone Star Conference Championship with three wins to earn an automatic bid to the regional tournament, is the only current LSC team to make the NCAA DII Baseball National Finals and will be looking to win the first National Championship in program history. 

Henderson State (31-19) knocked off No. 1-ranked St. Cloud State last Sunday to win the Central region championship. ASU is 2-0 all-time against the Reddies after earning a pair of wins (5-1, 5-4) at LaGrave Field in Fort Worth on March 15, 2011 in the only meeting between the two programs. The Reddies, who are a Great American Conference school, will be the home team on Saturday against the Rams with the winner to play at 6 p.m. (CDT) on Monday against the winner of the Wilmington-Catawba game and the loser to play at 2 p.m. (CDT) on Monday against the Wilmington-Catawba. On the other side of the bracket, Truman will play Mercyhurst at 2 p.m. on Sunday and Cal-Poly Pomona will play Tampa at 6 p.m. on Sunday. The championship finals are set for next Friday or Saturday – depending on results leading to two teams remaining in title contention.

ASU enters the national tournament with a .302 team batting average which includes 176 singles, 104 doubles, six triples and 41 home runs. The Rams hit .333 as a team at the South Central Championship with three home runs. ASU's pitching staff has established a new program record by amassing 512 strikeouts this season which has obliterated the previous record of 440 in the 2009 season. The Ram pitchers have only allowed 166 earned runs in 471 innings of work and have the lowest ERA in program history at 3.17. While the Ram hitters have hit 41 home runs this season, the pitching staff has only allowed 12 home runs. ASU comes into the Town of Cary with a 7-1 record in neutral field games and having outscored its opponents 327-203 this season. The only common opponent for the Rams and Reddies this season is Tarleton State. ASU went 6-3 against the Texans, including winning two games against them at the conference tournament and HSU beat the Texans 8-0 in a game played at Minute Maid Park in Houston. The Reddies are 7-2 in the postseason after falling twice to Southern Arkansas in the GAC tournament, but then sweeping their way through the Central region with two wins over No. 1 St. Cloud State along with victories over Emporia State and Minnesota State-Mankato.

STARTER REPORT
Steve Naemark (10-1) has been named to the Daktronics All-America first-team, to the NCBWA All-America second-team, the South Central Pitcher of the Year by ABCA/Rawlings, the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association (NCBWA) and Daktronics after also earning the Lone Star Conference Pitcher of the Year honor. A junior left-hander from Tucson, Arizona, Naemark is second in the nation with 133 strikeouts and is 11th with a 1.46 ERA through 117 innings of work this season. He was named the South Central Championship's Co-MVP after pitching in four of the five games last weekend, including throwing a complete-game with eight strikeouts, one walk and only four hits allowed in the South Central Championship final win over St. Mary's. He also earned a save in the tournament by throwing 2 2/3 innings against Colorado Mesa where he had two strikeouts – including striking out the final out of the game with the game-tying runs in scoring position. Naemark has obliterated the single-season strikeout at ASU which was previously at 89 and is poised to establish a Lone Star Conference record for ERA which is at 1.76  (Josh King, NSU, 2001) and innings pitched which former ASU pitcher Michael Gunter established with 121 1/3 in the 2007 season. Naemark was named the NCBWA and Collegiate Baseball National Pitcher of the Week earlier this season after establishing a single-game program record with 15 strikeouts against Regis on Feb. 21 and also struck out 12 in a win over Lubbock Christian and 11 in a win over Eastern New Mexico. He has recorded five or more strikeouts in 16 games this season, including eight in each of his last two starts. He has two saves on the season to go along with his 10 wins. He has limited the 460 batters he has faced this season to a .203 batting average.

