SAN ANGELO – The No. 6-ranked Angelo State Rams will begin an 11-game Lone Star Conference road trip this weekend with a two-day, four-game series against Texas A&M-Kingsville with a pair of doubleheaders which will start at 3 p.m. on Sunday and and then at 1 p.m. on Monday at Nolan Ryan Field.

The Rams (18-4, 8-3 LSC) and Javelinas (15-7, 9-2 LSC) are atop the conference standings through the first three weeks of LSC play. ASU is coming off splitting a four-game series against West Texas A&M (14-10, 6-6 LSC) last weekend at Foster Field, while the Javelinas are on a six-game winning streak after sweeping Eastern New Mexico (5-14, 1-7 LSC) in Kingsville last weekend. TAMUK is 12-2 this season at home, while the Rams are 3-2 away from San Angelo this season. ASU is 2-1 in LSC road games after taking down Tarleton State (9-8, 3-4 LSC) by a combined score of 29-5 in a weather-shortened series two weeks ago in Stephenville.

"It's always an exciting opportunity when you get to compete against a good team and program when both teams are having strong seasons," ASU head coach Kevin Brooks said. "We know that we are going to have to play well to win. It will be a good test for our team right now and one that as competitors that we are looking forward to. I'm sure they're looking forward to it too, so it's time to get after it and get some wins."

ASU, which is 12-2 in doubleheader games this season, comes into its series against the Javelinas as one of the most dominant teams in the nation having outscored its opponents 142-62 through 22 games. The Rams own a pitching staff ERA of 2.41 with 205 strikeouts through 179.0 innings, while their batters have a .324 batting average with 225 hits (48 doubles, three triples, 14 home runs) and with only 122 strikeouts in 694 at-bats. ASU established a new program record this season by winning 15 straight games and are off to the best start in program history through the first 22 games of a season.

The Rams will travel to Eastern New Mexico and Cameron after playing the Javelinas this weekend with a single game against St. Mary's on Tuesday, March 31 at Foster Field being the only home game during the next three weeks.
 
National/LSC Stat Rankings
ASU is sixth in the nation with its .978 fielding percentage and eighth with its pitching staff ERA of 2.41 and strikeouts per 9-innings at 10.3. ASU is 11th in the country with three shutouts and 13th with a 3.47 strikeout-to-walk ratio from its pitchers. The Rams lead the LSC in 17 statistical categories including batting average (.324), doubles (48), doubles per game (2.18), ERA (2.41), fielding percentage (0.978), total hits (225), hit allowed per 9-innings (7.64), home runs (14), on-base percentage (.391), runs (142), sacrifice flies (10), shutouts (3), slugging percentage (.463), strikeout-to-walk ratio (3.47), strikeouts per 9-innings (10.3), WHIP (1.18) and won-loss percentage (81.8 %).  
 

#RamBaseball National Rankings No. 6 -- @CBNewspaper No. 9 -- @PerfectGameUSA No. 12 -- @D2BaseballNews No. 13 -- @NCBWA

— AngeloSports (@AngeloSports) March 18, 2015

ANGELO SEASON TRACKER
Overall Record:  18-4
LSC Record:  8-3
At Foster Field: 15-2
Away from San Angelo:  3-2
Neutral Site Games:  0-0
Current Streak:  L1
Longest Winning Streak:  W15
Longest Losing Streak:  L1
Most runs scored: 18
Fewest runs scored:  1
Extra-inning games: 1-1
LSC Home Games:  6-2
LSC Road Games:  2-1
 
 
ANGELO STATE PROBABLE STARTING ROTATION
Game 1: Steve Naemark, Junior, LHP (5-0, 0.63 ERA, 58K, 7BB, 28H, 43.0 IP)
Game 2: Blake Bass, Senior, RHP (5-0, 2.03 ERA, 47K, 8BB, 40H, 40.0 IP)
Game 3: Bryce Zak, Junior, RHP (4-2, 1.17 ERA, 37K, 12BB, 20H, 30.2 IP)
Game 4: TBD
 
