SAN ANGELO – Dillon Becker allowed only two hits and one run in 5 2/3 innings of relief and Derek Tyner hit two home runs to help lead No. 23-ranked Angelo State to an 11-4 Lone Star Conference win in the series finale over Tarleton State and secure a season-series win over the Texans on Sunday at Foster Field.

The Rams (26-12, 15-11 LSC) bounced back in a big way from a pair of offensive struggles on Saturday by pounding out 11 hits on Sunday which included the two home runs for Tyner and the sixth home run of the season by Nehwon Norkeh who led the Rams by going 3-for-3 with three  RBI. Tyner, who now has four home runs this season and in his career at ASU, is the first Ram to have a multi-home run game this season and the first since Lee Neumann hit two home runs against Cameron on April 20, 2013.

ASU won the season-series over the Texans by taking four of seven games and is now 18-4 at Foster Field this season. The Rams have now outscored their opponents 205-117 this season and are only one win shy of matching last season's win total of 27. There are 11 regular-season games remaining on the schedule this season, including the final six being at home with three-game sets against Texas A&M-Kingsville and Eastern New Mexico.

Becker (4-1) earned the win for the Rams in relief after taking over in the first inning for starter Miles Gully. Becker, who made his 19th relief appearance of the season, entered with the bases loaded after the Texans had scored one run and subsequently got a strikeout and  fielder's choice to end the inning without any more damage. Becker finished the game with four strikeouts and exited after the seventh inning with ASU leading 11-2.  

"It was really similar to how I've been coming into the game all year except it came in the first inning instead of later in the game," Becker said. "I know when I come in that I have a job to do and that is to not let them score. I'm used to coming in with runners in scoring position and less than two outs, so I just went in there with the same approach to trust our defense to make the plays behind me and they did."

ASU, which was limited to two runs on Saturday in a pair of losses, woke up in the third inning on Sunday by scoring four runs on three hits. The inning started with David Goggin drawing a full-count walk and then Cody Semler reaching on a fielder's choice. Semler stole second and advanced to third on a throwing error and then scored the first run of the game for the Rams when Norkeh blasted a pitch to dead-center field for run-scoring double. Norkeh advanced to third on a single by Sam Kohler and would then score on a Paxton DeLaGarza sacrifice fly to right field. Kohler was a third base when Tyner stepped up and hit a home run to left-center field to give the Rams a 4-0 lead.

"I think we came out more relaxed and ready to play," Tyner said. "Saturday was a weird day for us where we couldn't get anything going. We are a team that is confident throughout the lineup and we knew that we had to bounce back today and put together a good game. We couldn't let this one get away from us. I felt confident up there and got a couple of good, high pitches that I was able to connect on for the home runs."

Tyner finished the game 2-for-3 with three RBI after another home run in the fifth inning, while Brett David went 2-for-5 with a pair of singles. Tyner's two home runs were one shy of the ASU single-game record of three which was accomplished by Daniel Ochs (2007) and Keith Towne (2009) and it was it first two-home run game since high school. Norkeh led the Rams in the series by going 6-for-15, while Sam Kohler had four hits and DeLaGarza, Tyner and David each had three hits in the series. DeLaGarza went 0-for-4 on Sunday though to snap a nine-game hitting streak and a 20-game reached base streak, but did have the RBI. Norkeh now has the longest reached base streak which stands at nine games after he had his three hits on Sunday.

Trae Davis threw one inning of scoreless relief of Becker in the seventh inning, while Joe Hauser and Jamie MacLean also threw one inning each. MacLean finished off the game with two strikeouts in the night inning to end the series.

ASU salvaged a series split against the Texans with the win and will now play at St. Mary's on Tuesday and at West Texas A&M next weekend. The Rams and Rattlers will play a single non-conference game at 6 p.m. on Tuesday in San Antonio before heading to Canyon for a three-game set next weekend. ASU is 1-0 against St. Mary's this season after earning a 4-3 win back on March 31 at Foster Field and is 2-2 against the Buffs after the two teams split a series in San Angelo in mid-March. ASU is currently in third place in the conference standings with 11 games (9 in conference) remaining in the regular season.

"We just have to keep winning but be more consistent," Becker said. "It was big to win the season series against Tarleton, but we would have liked to win those two games on Saturday and sweep them. We're going to have to win those close games from here on to have a chance to win the championship."