Blake Bass (10-2) is ninth in the nation with 105 strikeouts this season and has been identified as the No. 3-ranked Division II professional prospect by Baseball America and is a Daktronics All-America honorable mention selection. A 6-foot-7 right-hander from Lubbock, Texas, Bass has been a dominant pitcher for the Rams for two seasons where he has racked up 144 career strikeouts and a 14-6 career record. Bass was named to the ABCA/Rawlings and Daktronics South Central first-team and was a Lone Star Conference first-team and all-tournament selection. In his second season at ASU after playing his first two collegiate seasons at Texas Tech as a positional player, Bass owns a 2.20 ERA in 98 1/3 innings of work. He is coming off a 7 2/3 inning start against St. Mary's in an elimination game last Friday where he struck out six and allowed only two runs. He has allowed only 24 earned runs all season and has not allowed more than three earned runs in a game all year. Bass established a career-high with 12 strikeouts in a win over Eastern New Mexico after also recording 10 strikeouts against Tarleton State earlier this season. He has recorded five or more strikeouts in 13 starts this season and will be making his 17th start of the season and the 29th of his career when he takes the mound in Cary.   

Bryce Zak (5-6) has recorded 85 strikeouts and has a 2.67 ERA coming into the National Finals. A junior right-hander from San Angelo, Texas, Zak was named to the Lone Star Conference second-team and is currently fourth in program history with his 85 strikeouts this season. Zak missed the 2014 season due to injury and has made 14 starts and 16 appearances for the Rams this season. He owns a 10-7 career record and has 123 career strikeouts at Angelo State after pitching his freshman season at Texas A&M-Corpus Christi. Zak recorded a career-best 11 strikeouts in a win over Regis where he needed only five innings to amass the strikeouts and also had a 10-strikeout performance against West Texas A&M in six innings. Zak is limiting the opposition to a .257 batting average this season and has recorded five or more strikeouts in 11 games this season.

LINEUP REPORT
Paxton DeLaGarza has been named to the Daktronics All-America first-team after earning the ABCA/Rawlings South Central Positional Player of the Year, the Lone Star Conference Player of the Year, the NCAA DII South Central Championship Co-MVP and has earned NCBWA and Daktronics first-team all-region honors. He's earned that recognition after being one of the top shortstops in the nation and enters the National Finals leading the Rams with a .409 batting average and on a 10-game hitting streak after going 11-for-23 (.478) with two home runs and nine RBI at the regional tournament. A junior from Lubbock, DeLaGarza leads ASU with 53 RBI this season and has 16 doubles, two triples and nine home runs. He currently ranks 11th in the nation with 88 total hits and is 29th in DII with 135 total bases. He leads ASU with 26 multi-hit games, including having eight three-hit performances and also producing four-hit games against Tarleton State in the conference tournament and then going 4-for-5 in the 15-7 win over CSU-Pueblo last Sunday. In that game, DeLaGarza crushed a three-run home run in the bottom of the eighth inning to help the Rams turn a deficit into a rout. In his first season at ASU after transferring from Weatherford College, DeLaGarza is hitting .447 with runners on base and .403 with runners in scoring position. He has 14 multi-RBI performances this season, including a career-best four RBI in the LSC Championship final against Tarleton State. In the field, he has a .953 fielding percentage with 149 assists, 73 putouts and only 11 errors. DeLaGarza has started all 57 games this season for the Rams and currently has the sixth best batting average for a season in program history. His 88 hits are the ninth most in program history and his 149 assists are the fourth most. He is within striking distance of the single-season assist record of 158 which was established by Derek Bockhorn in 2005. How consistent has he been? DeLaGarza has hit safely in 50 of 57 games this season, has reached base in 19 straight games and has only made one error in the past 11 games.

J.C. Snyder is a doubles machine and has proved to be one of the top third basemen in the South Central region and earned a Daktronics All-America honorable mention selection on Friday. Snyder enters this weekend with 24 doubles which ranks sixth in the nation and is the second most in a season in ASU program history which is only behind the 28 that Steven Allred produced in his All-America season in 2007. Snyder is a senior from Salem, Utah who is in his first season at Angelo State after transferring from BYU where he played as a junior after attending Salt Lake Community College his first two seasons. Snyder is the son of Cory Snyder who played Major League Baseball for nine seasons. An all-region and all-conference selection at utility player, Snyder has started at third base in 31 games after beginning the season in right field. He has started all 57 games this season and has a .928 fielding percentage with 59 putouts, 44 assists and only eight errors. He has recorded 24 multi-hit games, including producing four-hit performances against Texas A&M International and Tarleton State. He is currently on an eight-game hitting streak and has reached base in 16 straight games. Snyder, who is fourth on the team with 33 RBI, was named to the South Central Championship's All-Tournament Team after going 8-for-24 with two doubles and three RBI. Those three RBI came against CSU-Pueblo last Sunday when he we had two hits, including of course, one double. His double production has seen him hit two doubles in games against TAMIU, Lubbock Christian, Regis and Texas A&M-Kingsville. He enters this week with a .351 batting average which includes six home runs, one triple, 43 singles and those 24 doubles.    

