SAN ANGELO – Two strong performances by Angelo State pitchers Blake Bass and Bryce Zak went to waste on Saturday with Tarleton State sweeping a Lone Star Conference doubleheader from the Rams with a 3-1 win in the opener and a 2-1 extra-inning win in the second game at Foster Field.

The Rams (25-12, 14-11 LSC) had their five-game winning streak snapped and now trail the Texans (16-16, 10-12 LSC) 2-1 going into the series finale which will be played at 1 p.m. on Sunday at Foster Field. ASU, which won the opener 6-0 on Friday over the Texans, is now 3-3 this season against TSU going into the finale.

"It was disappointing because I really thought we have made some strides and were going to be consistent with our offensive approaches for the rest of the year," ASU head coach Kevin Brooks said. "That didn't happen today. We came out on Friday and did a great job, we took a step or two backwards today in this doubleheader. It's frustrating and is something we have to correct by tomorrow. We have to come out ready to compete like we have been before these two games today."

Bass (7-2) received the loss in the first game despite striking out eight and scattering seven hits in a complete-game effort where he allowed one run in the first and two in the second before posting five straight scoreless innings. The Rams scored their only run of the game in the third inning when Sam Kohler delivered an RBI single through the middle of the infield to score David Goggin who had reached on an infield single. The Rams would strand seven runners on base in the game though and were unable to overcome the three early runs by the Texans.

Zak (4-5) was the tough-luck loser of the day though as he took the loss after holding the Texans to only one run through seven innings. Paxton DeLaGarza gave the Rams their only run with a leadoff home run in the bottom of the seventh inning to send the game into extra innings, but the Texans took advantage off a hit-by-pitch to lead off the eighth and scored the winning run on a bloop-single down the left-field line. The run was charged to Zak who exited after hitting the batter which scored off the single which was hit off Graylon Brown who had two strikeouts in the inning. Nehwon Norkeh reached on a two-out walk in the bottom of the eighth, but Hunter Houston recorded his fifth save of the season by striking out Kohler to end the game.

DeLaGarza went 1-for-3 in both games and extended his hitting streak to nine games and his reached base streak to 20 games. His seventh-inning home run was his fourth of the season and second of the series and he now leads the Rams with a .385 batting average and 52 total hits. Goggin went 2-for-4 in the doubleheader, while Kohler went 2-for-4 in the opener before going 0-for-4 in the second game to snap a seven-game hitting streak.
Trevor Renfro (4-2) earned the win for the Texans after limiting ASU to two hits and striking out eight in seven innings, while Houston recorded saves in both games. Evan Robinson had both RBI in the second game, including the game-winning hit in the top of the eighth.

Miles Gully (0-0) will make his first start of the season and fifth appearance for the Rams on Sunday in the finale.

The Rams are now 17-4 at Foster Field this season going into the finale against the Texans going into a Tuesday road game at St. Mary's and a three-game set next weekend at West Texas A&M. ASU currently finds itself in third place in the conference standings behind Texas A&M-Kingsville (17-8 LSC) which swept a four-game series over Cameron (8-17 LSC) and the Buffs (16-10 LSC) who took two games in a three-game set against Eastern New Mexico (8-15 LSC) this weekend.