BOX SCORE: No. 17 West Texas A&M 5, No. 10 Angelo State 2

CANYON – West Texas A&M scored three runs in the bottom of the eighth inning to respond to a David Goggin two-run triple for Angelo State in the top of the inning and took a 5-2 Lone Star Conference win over the Rams in a pitcher's duel between ASU's Jake Feckley and WT's Dylan James on Friday in the series opener at Wilder Park.

ASU (16-6, 6-3 LSC) went scoreless through the first seven innings of the game before striking for two in the top of the eighth and tying the game at 2-2. Reggie Rodriguez led off the inning with a single through the left side of the infield and Tyler Coughenour walked. The runners were moved up a base with a sacrifice bunt by Nehwon Norkeh and were brought in by Goggin's triple to left field.

West Texas A&M (17-4, 7-2 LSC) responded quickly, scoring three runs on two hits and an error in the bottom of the inning before Paul Lujan recorded his fifth save of the season by sitting the Rams down in order in the ninth inning. Feckley (4-1) took his first loss of the season after not walking a batter, striking out one and scattering six hits in 7.1 innings of work.

"We didn't help him out defensively a lot, but he did a great job for us," said ASU head coach Kevin Brooks said. "He kept us right there with striking distance. He threw about as well as he has all season and went out there and competed like he does for us every game."

Goggin led the Rams at the plate, going 3-for-4 with two RBI, while Norkeh, Cameron Massengill and Rodriguez also had hits for ASU off James (5-0). ASU stranded six runners on base in the game, including a runner in each of the first five innings of play. James improved to 3-0 against the Rams in his career and  finished the game with nine strikeouts and walked only two.

"I thought we did a great job of going out there and attacking him because we know he's a strikeout guy," Brooks said. "We put together a lot of good at-bats and had a lot of opportunities with guys in scoring position. We just weren't able to get the big hit before Goggin came through for us."

Nick Chapman led the Buffs with a 2-for-4 performance, while Matt Redfern delivered an RBI triple in the eighth which proved to be the game-winning hit.

The Rams and Buffs continue the series with a 1 p.m. doubleheader on Saturday at Wilder Park. ASU's Jason Zgardowski (2-0) is scheduled to start the first game, while Blake Bass (2-0) will take the mound in the second game. Bass is coming off a nine-inning complete game win last Saturday against Tarleton State and was named the LSC Pitcher of the Week on Tuesday.