Sam Kohler delivered the only five-RBI performance of the season for Angelo State in last Sunday's win over CSU-Pueblo when he went 3-for-5 and also scored three runs to help the Rams to the regional final. Kohler went 9-for-23 (.391) and earned all-tournament recognition at the South Central Championship and is now hitting .285 with 41 hits and 17 RBI this season. A junior second baseman from Dripping Springs, Texas, Kohler is in his first season at ASU after transferring from Angelina College and is hitting .346 with runners on base and .333 with runners in scoring position. He missed the first couple of weeks of the season due to injury but quickly established himself as the team's starting second baseman where he has started 37 games at this season. He has also solidified himself as the two-spot hitter and has hit second in the lineup in 23 games. Kohler leads the Rams with 13 stolen bases on 16 attempts, including stealing two bases at the regional tournament. He has 10 multi-hit performances this season with three-hit games against Regis, Eastern New Mexico and then CSU-Pueblo. A sure-handed and smooth second baseman, he has a .973 fielding percentage with 106 assists, 71 putouts and only five errors this season.

Derek Tyner is coming off a 2-for-3 game where he hit a run-scoring double against St. Mary's in the regional final and comes into Cary with a .309 average which includes 11 doubles, five home runs and 47 singles. A senior designated hitter from Boerne, Texas, Tyner is in his second season with the Rams after transferring from Odessa College and was named a LSC first-team selection. After playing his junior season at first base, Tyner solidified himself as the team's designated hitter where he has been at for 56 of 57 games this season. A right-handed hitter, Tyner hit two home runs against Tarleton State at home this season and has 22 multi-hit and six multi-RBI performances this season. He also hit home runs against Texas A&M International, St. Mary's and Texas A&M-Kingsville to give him five for the season to go along with 11 doubles. Tyner went 7-for-23 (.304) with three runs scored and two RBI at the regional tournament. He has three three-hit games with two coming against TAMIU and another against Cameron and he had a season-high three-RBI performance in his two-home run game against Tarleton. He is a .314 career hitter for the Rams in 103 games played and 363 at-bats. He currently has 114 hits with 18 doubles, five home runs and 53 RBI in his career.

ASU's season would be finished right now without Brett David coming through with a two-out RBI single in the ninth last Friday against St. Mary's at the regional tournament. A senior from El Paso, David has started all 57 games at first base for the Rams this season and enters this weekend on a five-game hitting streak. He has seven hits, scored five runs and drove in two runs for the Rams at the South Central Championship and is hitting .281 with seven doubles, one triple and six home runs this season. David has recorded 14 multi-hit and nine multi-RBI performances this season. He hit two home runs at the LSC tournament and has 10 homers in his career, including hitting a grand slam earlier this season against Texas A&M International. An LSC honorable mention selection, David has emerged as one of the best fielding first basemen in the nation who routinely turns in error and run-saving digs for outs. ASU's only four-year senior, David has played in 162 games for the Rams and has 74 RBI in his career. He recorded a career-high four hits earlier this season against Tarleton State and has a .989 fielding percentage. He had a season-high 15 putouts last Sunday in the regional final against St. Mary's where he also went 2-for-4 with an RBI.  

