Click for box score

SAN ANTONIO – Michael Lange threw six scoreless innings in relief to help lead Angelo State to a 5-2 non-conference win over No. 5 St. Mary's on Tuesday at Nelson W. Wolff Stadium.

ASU (21-12) improves to 11-3 on the road this season, while the Rattlers (22-10) saw their five-game winning streak snapped.

“We have to keep winning for this game to really mean something, but to not get the win would have hurt us pretty bad,” ASU head coach Kevin Brooks said. “I thought we did a great job of competing against a really good team and we got a great performance from Lange. We did a lot of things better tonight than we have been which is great to see at this time of year.”

Lange (3-2) threw the final six innings of the game, striking out two and allowing only one hit in relief of starter Bryce Zak.

“My two-seam was on tonight and I really like their mound for some reason,” said Lange, who earned his first win since Feb. 9. “I really felt comfortable out there. I was focusing on my fastball and slider and thought that helped. This helps my confidence a lot. It was pretty low and I knew I couldn't get any worse. I just went out there and pitched.”

“He looked like Michael Lange from last year and we need that,” Brooks added. “He was great for us.”

Andrew LaCombe, Hunter Choate and Ryan Greer each led the Rams with two hits each, while Choate delivered two RBI. Lee Neumann, who continues to lead the Rams with a .364 batting average, hit his eighth double of the season for the only extra-base hit for ASU on the night. ASU improves to 15-6 in non-conference play this season.

Angelo State took the lead in the top of the sixth inning when Choate delivered a one-out RBI single to center field to score Christian Summers who had reached on a walk and then stole second base. The Rams tacked on two more runs in the top of the eighth inning with an Andrew LaCombe RBI to left field and Hunter Choate driving in Summers with a fielder's choice.

“All we ask guys to do is to be competitive at the plate and that's what Hunter is doing,” Brooks said. “He got some big RBI from us and did a great job in the seventh spot in the lineup for us.”

ASU, which trailed 2-0 through four, scored its first runs of the game in the bottom of the fifth inning with two outs. Ryan Greer drove in the first run with a single to left field to plate LaCombe, while Quaid McKinnon took a bases-loaded walk on a full count to even the game at 2-2.

Zak finished the game with three strikeouts and three walks in three innings of work in the no-decision.
Derek Moczygemba (1-2) received the loss for the Rattlers after allowing three runs on five hits. He struck out four, but struggled with control by walking five. Kyle Bumpas led the Ratters with two hits.

The Rams improve to 12-6 all-time against the Rattlers and to 7-3 on the road against them.

Angelo State returns to action with a four-game series at Eastern New Mexico this weekend in Portales, N.M. The Rams enter the weekend with a 6-6 record in conference, while the Greyhounds are 5-7. ASU holds a 22-10 all-time advantage over ENMU.