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SAN ANGELO – Defense of the Lone Star Conference regular-season baseball championship begins this weekend for Angelo State.

The No. 12-ranked Rams (14-6, 0-0 LSC) open conference play against nationally ranked Texas A&M-Kingsville (15-4, 0-0) with a four-game series at Foster Field. ASU and A&M-Kingsville, which were the only two LSC team to advance to NCAA Division II South Central tournament, split their regular-season series last season and did not meet in the postseason.

The Rams are 20-12 all-time against the Javelinas and 9-6 against them in San Angelo.  

ASU went 20-8 in conference play in 2012 and are 166-89 all-time in LSC play since the program started in 2005. Click for Ram Notes

All LSC series will follow the 1-2-1 format with the single games going nine innings and the doubleheader being a pair of seven inning games. The Rams and Javelinas will open their series at 6:30 p.m. on Friday with the doubleheader starting at 4 p.m. on Saturday and the series finale at 1 p.m. on Sunday.

The Javelinas enter the series having won seven of their last eight games after dropping a 10-2 decision to St. Mary's on Tuesday in Kingsville. A&M-Kingsville is 9-1 away from home this season and lead the conference with a 2.65 pitching staff ERA.

Angelo State enters conference play hitting .327 as a team through 20 non-conference games. ASU has hit six home runs, nine triples, 50 doubles and 418 singles along with walking 69 times this season. The Rams, who hit .418 in their three-game series against SE, are outscoring their opponents 142-105 and have stolen 49 bases.

Reggie Rodriguez and Lee Neumann lead ASU with both outfielders hitting .400, while Ryan Greer is hitting .365 and Christian Summers and Quaid McKinnon are both at .347. Andrew LaCombe (.316) and Tyler Coughenour (.313) round out seven every-day Rams who are hitting over .300.

Rodriguez, who has started all 20 games in right field, leads the Lone Star Conference and the Rams with 32 hit

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s, including three home runs and eight doubles. The junior has 11 multi-hit games, five multi-RBI games and has reached base in 12 straight games. A Puerto Rico native, Rodriguez is in his first season with the Rams after transferring from North Central Texas College where he played the last two years. He also leads the conference with 51 total bases and is one behind ENMU's Colton Sims for the lead in home runs.

Neumann, ASU's returning All-American, was the LSC's Preseason Player of the Year and has lived up to the hype in non-conference play. The senior center fielder has three triples, six doubles, a home run and 20 singles through the first 20 games of the season. He had a two-RBI single in the ninth inning on Wednesday which tied the game at 14-all before SE scored a run in the 10th to win in extra innings. Neumann has nine multi-hit games, seven multi-RBI games and has a .392 career batting average at ASU through his first 77 games and 272 at-bats in a Ram uniform. He is the all-time career leader in triples in program history with 12 and currently leads the LSC with 23 RBI and three triples this season.

Greer is on a 12-game hitting streak and lead the Rams with a .439 batting average at Foster Field this season. Greer, who is a .366 career hitter at ASU through his first 77 games, is coming off a junior season where he was an ABCA/Rawlings All-South Central selection and first-team All-LSC. He has stolen nine bases this season and has 38 for his career at ASU.

Summers has battled injuries all season, but has shined when on the field for the Rams. The junior shortstop is in his first season at ASU after playing the last two at the University of Texas and enters LSC play with two home runs, two triples, eight doubles and 14 RBI. He has played in 15 games this season and has a .983 fielding percentage with 31 assists and 27 putouts.

McKinnon led the Rams with eight hits during the three-game series against SE and continues to be one of the most productive and consistent players in the nation. The senior first baseman has a .353 career batting average at ASU through 272 at-bats and has seven doubles, 18 singles and 13 RBI this season. The Phoenix native leads the team with 15 walks and has 56 walks in his career at ASU. He also has eight multi-hit games and is on a four-game hitting streak.  

Coughenour, who was named the LSC's Diamond Hitter of the Week on Tuesday, leads the Rams with 12 stolen bases and enters conference with 21 hits 10 RBI.

Angelo State has a 5.07 pitching staff ERA and has 131 strikeouts, 72 walks and 188 hits allowed through 165 innings of work. ASU has used 14 pitchers this season with six different starters and eight relievers.

Bryce Zak (3-0, 2.12 ERA) is a two-time LSC Diamond Pitcher of the Week for his efforts in non-conference games and is scheduled to start Friday's series opener against the Javelinas. The sophomore who played one season at Texas A&M-Corpus Christi after a redshirt season his first year in college, has 19 strikeouts, 11 walks and seven earned runs through 29.2 innings of work.

Mike Weatherly (3-2, 2.20 ERA) made his fifth start of the season on Wednesday against SE in an outing where he threw 1.2 innings with three strikeouts and no runs allowed. Weatherly, who is the probable starter for Saturday's first game, is 7-5 in his career at ASU with nine saves and 70 strikeouts in 32 appearances. He has limited opponents to a .136 batting average this season.

Michael Lange (2-0, 6.92 ERA) also made a brief appearance in the midweek series against SE and has made four starts this season for ASU. Lange, who was a first-team All-LSC selection and ABCA/Rawlings All-South Central performer last season, is 11-1 in his career at Angelo State. He has 19 strikeouts and nine walks this year and is at 66 strikeouts in his career.

Jake Feckley (3-2, 3.50 ERA) leads the team with three saves this season and has been used in various ways in his junior season. The Wylie native has 18 strikeouts in 18 innings of work and has made a team-leading nine appearances. Feckley earned the save in the first game of Wednesday's doubleheader before taking the loss in the series finale against the Storm. Feckley has equaled Lange with 66 strikeouts in his career through his first 76.2 innings of work as a Ram.

Bryant Rutledge (2-1, 7.45 ERA) has won his last two starts. Rutledge has shown command of his pitches with only one walk in 19.1 innings of work along with striking out 17. The left-handed senior, who missed the entire 2012 season after Tommy John surgery, has 82 strikeouts in 84.1 innings at ASU. He started his collegiate career with two seasons at Texas State.

The Javelinas have been led by their pitching which has recorded 152 strikeouts and limited their walks to 48 through 163 innings this season. A&M-Kingsville is hitting .300 as a team with eight home runs, six triples, 32 doubles and 137 singles. The team has struck out 123 times and walked 87 times in 609 at-bats.

Zack Pettiford (2-1, 0.29 ERA) has made five appearances and thrown 31 innings. He has recorded 24 strikeouts and only walked two in his senior season. Pettiford was a LSC second-team selection last season after transferring from Grossmont College.

Dallas Ponder (5-0, 1.86 ERA) is a junior right-handed pitcher from Flatonia is making a name for himself through non-conference success. Ponder has struck out 29 in 29 innings of work and has only allowed seven runs in nine appearances.

Chris Ballou and Taylor Taska led the Javelinas in hitting this season  and are among the top in the conference. Ballou is hitting .408 with two home runs and three doubles, while Taska is at a .385 batting average which includes two home runs, seven doubles and 17 RBI.

All games will be broadcast on 1260 KKSA with a simulcast on AngeloSports.com which will also have video and live stats coverage.