One of the best catchers in program history, Cameron Massengill has established a new single-season record by throwing out 26 runners attempting to steal while also providing 55 total hits and 24 RBI for the Rams. A senior from Kennedale, Texas, Massengill is in his second season at Angelo State after transferring from Cisco College and has thrown out 37 runners in his career which is only three behind the all-time record. He comes into the National Finals with a career .296 batting average which includes 105 total hits and 45 RBI in 108 games played at ASU. He has 55 hits this season with 45 singles and 10 doubles. A clutch hitter, Massengill had five hits in the regional tournament including going 2-for-5 with a double against CSU-Pueblo on Championship Sunday. He also had two hits in an elimination game against St. Mary's last Friday at the regional tournament and 23-for-43 (.535) when leading off an inning. He has 16 multi-hit and five multi-RBI performances this season with three-hit games against McMurry, West Texas A&M and Eastern New Mexico. Massengill has started 56 of 57 games at catcher this season, proving to be one of the most dedicated and durable catchers in the nation. He was named to the LSC second-team this season after earning first-team honors last season.

Cody Semler enters this weekend as one of the stars last Sunday on the final day of the regional tournament when he scored four runs in the win over CSU-Pueblo and then hit a three-run home run to left field in the second inning against St. Mary's to quickly erase a two-run deficit. Semler, who is a senior from Allen in his first season at ASU after playing his first two seasons at Weatherford College and then last year at West Virginia, had four hits, four RBI and scored eight runs at the regional tournament. He is hitting .248 this season with five doubles, two home runs and 28 singles and is second on the team with 12 stolen bases. Semler has seven multi-hit games and is the starting left fielder and has four outfield assists this season. Two of those assists game in the conference tournament, including cutting down the potential game-tying run at home with a strong throw to Massengill to nail a Tarleton State runner. He has three three-hit games and three three-RBI games this season. His four runs scored against the ThunderWolves last Sunday were a season-high along with the three walks he took to reach base. Semler also has 17 RBI and a .352 on-base percentage.

David Goggin is Angelo State's team captain and was named the Lone Star Conference Academic Player of the Year and to the all-academic team for the second straight season. A junior right fielder from Red Wing, Minnesota, Goggin was named the LSC Freshman of the Year in 2013 and to the LSC second-team as sophomore. He missed the first half of his junior season with an injury but has started 37 games. Goggin had six hits and four RBI at the regional tournament and enters Cary with 23 hits and 15 RBI this season. He has six multi-hit games and five multi-RBI performances, including three RBI games against CSU-Pueblo in the regional tournament after a three-RBI game against St. Mary's in a regular-season game in San Antonio. Goggin hit the first home run of his career earlier this season at West Texas A&M and then his second at home against Texas A&M-Kingsville. He is a .272 career hitter for the Rams and currently has 118 hits and 69 RBI in his career. 

Jarryd Klemm is back from injury and could see his first action since mid-March come at the National Finals. A junior outfielder from Adelaide, South Australia, Klemm is 12-for-43 (.279) this season and has started 13 games. In his first season at ASU after transferring from Frank Phillips College, Klemm had three multi-hit games and also produced one double, one home run and four RBI before suffering his injury. Klemm hit his first home run of his career against Texas A&M International and went 1-for-3 with an RBI at Texas A&M-Kingsville in the last game he played in. Elias Aguirre is the only true freshman to see playing time this season and has played the role of defensive replacement in the outfield and has also been a pinch runner. An outfielder from Midland, Aguirre has three hits this season and has scored three runs.  

BULLPEN REPORT
Dillon Becker (8-2) enters the National Finals with 58 strikeouts and a 2.43 ERA through 40 2/3 innings and 29 appearances this season. Becker earned the win over St. Mary's last Friday in the regional tournament after throwing 2 1/3 innings with four strikeouts and then coaxed a double-play ball against Colorado Mesa with the bases loaded with one pitched to get the Rams out of trouble. Becker is a junior right-hander from Bastrop, Texas who is in his second season at Angelo State after transferring from Blinn College. He has allowed only 11 earned runs all season and has limited the opposition to a .190 batting average. Becker had a career-best seven strikeouts last season in performances against Tarleton State and Texas A&M-Kingsville and had a season-best six strikeouts in a three-inning relief appearance against Eastern New Mexico on May 1st. Becker was named to the LSC second-team this season.

