SAN ANGELO – The Angelo State baseball team returns to action this weekend with a three-game non-conference set against Lubbock Christian at Foster Field.

ASU (4-1) is coming off a three-game sweep of Texas A&M International last weekend at Foster Field, while the Chaps (5-1) took two of three from New Mexico Highlands in their second series of the season. The Rams are averaging 9.6 runs per game this season, while LCU is at 12.3 runs per game including scoring a season-high 23 runs last Friday. ASU's pitching staff has allowed 5.0 runs per game, while LCU's has seen 11 runs per game.

LCU is currently ranked No. 3 in the d2baseballnews.com South Central region, while the Rams are outside of the early rankings. ASU is 4-6 all-time against LCU after the Chaps have taken two of three games over the Rams the past two seasons. The teams split a pair of doubleheaders in the 2010 season. ASU had started last year with a 6-0 record before LCU took the final two games of a three-game set in Lubock.

Angelo State is 197-81 all-time at Foster Field in regular-season games entering this weekend following its three-game sweep over TAMIU. The Rams went 16-8 at home last season and have 201 wins at Foster Field when you include four wins in 2012 during their Lone Star Conference tournament championship run.

ASU is hitting .423 as a team with 71 total hits, including 17 doubles, two triples and six home runs. The Rams had all six of their home runs last weekend in their three-game set against the Dustdevils. In the field, ASU has committed only two errors and has a .988 fielding percentage. The team is 5-for-6 on stolen bases and has walked 15 times and has reached base six times by being hit by a pitch. Lubbock Christian is hitting .402 as a team with 90 hits, including 22 doubles, five triples and nine home runs through its first six games of the season. LCU's pitching staff has a 7.59 ERA and has allowed 75 hits and 66 runs.

ASU, which is 3-0 against Heartland Conference opponents this season with its sweep of TAMIU, will also play St. Mary's twice this season.

LCU at ASU Series Schedule
3 p.m., Friday at Foster Field (9)
2 p.m., Saturday at Foster Field (9)
1 p.m., Sunday at Foster Field (9)
 
Angelo State Probable Starting Rotation
Game 1: Blake Bass, Senior, RHP (1-0, 2.00 ERA, 7K, 4BB, 8H, 9.0 IP)
Game 2: Steve Naemark, Junior, LHP (1-0, 0.90 ERA, 11K, 1BB, 8H, 10.0 IP)
Game 3: Bryce Zak, Junior, RHP (1-1, 2.08 ERA, 7K, 3BB, 4H, 4.1 IP)

Lubbock Christian Probable Starting Rotation
Game 1: Brig Gerlich, Senior, RHP (1-0, 7.27 ERA, 13K, 4BB, 17H, 8.2 IP)
Game 2: Guillaume Blanchette, Junior, LHP (1-0, 6.75 ERA, 6K, 2BB, 10H, 9.1 IP)
Game 3: Levi Westerlund, Senior, RHP (1-1, 6.52 ERA, 8K, 2BB, 17H, 9.2 IP)
 
STARTER REPORT: Blake Bass (1-0) will make his third start of the season and the 14th start of his career at Angelo State on Friday in the first game of the three-game set against the Chaps. Bass earned his first win of the season last Saturday in the first game of a doubleheader against Texas A&M International after going five innings with five strikeouts and surviving a first inning which saw the Dustdevils plate four runs. Bass, who is the LSC Preseason Pitcher of the Year, settled in after the first inning and did not allow another run through his next four innings of work. He has a 2.00 ERA with seven strikeouts and four walks in nine innings of work. He received a no-decision in his first start after throwing four innings of scoreless baseball with only two hits allowed in the season-opener against McMurry. Bass is 5-4 with a 2.65 ERA and 46 strikeouts in his ASU career which has seen him throw 85 innings since transferring from Texas Tech prior to his junior season.

Steve Naemark (1-0) earned his first win in an ASU uniform last Friday when he struck out eight and did not allow a run in five innings of work in the series opener against TAMIU. Naemark, who is a left-handed junior from Tucson, Arizona, allowed only three hits and walked only one in his second start of the season. He started the season with a five-inning start with three strikeouts which resulted in a no-decision at McMurry in the second game of the season. Naemark has 11 strikeouts and has allowed only eight hits in 10 innings of work.

