SERIES SCHEDULE @ Nolan Ryan Field: 6 p.m., Friday; 1 p.m., Saturday (doubleheader)
MEDIA LINKS: said. "We were hanging our hat on our pitching and that part of our game needs to reemerge this weekend as the strength of our team. We have been having better approaches at the plate and our team continues to never give up. We are still fighting for a spot in the conference tournament and this is a big series for us."
Game one of the series will be played at 6 p.m. on Friday and it will continue and conclude with a 1 p.m. doubleheader on Saturday. The two teams are the only LSC teams to have made the past two regional tournaments and played each other in the LSC tournament finals last season. The Rams are 24-19 all-time against the Javelinas entering this weekend. Click here for NCAA regional ranking story
ASU will look to improve upon a 9-11 overall record on the road and a 3-8 LSC record away from San Angelo, while TAMUK has been strong at home with an 18-7 record at Nolan Ryan Field. The Rams are 12-8 this season in one-run games and are coming off a 2-1 series win over West Texas A&M last weekend at Foster Field in their final home games of the season. The Rams will travel to Eastern New Mexico next weekend for their final three games of the regular season.
Blake Bass (3-3) is scheduled to start the series opener on Friday and is coming off a no-decision last Friday when the Rams took an 8-7 win over WT. Bass leads the Rams with a 2.29 ERA through nine starts, 10 appearances and 55 innings pitched. A junior from Lubbock, the right-hander has 33 strikeouts and only eight walks in his first season at ASU. He transferred to ASU after playing the last two seasons at Texas Tech and has earned one LSC Pitcher of the Week honor this season. He earned a win against the Javelinas earlier this season after striking out six and allowing only two runs in six innings of work.
Jason Zgardowski (4-4) has been named the LSC Pitcher of the Week two times this season and leads the Rams with 63 strikeouts in 66 innings pitched. His 63 strikeouts rank 10th in a single-season in ASU history. He enters this weekend with a 3.41 ERA and has limited opponents to a .238 batting average and has walked only 16 batters in his 66 innings of work. He has recorded two saves this season for the Rams, including earning the save last Friday against the Buffs in the series opener. A junior right-hander from San Antonio, Zgardowski is scheduled to start the second game of the series and is currently third in the conference in strikeouts.
Jake Feckley (5-3) is the all-time winningest pitcher in ASU history and enters this weekend second in program history with 168 career strikeouts. Feckley has a 2.77 ERA with 56 strikeouts and only 15 walks through 78 innings of work. A senior right-hander from Wylie, Feckley is in his third season at ASU after pitching at Texas A&M as a freshman. He is scheduled to start the series finale on Saturday against the Javelinas. His 168 career strikeouts are only behind Joe Key (2006-09) who finished his career with 212 strikeouts.
Graylon Brown (5-2) leads the Rams with 21 appearances this season with 20 of them coming in relief. He has four saves, 32 strikeouts and has limited the opposition to a .213 batting average this season. A sophomore from Brownwood, Brown has made 40 appearances in his career and has 58 strikeouts and a 7-2 record at ASU.
Brett David comes into the series leading the Rams with a .331 batting average which includes nine doubles, a triple and a home run. David, a junior from El Paso, has produced 21 RBI this season and has six stolen bases and has also reached base on 11 walks and has been hit by four pitches. He leads the Rams with 14 multi-hit games and has played 20 games at designated hitter, eight at third base, six at second base and four at first base.
Derek Tyner, JP Zapata and Cameron Massengill are all on four-game hitting streaks. Tyner, a junior from Boerne, is hitting .319 with five doubles and 20 RBI in his first season at ASU after transferring from Odessa College. He has started 39 games with 25 of those starts at first base and 11 at designated hitter. He has also played in right field and left field this season. Massengill has started 38 games at catcher and enters this weekend with a .312 batting average with 12 RBI. A junior from Kennedale, Massengill has four doubles and 35 singles in his first season at ASU after transferring from Cisco College. Massengill leads ASU with a .318 average in LSC games this season. A freshman who spent four years in the Army and served in the Iraq War, Zapata is hitting .380 with one double, two triples and 16 singles through 50 at-bats for the Rams. A San Angelo native who played at Lake View HS, Zapata has three multi-hit games and has made 14 starts.
Tyler Coughenour delivered a three-run walk-off home run for the Rams last weekend in a 10-8 extra-inning win over WT and now leads ASU with four home runs and is tied with Nehwon Norkeh with three triples. Coughenour has reached base in the last 12 games and has 13 multi-hit games in his senior season. He leads the Rams by being hit by 14 pitches and has also walked eight times. A senior who transferred to ASU from Wichita State, Coughenour has stolen 18 bases and has 19 RBI. He has started 15 games at shortstop and 22 at second base and is fifth in the conference with his 11 doubles and sixth in home runs. Norkeh leads the Rams with 19 stolen bases and has provided three home runs, three triples and 14 RBI in his first season at ASU. A freshman from Minneapolis, Norkeh also has five doubles and has made 41 starts in center field.
David Goggin and Christian Summers are the leading run producers for the Rams this season with Goggin leading the team with 29 and Summers at 25. Goggin, a sophomore from Red Wing, Minn., is hitting .296 with five doubles, three triples and 37 singles. He was the LSC Freshman of the Year last season and has a .382 on-base percentage with the addition of 18 walks and being hit by five pitches. Goggin is currently tied with TAMUK's Taylor Taska for third in the conference with his 29 RBI and is only five behind the conference leader Aaron Blair (WT) who has 34. Summers has also been walked 18 times and been hit five times and enters this weekend with a .278 batting average. A senior from San Angelo, Summers has eight doubles, two triples and two home runs for the Rams. He is a career .312 hitter with 57 RBI in his two seasons at ASU.
Hunter Choate and Reggie Rodriguez are adding to the Ram offense with Choate providing 41 hits and 22 RBI, while Rodriguez has 14 RBI off three doubles, a triple, home run and 22 singles. Choate has started 22 games at third base and 16 at second base in his sophomore season out of Athens. Rodriguez, a senior from Puerto Rico, has nine stolen bases and a .338 on-base percentage with six walks and being hit by 11 pitches.
TEXAS A&M-KINGSVILLE JAVELINA REPORT (30-14, 20-9 LSC)
The Javelinas enter the weekend atop the LSC standings and are 18-7 on their home field this season. TAMUK is hitting .291 as a team with 68 doubles, nine triples and 18 home runs this season and have stolen 69 bases. Its pitching staff has a 3.01 ERA with 295 strikeouts and 122 walks in 364 1/3 innings this season.
Denver Diefenbach (8-2) and Dallas Ponder (6-1) lead the pitching staff this season with Ponder having 64 strikeouts in 66 innings, while Diefenbach at 42 strikeouts and only 18 walks in 58 1/3 innings. Matt Rhodes (5-3) has 45 strikeouts in 65 1/3 innings and Cody Williams (5-5) leads the team with a 1.88 ERA and has 36 strikeouts and eight walks in 48 innings on the mound. Ryan Scott has recorded nine saves this season and has 17 strikeouts and a 2.12 ERA in 17 innings.
Derrick Walls, a transfer from Incarnate Word, leads the Javelinas with a .368 batting average and the conference with 21 stolen bases. Walls has four doubles, two triples, a home run and 18 RBI for his new team. Brian Frazier is hitting .360 with eight doubles and 18 RBI, while Taylor Taska leads the team with 31 RBI this season. Taska, who did not play in the previous series against the Rams, has six home runs and five doubles this season. Ryan Guedry is hitting .346 with 25 RBI and James Black and Clint Wallace have 22 RBI this season.
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