KINGSVILLE PROBABLE STARTING ROTATION
Game 1: Ryan Benitez, Senior, RHP (3-1, 3.13 ERA, 42K, 6BB, 36H, 37.1 IP)
Game 2: Matt Terrones, Junior, LHP (4-0, 4.26 ERA, 23K, 7BB, 35H, 25.1 IP)
Game 3: Hayden James, Senior, RHP (4-2, 1.78 ERA, 31K, 11BB, 19H, 35.1 IP)
Game 4: TBD
 
ANGELO STARTER REPORT: Bass and Naemark come into this weekend with the 10th most wins in the nation and leading the LSC with their five wins. Naemark is fourth in the nation with his 58 strikeouts and leads the LSC in that category and along with his 0.63 ERA which is 30th in the country. A junior left-hander, Naemark has won his last four starts and will be making his eighth start of the season in the series opener on Sunday against the Javelinas. Naemark is coming off a win over West Texas A&M where he struck out six and did not allow a run in eight innings of work. The eight innings against the Buffs was his longest outing of the season and he picked up the 1-0 win by allowing only one walk and scattering five hits. He has allowed only two earned runs throughout the season and has not allowed an earned run in his three LSC starts. He established a new program record with 15 strikeouts against Regis and also has a 12-strikeout performance against Lubbock Christian on his resume. He is a two-time LSC Pitcher of the Week and has also earned the NCBWA National Pitcher of the Week and was honored by Collegiate Baseball with a National Player of the Week nod after his 15-strikeout performance. Bass is coming off a no-decision in his last start against WT which snapped a five-game winning streak by the 6-foot-7 right-hander. Bass, who was named the LSC Preseason Pitcher of the Year, is second in the conference behind only Naemark with his 47 strikeouts and is scheduled to start the second game of the series against TAMUK. Bass has recorded 19 strikeouts in his last two starts, including striking out nine Buffs. He has been identified as the No. 3-ranked DII professional prospect by Baseball America and comes into this weekend with 86 career strikeouts and a 9-4 career record. He is in his second season with the Rams after being a positional player at Texas Tech during his freshman and sophomore seasons. Zak is fifth in the LSC with is 37 strikeouts and is coming off a 4-2 win over West Texas A&M last Saturday where he limited the WT batters to only four hits in 5 2/3 innings of work. Zak struck out only one in the win, a departure from his strikeout dominance which had seen him strikeout out 23 in his past three starts. Zak, who threw a season-high 104 pitches in a no-decision against Cameron, comes into this weekend with a 9-3 career record and with 75 strikeouts in 76 1/3 innings of work in his career. He is in his second season with the Rams after transferring from Texas A&M-Corpus Christi where he pitched during his freshman season. He went 5-1 in the 2013 season before missing last season with an arm injury. He has made five starts this season and seven appearances. A San Angelo native, he established a career-best with 11 strikeouts earlier this season against Regis and had seven strikeouts in a win over Cameron.

BULLPEN REPORT: The Angelo State bullpen has been led this season by Dillon Becker, Graylon Brown, Trae Davis and Matt Shannon. Brown (2-1) has made a team-leading 12 appearances (8th most in the nation) and has recorded four saves and 13 strikeouts in 17.0 innings of work, while Becker (1-0) has five saves and 18 strikeouts in 9 2/3 innings through 11 appearances. Becker's five saves leads the LSC and is eighth in the nation. Davis (0-0) has nine strikeouts in 9.0 innings and Shannon (1-1) has nine strikeouts in 12.0 innings. Brown is in his third season in the bullpen for the Rams and has a 10-5 career record and nine saves with 80 career strikeouts in 105 2/3 innings of work. Becker transferred to ASU last season after one season at Blinn and has struck out 53 in 47 2/3 innings. Kellen Rholl, a freshman left-hander from Minnesota, has made two starts and five appearances for the Rams this season. He has not recorded a decision yet and has five strikeouts and five earned runs through 7 2/3 innings of work. Either Rholl or Shannon will start the fourth game of the series depending on who is used out of the bullpen during the first three games against the Javelinas.  

The Rams are 15-1 this season with a lead after the sixth inning, 8-0 after leading going into the eighth and 10-0 with a lead going to the ninth inning.