Bryce Zak (1-1) will be making his first start of the season on Sunday in the series finale after making two relief appearances in the first two series. Zak, who went 5-1 during his sophomore season in 2013, missed all of last year with an injury. He picked up his first win of the season in the series finale on Saturday against TAMIU after coming in as a reliever and throwing 3 1/3 innings against Dustdevils where he struck out six and did not allow a run. The six strikeouts were one shy of his career-best which came in seven-strikeout performances against Cameron and Bellarmine during the 2013 season. Zak is a junior right-hander from San Angelo who started his collegiate career at Texas A&M-Corpus Christi. He enters this weekend with a 6-2 career record and 45 strikeouts.

BULLPEN REPORT: Graylon Brown (1-0) earned two saves last weekend against TAMIU after recording a win in relief of Bass in the season-opener against McMurry. Brown, who is 9-4 with seven saves in his career, has made 47 appearances and has thrown 93 innings for the Rams. A right-hander from Brownwood, Brown was redshirted his first year at ASU  and then went 2-0 as a freshman with one save before going 6-4 with four saves last season. Trae Davis, Dillon Becker, Matt Shannon, Kellen Rholl and Joe Hauser have each made two relief appearances for the Rams this season. Davis has three strikeouts and has not allowed a run through two scoreless innings of relief, while Becker has three strikeouts and has allowed only one hit and no runs in 1 2/3 innings for the Rams. Davis went 1-0 in four starts last season before being injured and receiving a medical redshirt, while Becker went 3-3 last season as a sophomore with 35 strikeouts in 38 innings of work.

LINEUP REPORT: Paxton DeLaGarza leads the Rams through the first five games of the season with a .632 batting average after going 12-for-19 in the first two series. DeLaGarza, who is the team's shortstop, has two doubles, a triple and six RBI. He has multi-hit games in each of the first five games, including having two three-hit games last weekend against the Dustdevils. Derek Tyner has been ASU's designated hitter through the first two weekends and is hitting .500 with eight hits in 16 plate appearances. A senior from Boerne, Tyner hit the first home run of his career at ASU last Friday with a shot to left-center field and also had a double. He has five RBI and a .529 batting average. Hunter Spear is also hitting .500 with seven hits in 14 at-bats in his first season with the Rams. Spear, who is a junior from Lubbock, has been in the lineup at third base, designated hitter and in the outfield. Spear started his career at ASU with a three-hit game against McMurry in the season-opener with two RBI and then had two hits in the series opener last Friday against TAMIU.

Nehwon Norkeh is second on the team with 10 hits through five games and is hitting .455. Norkeh, who had 20 stolen bases and four home runs last season as a freshman, hit his first home run of his sophomore season on Saturday with an opposite-field blast that hit the Foster Field scoreboard to lead-off the second game of the series against TAMIU. A Minnesota native, Norkeh leads Angelo State with five doubles and has four RBI. Brett David leads the Rams with eight RBI and two home runs after crushing a pair of homer last weekend, including a grand slam that hit the left-field foul pole in the series finale. David, who is the only senior on the roster who has been in the program for four seasons, is hitting .412 to start his final year at ASU and now has six home runs and 47 RBI in his career with the Rams. David has started all five games at first base for the Rams this season.

J.C. Snyder and Jarryd Klemm also showed power potential last weekend with home runs in their home debuts for the Rams. Snyder, who is a senior who transferred from BYU, is hitting .444 after going 8-for-18 in the first five games with the Rams. Klemm, who is an Australia native, is hitting .412 with seven hits through 17 at-bats. Snyder has shown his versatility for the Rams by plying in right field and at third base for the Rams, while Klemm has started all five games in left field but has also moved to catcher at times for starter Cameron Massengill who is hitting .375 with five hits and two RBI. Massengill, who was an LSC first-team selection last year, has three doubles and has thrown out three runners attempting to steal. Cody Semler, who is a senior second baseman, has three hits and has scored two runs in his first season with the Rams and has made 15 assists in the field with only one error.
 
UP NEXT: Angelo State will travel to play Colorado School of Mines next weekend in its first four-game series of the season in Golden, Colorado. The Orediggers are currently ranked second in the region by d2baseballnews.com and are coached by former ASU assistant coach Jerod Goodale. The Rams swept a four-game series over Mines last season at Foster Field. The Orediggers, who went 24-23 last season, are currently 3-0 this season after earning two wins over Oklahoma Panhandle and one win against Newman. They will play two games this weekend against Fort Hays State and one against Central Oklahoma before hosting the Rams next weekend.