SAN ANGELO – Nehwon Norkeh hit a leadoff home run and Blake Bass struck out eight to help lead the Angelo State baseball team to a 7-1 non-conference win over Lubbock Christian on Friday in the first game of a three-game set at Foster Field.

The Rams (5-1) won their fourth straight game with Bass scattering five hits and not walking a batter in seven innings of work, while Norkeh and Brett David each hit solo home runs and Cameron Massengill delivered a two-run double in the win over the Chaps (5-2). Norkeh, who hit the first pitch of the bottom of the first inning over the left-center field wall, now has two home runs on the season and sparked another strong day by the Ram hitters who have scored seven or more runs in five of the first six games.

"It was the first pitch, but it was a nice pitch and I thought 'why not'," Norkeh said. "It was a beautiful day, so why not come out swinging. Hitting a home run is a great way to start a game for sure. I feel really good up there right now," Norkeh said. "I'm seeing the ball really well and am trusting my hands. Having fun at the plate is the most important part and I'm doing that right now."

Bass (2-0) established a new career-high with his seven strikeouts and had three 1-2-3 innings in his third start of his senior season. Bass, who threw 96 pitches in the game, balanced out a high-powered LCU team by having six groundouts and six fly outs to go along with his seven strikeouts. Gerado Arzaga hit a second-inning solo home run to account for LCU's only run of the game.

"I just wanted to come out and throw strikes and establish my fastball," Bass said. "I was getting my slider in for strikes and getting them to swing out of the zone. I'm a contact-pitcher, but I was able to keep the ball down and worked the corners of the plate and didn't really give them anything great to swing at besides that home run. I felt in command pretty much the entire time I was out there today."

Graylon Brown threw the eighth inning, recording one strikeout and allowing only one hit before Paxton DeLaGarza moved from shortstop to pitcher for the final inning. DeLaGarza, who went 2-for-4 with an RBI at the plate, closed out the final frame with two strikeouts and stranded two runners on base.

The Rams finished the game with a 10-7 hit advantage over the Chaps and did not commit an error in the field. David leads ASU with three home runs this season after hitting a one-out solo home run in the fourth inning to give the Rams a 3-1 lead, while J.C. Snyder went 2-for-4 with two doubles. Snyder's second double of the game came in the eighth inning when he pulled a ball into the left-center field gap to score David who led off the inning with a single. DeLaGarza had the final RBI of the game with an infield single to score Snyder.

Brig Gerlich (1-1) took the loss for the Chaps after allowing five earned runs in seven innings of work. Gerlich, who walked three and struck out four, threw 107 pitches and allowed seven hits. LCU's seven hits came from seven different hitters, with Arzaga providing the only run-producing swing of the day with his home run.

Angelo State and Lubbock Christian resume the series at 2 p.m. on Saturday before the series finale at 1 p.m. on Sunday at Foster Field.