Graylon Brown (3-3) is the all-time saves leader in program history with 17 career saves and has established a new single-season saves record with 12 saves this season. A junior right-hander from Brownwood, Texas, Brown has 44 strikeouts and a 3.46 ERA through 29 appearances and 41 2/3 innings of work this season. Brown earned LSC first-team honors and has limited the opposition to a .269 batting average this season. He owns an 11-7 career record to go along with his 17 saves through 130 1/3 innings in his career at ASU. Brown was redshirted in 2012 before making 19 appearances as freshman, 25 as a junior and 29 coming into this weekend. He had a season-best four strikeouts in earning his sixth save of the season against St. Mary's on March 31 at home.

The ASU bullpen is also bolstered by Matt Shannon (4-1), Miles Gully (1-0), Kellen Rholl (0-1) and Trae Davis (0-0). Shannon earned the fourth win of his redshirt freshman year last Saturday against Colorado Mesa when he limited the region's top seed to three hits and had five strikeouts in 4 1/3 innings of work. He also has wins over Cameron and two against St. Mary's this season. Shannon has recorded 32 strikeouts in 36 innings of work. Rholl was named the LSC Co-Freshman of the Year and enters this weekend with 17 strikeouts in 21 1/3 innings of work, while Gully is coming off his first win of the season when he threw 5 1/3 innings against CSU-Pueblo and limited the ThunderWolves to three hits to help lead the Rams to the regional final. Gully, who is a left-handed senior from San Angelo, had not pitched since May 2nd before coming in and shutting down Pueblo. Davis is a senior right-hander who started his career with three seasons at Baylor before transferring to ASU. He has 11 strikeouts in 15 1/3 innings of work. DeLaGarza could also come out the bullpen if needed and did so in the regional tournament when he struck out one in a scoreless inning to close out the game against Pueblo last Sunday. He has made five appearances this season and has eight strikeouts in 7 2/3 innings.
 
COACHING REPORT
Angelo State is led by head coach Kevin Brooks who is in his 11th season with the Rams and has amassed a 410-229 record. Brooks, who is a Baylor graduate who played for the Bears from 1988-91, started the ASU program in 2005 and has guided the Rams to five 40-win seasons and to 10 seasons with 30 or more wins. Brooks led ASU to a 51-win season in 2007 for the most victories in a season and has not had a losing season in his head coaching career. He was an assistant before constructing the Angelo State program at Hardin-Simmons, Texas-San Antonio, Texas A&M and Incarnate Word. Brooks is assisted by John Anderson who is in his fourth season with the Rams. Anderson is a Minnesota native who played two seasons in the Chicago White Sox organization from 2007-08. Anderson, who has helped lead the ASU program to three NCAA tournaments and to a 145-80 record during his tenure, played and coached in professional baseball for 12 years. Travis Lawler is the team's graduate assistant who has been with the program for four seasons and Rex Scofield is in his sixth season as a volunteer assistant after a distinguished career as an administrator and coach with the San Angelo Independent School District.
 
ASU All-Time in the NCAA Division II Postseason (13-10)

2007 South Central Championship (Arkadelphia, Arkansas)
W, 8-1 vs. Ouachita Baptist
W, 8-3 vs. St. Edward's
L, 5-4 vs. Montevallo
W, 13-7 vs. West Florida
W, 8-1 vs. Montevallo
W, 3-2 vs. Montevallo
 
2007 NCAA Division II National Finals (Montgomery, Alabama)
W, 12-3 vs. No. 11 Franklin Pierce
L, 5-4 vs. No. 14 Columbus State
L, 12-10 vs. Southern Indiana
 
2009 South Central Championship (Warrensburg, Missouri)
L, 23-0 vs. Emporia State
W, 6-3 vs. Central Missouri
W, 4-2 vs. Abilene Christian
L, 5-3 vs. Emporia State
 
2012 South Central Championship (Warrensburg, Missouri)
L, 7-2 vs. Southern Arkansas
L, 13-10 vs. St. Edward's
 
2013 South Central Championship (Kingsville, Texas)
L, 5-4 vs. St. Edward's
W, 9-1 vs. Texas A&M-Kingsville
L, 7-6 (13 innings) vs. St. Mary's
 
