GAME ONE BOX  //  GAME TWO BOX

LAWTON, Okla. – Lee Neumann had seven hits, including three home runs, and drove in seven runs to help lead the Angelo State baseball team to a Lone Star Conference doubleheader sweep of Cameron on Saturday at McCord Field.

Neumann went 3 for 3 with three RBI in ASU's 6-2 win in the first game of the day before blasting two homers and picking up four RBI in a 21-7 rout of the Aggies in the nightcap. The 21 runs for the Rams were the most this season and the most since they scored 23 in the 2010 conference tournament against Southeastern Oklahoma State. The game produced the season's high in at-bats (44), runs (21), hits (22), RBI (19), home runs (3) and total bases (38).

“It's a confidence booster to come out and put up that many runs and hits,” Neumann said. “We haven't been able to do that all year. We took the approach we have at practice and carried it into this game. I was trying to be patient and drive the ball.”

Angelo State (29-16, 13-10 LSC) improved to 16-5 on the road this season and pounded out 32 hits in the two games. Cameron (12-28, 6-17 LSC) now needs to win Sunday's series finale to split the series after the Aggies took the opener 8-3 on Friday.

“I liked how we were able to get ourselves into hitter's counts,” ASU head coach Kevin Brooks said. “We swung at good pitches and consistently drive the baseball. We are a team that can put games like this together a lot more than we have.”

David Googin and Ryan Greer also had big games for the Rams with both having five hits, while Hunter Choate and Tyler Coughenour had four each. Greer was a double short of the cycle in the 21-7 win with his second home run and third triple of the season. The senior, who along with Quaid McKinnon, Andrew LaCombe and Neumann have played over 100 games in their careers at ASU, has now driven in 20 runs on the year after having three RBI on Saturday.

“We did a good job of just trying to put the ball in play today,” Greer said. “There were some pitches to hit and we stayed with the approach coach Brooks has been talking about all year. We need carry over what we were able to do today into tomorrow by staying focused and within ourselves.”

Jake Feckley (8-3) earned the win in the first game after striking out four and scattering five hits in six innings of work. The junior right-hander, who is the reigning LSC Pitcher of the Week, lowered his season's ERA to 2.17 by giving up on two earned runs and has now won his last five appearances. The Rams were down 2-1 through four innings before Neumann had an RBI single and Coughenour was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded to give the Rams a 3-2 advantage.

“I didn't have my best breaking ball today, but I was able to locate my fastball and made them beat it into the ground by keeping my pitches low,” Feckley said. “The defense worked great behind me and we got some runs to put it away.”

ASU tacked on three more runs in the top of the seventh and Graylon Brown closed it down by striking out two in a perfect final frame.
Mike Weatherly recorded a 1-2-3 first inning for the Rams in the second game, but staked to an 11-0 lead after the Rams scored five in the first inning and six in the top of the second, he was removed from the game on a coach's decision for rest in case he's needed on Sunday. Bryce Zak (5-1) was credited with the win after striking out seven and allowing only one run in a relief appearance where he threw the third, fourth and fifth innings.

“Mike was great in his inning, but up 11 runs I felt like the bullpen could hold it,” Brooks said. “We have to get a win tomorrow and he is a guy who can come out of the bullpen and help us if we need him.”

Coughenour went 3 for 5 with two RBI in the second game after a two-RBI game in the first one. Luke Solomon added two RBI on a double in the game, while Tanner Kalina had two hits and two RBI. ASU scored a run in each inning of the seven-inning game, including scoring seven runs over the final two innings.

Neumann now leads the Rams with a .356 batting average, six home runs and 42 RBI this season, while LaCombe has 36 RBI and is hitting .352 going into Sunday's game. Michael Lange (4-2) is scheduled to start the series finale for the Rams.