BOX SCORE

WARRENSBURG, Mo. – The Angelo State baseball team's season came to an end with a 13-10 loss to St. Edward's on Friday at the NCAA Division II South Central Regional at Tompkins Field.
 
The Rams, who were down 13-7 going into the ninth inning in a game that saw 32 hits, battled back with three runs and had the bases loaded before a fly ball to second base ended the game.
 
“We battled hard the entire game,” ASU junior Andrew LaCombe said. “We hit balls solid but right at them. It seemed like every ball they hit just found a hole. They played a really good game and are a really good team. No one gave up on our team. We all pushed throughout the game and the dugout was behind us the entire time. It's been a great ride and didn't go out without a fight.”
 
Angelo State finishes the season with a 40-17 record after advancing to the regional tournament for the third time in program history and winning the Lone Star Conference championship and tournament title. The Rams never lost more than two games in a row this season and won 40 games or more for the fourth time since the program was started in 2005.
 
“We felt like we had to get back to where Angelo State should be and has been,” ASU head coach Kevin Brooks said. “The biggest thing is that you cannot get complacent and satisfied with what we did this year. You have to realize why we got here, which is because they worked really hard and didn't take a day off. They continued to improve as the season went along and kept focused.”
 
Zach Cohen, Quaid McKinnon, Toby Semler, Lee Neumann, Ryan Greer and Tate Allison each finished the game with two hits each, while Cohen, Greer and Allison each drove in a pair of runs. The Rams held a brief 3-2 lead in the third inning before the Hilltoppers scored five runs on four hits in the bottom of the third. That lead would never be relinquished as each time ASU scored SEU would match them throughout the game.
 
Michael Lange (9-1) claims the loss for the Rams after going 4.0 innings. The junior allowed eight hits in his only loss of the season, while Austin Church allowed three runs in 1.0 inning of work and Michael Weatherly three runs in 3.0 innings.
 
Matt Davis went 4.2 innings and earned the win for the Hilltoppers who remain undefeated in the tournament. Leadoff hitter Taylor Johnson led SEU with five hits and five RBI, while Nate Bobrowski added three hits.

The Rams fall to 8-7 all-time in NCAA DII postseason play with its two losses in the 2012 South Central tournament. The loss to St. Ed's also evens its all-time series against the Hilltoppers at 5-5. It was the first time the two programs had played since 2009.
 

Additional Quotes
Kevin Brooks // ASU head coach
On the Rams' loss to St. Edward's on Friday:
There was no question that this team was not going to quit fighting until it was over. It's just the type of people they are.
We just didn't play very well again. We gave up that big inning there in the third with two outs. We were in a tough situation with runners at second and third and looked like we were going to wiggle out of it but then ended up giving up the five-spot. It became one of those game where we would come back and but could never get passed them. They got the tack on runs in the seventh and eighth that proved to be big. It was one of those games.
 
 
Zach Cohen // ASU senior short stop
On the Rams' game against St. Edward's:
I think we all went out the way we wanted to by fighting hard. The whole season has been a lot of fun and I wouldn't trade it for the world. It's just been a pleasure to play with these guys and I just wish we could have gone a little further. It was a lot of fun and we played the game the right way.
 
On the Rams' turnaround from last season:
Coach did a great job of bringing in talent and character guys that did a great job. We were just having so much fun the entire season. That translated into how we played.