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SAN ANGELO – The Angelo State baseball team travels to the north east this weekend for its final Lone Star Conference series of the regular season with four games at Crutcher Scott Field in Abilene.

ASU (30-16, 14-10 LSC) is 17-5 on the road this season and is coming off a 3-1 series win last weekend at Cameron. The Rams, who have already solidified their spot in next week's conference tournament, enter the final weekend of the regular season three games behind conference-leading Tarleton State (17-3 LSC) and are in a three-way tie for second with ACU (14-10 LSC) and Texas A&M-Kingsville (14-10).

ASU enters the series at No. 3 in the initial NCAA Division II South Central rankings, while ACU is No. 8.

The Rams and Wildcats open their final series as conference rivals at 7 p.m. on Friday followed by a 2 p.m. doubleheader on Saturday and the series finale on Sunday. ACU holds a 23-17 all-time advantage over the Rams, but ASU has won the last eight meetings including an 11-1 win in last year's conference tournament.

ASU, which has been under the guidance of head coach Kevin Brooks since it was started in 2005, comes into this weekend's series with a 335-182 all-time record. The Rams are known for getting stronger as the season progresses and are 143-69 (.674 winning percentage) in program history in games played after April 1st (120-52 in non-postseason games).

The Rams, who like last season won their series 3-1 against Cameron, went 7-1 in their final two regular-season series in 2012 en route to capturing the conference's regular-season championship.
 
ON THE MOUND
Angelo State's probable starting pitching rotation remains the same for the fourth straight weekend with Jake Albert, Jake Feckley, Mike Weatherly and Michael Lange set to throw against the Wildcats. ACU's sports information office provided probables of Jordon Herrera (5-3, 5.25 ERA) or Austin Palmer (3-3, 6.49 ERA) as Friday's starter, with Carter Hahn (7-3, 3.34 ERA) and Aaron Lambrix (3-4, 3.10 ERA) throwing Saturday and Ty Taylor (5-4, 4.71 ERA) on Sunday.

Albert (4-4) will be making his fourth start and 14th appearance of the season for the Rams on Friday. The junior from Conroe has 23 strikeouts this year in 42.1 innings and has a 4.29 ERA. He will be making his 40th appearance as a Ram which has him seventh in program history with left-handed reliever Austin Church for seventh in program history.  Albert has struck out 46 batters in his career and has limited opponents to a .244 batting average this season.

Feckley (8-3) enters the weekend having won his last four starts, including earning the win in the Rams' 6-2 win in last Saturday's doubleheader opener at Cameron. The junior right hander leads ASU and is second in the conference with a 2.17 ERA this season and has 52 strikeouts in 58 innings of work. A transfer from Texas A&M, Feckley has 100 strikeouts in his career at Angelo State and a 13-6 overall record along with three saves. He is tied with Lange and Michael Gunter (2007-09) for fourth all-time in wins at ASU and is eighth in career strikeouts. He was a second-team all-conference selection last year and has won LSC Pitcher of the Week once this season.

Weatherly (5-3) made two appearances last weekend in Lawton and earned the win in the series finale in relief. The senior from Mesquite has a 3.15 ERA this season with 51 strikeouts in 60 innings of work. ASU's closer last season, Weatherly recorded nine saves as a junior and has made a seamless transition into a starter's role. He is ninth in program history with 97 career strikeouts and has the highest strikeouts/per 9-inning game ratio at 8.91. He is also tied with Albert for second all-time by holding opponents to a .251 batting average.

Lange (4-2) is coming off a first-team all-conference and all-region season and has gotten stronger as this season has progressed. A senior right hander from Nebraska (byway of Gateway Community College in Arizona), Lange has 45 strikeouts in 59.1 innings of work this season. He has a 13-3 career record for the Rams and eighth in program history with 129 innings pitched. He has struck out 92 batters in his career.

ASU's bullpen continues to play an important role with Graylon Brown, Bryant Rutledge, James Conlee, Church, Bryce Zak, Travis Stavinoha, Mason Leavitt and Jaime MacLean providing depth. Brown, a redshirt freshman from Brownwood, closed out last weekend's series finale with two strikeouts to preserve a 9-7 win over Cameron and has emerged as a reliable pitcher. He has 15 strikeouts in 17 innings of work in 13 appearances. Conlee, has made the most appearances on the team this season with 19 and is fourth in program history with 63. Zak is 5-1 on the year with 12 appearances and 35 strikeouts.

ACU is led statically by Hahn who has made 11 starts and 14 appearances this season. A right-handed transfer who is originally from San Antonio, Hahn leads the Wildcats and conference with 80 strikeouts in his senior season.

