PORTALES, New Mexico – The Angelo State baseball team swept Eastern New Mexico (13-3, 8-3) in Saturday afternoon's doubleheader match-up to take a 3-0 lead in the four game series.

The Rams improved to 10-6 on the year and 3-0 in the Lone Star Conference. Pitchers Bryce Zak (4-0) and Kenton Schroter (1-0) both earned wins for the day. The team's offense sported a team batting average of .443 for the day stroking 31 total hits and recording 17 total RBIs. With the loss the Greyhounds slipped to 0-3 in the LSC and 7-10 overall.

"Portales is always a tough place to play," commented ASU head baseball coach Kevin Brooks. "It has been a couple of years since we have come away with winning a series there, so coming away with three wins is good. We played like we have to play to win, and we have gotten hits when we needed to get hits. We have gotten contributions from throughout the lineup, executed really well situationally and the pitchers have gone out and done their job."

David Goggin, Sam Kohler and Nathan Ruane were all instrumental in the Rams game one victory over the Greyhounds.  After ASU scored two runs in the first, all three players stroked hits in the second inning that pushed a total of three runs across the plate. Ruane got things started in the inning with a single to center field that Elias Aguirre. Goggin followed that cranking a double to right field that brought Ruane around. Finally, Kohler dropped down a single that scored one more to make the score 5-0. Ruane then then returned in the top of the third with another single to center that scored Jarryd Klemm. In the bottom of that inning ENMU added three runs to the board but it would be the only runs that would cross for the Greyhounds during game one.  

Steven Pinales then doubled down the left field line to cross Paxton DeLaGArza, which made the score 7-3 in the top of the fourth. ENMU's second baseman then allowed an eighth run to be added to the board after committing an error that followed a DeLaGarza single to the pitcher. Kohler's sixth inning single to left field plated two more, and the score was now 11-3 in the favor of the Rams. Pinch hitting for Klemm, Clay Wegner drove one back up the middle to the mound. In an attempt to make a play the ENMU shortstop committed an error on the throw and allowed Pinales take home. Wegner was then plated on a bases loaded walk by the Greyhounds.

Game two of the doubleheader would see big hits from Tayler Coolbaugh, Ruane, Klemm and Goggin. Klemm kicked thing off for the Rams with a double down the left field line that put two up on the board for the Rams. The Greyhounds added three runs in the bottom third to take its only lead in a game for the day. ASU retaliated in the fourth as Ruane knocked an RBI single that tied the game at 3-3. Angelo State would close the second game out with a monster seventh inning.  Coolbaugh started things off hitting his second double of the year, which scored two runs. With the score now 6-3, Ruane grounded into a double play that allowed the Rams seventh run to cross. Goggin then closed out the scoring with an RBI single to the shortstop that made the 8-3.

Earning his fourth win of the season, Zak sits on top of the conference. Starting both games on the mound, he tossed a total of seven innings and sat down 12 batters. The senior gave up a total of three runs off of 10 hits. Entering in relief during the first game was Schroter and Jayden O'Dell, with Joe Hauser making a relief appearance in the second game. Schroder was on the hill for four innings as he gave up zero runs on two hits and struck out four. O'Dell threw two giving up three runs on three hits. Finally, Hauser pitched one inning during the second game and gave up a single hit.

The Rams close out the four game series with ENMU in Portales on Sunday afternoon with the first pitch scheduled for 2 p.m. CST.