2015 South Central Championship (Grand Junction, Colorado)
L, 9-8 vs. CSU-Pueblo
W, 5-2 (10 innings) vs. St. Mary's
W, 8-6 vs. No. 3 Colorado Mesa
W, 15-7 vs. No. 19 CSU-Pueblo
W, 5-2 vs. St. Mary's

2015 NCAA DII Baseball National Finals (Town of Cary, North Carolina)
2 p.m. (CDT), Saturday vs. Henderson State
 
2015 ANGELO STATE AWARDS

Paxton DeLaGarza  || Junior  ||  Lubbock, Texas
Lone Star Conference Hitter of the Week (4.28.2015)
Lone Star Conference First-Team
Lone Star Conference Player of the Year
Lone Star Conference Tournament MVP
NCBWA South Central First-Team
Daktronics South Central First-Team
ABCA/Rawlings Positional Player of the Year
NCAA DII South Central Championship Co-MVP
Daktronics All-America First-Team
 
Steve Naemark  ||  Junior  ||  Tucson, Arizona
Lone Star Conference Pitcher of the Week (2.17.2015)
NCBWA DII South Central Pitcher of the Week (2.18.2015)
Collegiate Baseball Louisville Slugger National Player of the Week (2.23.2015)
Lone Star Conference Pitcher of the Week (2.24.2015)
Lone Star Conference Pitcher of the Week (4.28.2015)
NCBWA DII South Central Pitcher of the Week (4.29.2015)
Lone Star Conference First-Team
Lone Star Conference Pitcher of the Year
NCBWA South Central Pitcher of the Year
NCBWA South Central First-Team
Daktronics South Central First-Team
Daktronics South Central Pitcher of the Year
ABCA/Rawlings South Central Pitcher of the Year
NCAA DII South Central Championship Co-MVP
Daktronics All-America First-Team

 
Blake Bass  ||  Senior  ||  Lubbock, Texas
Lone Star Conference Preseason Pitcher of the Year
Baseball America No. 3-ranked Division II professional prospect
Lone Star Conference Pitcher of the Week (5.4.2015)
Capital One Division II Academic All-District Selection
Lone Star Conference First-Team
Lone Star Conference All-Academic
Lone Star Conference All-Tournament Team
NCBWA South Central Second-Team
Daktronics South Central First-Team
ABCA/Rawlings South Central First-Team
Daktronics All-America Honorable Mention

J.C. Snyder  ||  Senior  ||  Salem, Utah
Lone Star Conference First-Team
NCBWA South Central Second-Team
Daktronics South Central First-Team
ABCA/Rawlings South Central First-Team
NCAA DII South Central Championship All-Tournament
Daktronics All-America Honorable Mention

 
Nehwon Norkeh  ||  Sophomore  ||  Minneapolis, Minnesota
Lone Star Conference Hitter of the Week (3.3.2015)
Lone Star Conference First-Team
Lone Star Conference All-Tournament Team
Baseball America No. 5-ranked Division II professional prospect
NCBWA South Central Second-Team
Daktronics South Central First-Team
 
Graylon Brown  ||  Junior  ||  Brownwood, Texas
Lone Star Conference First-Team
NCBWA South Central Second-Team
 
Derek Tyner  ||  Senior  ||  Boerne, Texas
Lone Star Conference First-Team
 
Brett David  ||  Senior  ||  El Paso, Texas
Lone Star Conference Honorable Mention
Lone Star Conference All-Tournament Team
 
Bryce Zak  ||  Junior  ||  San Angelo, Texas
Lone Star Conference Second-Team
 
Cameron Massengill  ||  Senior  ||  Kennedale, Texas
Lone Star Conference Second-Team
 
Dillon Becker  ||  Junior  ||  Bastrop, Texas
Lone Star Conference Second-Team
 
David Goggin  ||  Junior  ||  Red Wing, Minnesota
Lone Star Conference Academic Player of the Year
Lone Star Conference All-Academic
 
Kellen Rholl  ||  Freshman  ||  Shoreview, Minnesota
Lone Star Conference Freshman of the Year
 
Sam Kohler  ||  Junior  ||  Dripping Springs, Texas
NCAA DII South Central Championship All-Tournament