Brady Rodriguez (4-1, 1.86 ERA) has been a stalwart in the bullpen through 26 appearances. He is second in the conference with six saves and fifth by holding opponents to a .227 batting average. He has 31 strikeouts in 48.1 innings in his junior season. Herrera is second on the team with 57 strikeouts in 60 innings, while Lambrix has 35 strikeouts and has only walked 12 in 61 innings. Lambrix, a senior who started his career at Long Beach State, leads ACU with four complete games.
 

AT THE PLATE
Angelo State enters the weekend with a .311 team batting average with 324 singles, 89 doubles, 20 triples and 20 home runs. ASU ranks second in the nation with its 20 triples and is 11th with 110 stolen bases. They lead the conference in both categories and two doubles behind West Texas A&M.

Lee Neumann leads the conference with seven triples, six home runs, 43 home runs, 99 total bases and is second with 43 runs scored and third with 58 hits coming into the final weekend of the regular season. The senior, who was named the LSC's Hitter of the week on Tuesday after a three-home run, eight RBI weekend at Cameron, is hitting .352  and has also stolen 18 bases. The reigning LSC Player of the Year and All-American, Neumann is fourth in the nation in triples and has reached base in 24 straight games. For his career, Neumann has a program leading 16 triples along with 88 RBI, 28 doubles and 139 total hits.   

Andrew LaCombe and Christian Summers lead the conference with 14 doubles, while LaCombe tops the Rams with a .354 batting average and is tied with Ryan Greer for second on the team with 52 hits. LaCombe is third in the conference with 40 RBI in his senior season. He was named the baseball team's Holland Award winner and the Academic Excellence Award which is given to the male and female student-athlete with the highest grade-point average. LaCombe holds the program record by throwing out 37 runners attempting to steal and is a returning first-team all-conference selection.

Summers enters the weekend with a .345 batting average in his first season at ASU. Along with his 14 doubles, he has five triples, two home runs and 22 RBI. He is second on the team with 29 walks. Greer is currently on an eight-game hitting streak and is hitting .308 with eight doubles, three triples and two home runs. A senior from Glendale, Ariz., Greer has stolen 22 bases this season and 51 in his career at ASU. He is third in the program's history in steal and first in fielding percentage at .993. Greer has not made an error this season with 72 putouts and five assists.

Quaid McKinnon is coming off a three-RBI game in the series finale at Cameron and is hitting .315 with 35 singles, 12 doubles, three home runs and a triple in his senior season out of Phoenix, Ariz. He leads ASU with 17 multi-hit games this season and has four multi-RBI games. The Rams' first baseman is a returning first-team all-conference and LSC tournament MVP. He is third in the program's history with 76 walks and is only two walks away from passing Trey Carter for second. McKinnon is 16th in the nation with 35 walks this season. McKinnon has 24 RBI and has also stolen 12 bases in 13 attempts.

David Goggin leads the Rams with a .391 batting average in conference games this season and is hitting .344 overall in his freshman season. Playing a dual defensive role at catcher and outfield, Goggin has 30 singles, two doubles and 17 RBI. He is currently on a six-game hitting streak. Hunter Choate is hitting .310 in his redshirt freshman season with 24 singles and three doubles, while second baseman Tyler Coughenour is hitting .293 with 37 singles, six doubles, two triples and a home run. Coughenour leads the Rams with 23 stolen bases this season and is second in the conference.

Reggie Rodriguez has played in 41 games this season and has played the role of hero with two walk-off hits this season. A junior, originally from Puerto Rico, Rodriguez hit a two-out, two-run walk-off home run against Lubbock Christian and a two-out walk-off double in a 1-0 win over Tarleton State this season. He is hitting .322 with 30 singles, 13 doubles, three home runs, a triple and 28 RBI.

ACU enters the final weekend of the regular season with a .285 team batting average with 315 singles, 49 doubles, 12 triples and eight home runs. The Wildcats have stolen 63 bases five regulars hitting over .300.

Kyle Giusti, a junior from Santa Fe, leads ACU with a .343 batting average and 37 RBI. He has also reached base 18 times on walks and ranks fifth in the conference with his RBI total. Travis Schuetze is hitting .329 with 34 singles and 30 RBI. He is tied with Reggie Rodriguez at sixth in the conference with 13 doubles, while Seth Spivey is hitting .322 with 30 RBI and an impressive .467 on-base percentage.

Rodge Macy is at .304 with 28 RBI with Chuck Duarte at .301 with 23 RBI and a .455 on-base percentage. Tyler Eagar, last year's LSC Freshman of the Year, is hitting .292 with 26 RBI in his sophomore season.

UP NEXT
The Rams will travel to Canyon next week for the Lone Star Conference Baseball Championships being hosted on West Texas A&M's campus at Wilder Park. Seeding for the tournament will not be known until the final regular season games are complete. For information on the tournament, click here.