LINEUP REPORT: J.C. Snyder is second in the nation with 13 doubles this season and leads the Rams with a .421 batting average and is tied for the team lead with four home runs with Nehwon Norkeh. A senior from Salem, Utah, Snyder has reached base in the last 20 games of the season and already has 10 multi-hit games and four multi-RBI games on his resume. A transfer from BYU, Snyder has four-hit performances against TAMIU and Tarleton State and had a season-best three-RBI game against TAMIU. He has already had three games with two doubles and has 16 RBI. Norkeh, who has been identified as the No. 5-ranked DII professional prospect by Baseball America despite only being a sophomore, is tied with Snyder with his four home runs and also has seven doubles, a triple and 14 RBI. Norkeh hit his home runs against TAMIU, Cameron and two against Regis. He had the game-winning single in walk-off fashion against Cameron and has already scored 23 runs which leads the team.

Paxton DeLaGarza is on a team-leading five-game hitting streak entering this weekend in Kingsville and is hitting .388 with six doubles, one triple and 12 RBI. A junior shortstop, he has played in all 22 games this season and has committed only two errors and has made 42 assists. He leads ASU with 11 multi-hit games, including having three hits in games against TAMIU (twice), Tarleton and West Texas A&M. He is coming off a 3-for-4 performance in the series finale last Sunday against the Buffs where he had three singles and scored a run. Derek Tyner is second on the team, tied with Snyder and behind only DeLaGarza, with 10 multi-hit games this season. A senior designated hitter, Tyner is hitting .342 with 26 total hits. He has five doubles, one home run and 20 singles and has picked up 14 RBI.

Brett David leads the Rams, the LSC and is 52nd in the nation with 24 RBI this season. David, who is ASU's only four-year senior, has played all 22 games at first base this season and is hitting .370 with four doubles, one triple, three home runs and 19 singles. He has recorded seven multi-RBI games this season with a career-high four RBI in a win over TAMIU earlier this season. He had three RBI in the second game of the series against WT last weekend and comes into this weekend's series with 63 RBI in his career. Cameron Massengill has added 13 RBI for the Rams in his senior season and has played at catcher in all 22 games this season. He is hitting .312 with six doubles a year after earning all-conference and all-region honors.

Hunter Spear and Cody Semler have been valuable fielders for the Rams all season and come into this weekend with 15 and 13 hits, respectively. Spear is hitting .357 for the Rams with seven RBI, while Semler has two doubles, one home run and six RBI. Semler leads ASU with six stolen bases in nine attempts, while David has four stolen bases. Jarryd Klemm, who has missed time due to injury, is hitting .306 with 11 hits and three RBI, while Chandler Patterson has 10 hits and three RBI. Patterson, who is a sophomore outfielder, has started 12 games along with Sam Kohler who has eight hits and four RBI. Kohler missed the first couple of weeks of the season due to injury but has now played in 15 games with time at second base and shortstop.
 
MILESTONE APPROACHING
Kevin Brooks is the only head coach in Angelo State history and has led the Rams to an impressive 387-217 overall record since the modern program started in 2005. Brooks is only 13 wins from 400 in his illustrious head coaching career at ASU. The Rams are only two wins away from securing the 20-win milestone for the 11th season in a row and 12 wins away from reaching the 30-win mark for the ninth time. ASU's single-season record for wins came in the 2007 World Series season when the team went 51-20 under the guidance of Brooks in the program's third season. He was named the 2012 Lone Star Conference Coach of the Year and has led the Rams to four regional tournaments and to one DII College World Series appearance.
 
UP NEXT: The Rams will stay on the road next weekend with a four-game series against Eastern New Mexico in Portales, New Mexico. ASU and ENMU will open the LSC series at 7 p.m. (CST) on Friday, March 27 before playing a 3 p.m. doubleheader on Saturday and then the series finale at 2 p.m. on Sunday. ENMU is hosting Cameron this weekend before welcoming the Rams to Greyhound Field.   
 

Road To Cary: Marquee Match-Up of the Week; Angelo State @ Texas A&M-Kingsville http://t.co/NcaYVxVu9N

— Kevin Brooks (@KBrooks15) March 20, 2015