SAN ANGLEO, Texas – The Angelo State baseball team will travel to Cameron for its last regular season road series on Friday, April 29.

Having clinched a spot in the LSC Championship Tournament with its sweep of No.17 West Texas A&M, the Rams (27-17, 20-9 LSC) currently sit in a tie for first place in the Lone Star Conference with Texas A&M – Kingsville. The Team has also been ranked No. 6 in the initial South Central Regional rankings. Angelo State will partake in a single game against the Aggies on Friday, April 29 at 3 p.m., and then follow with a doubleheader on Saturday, April 30 starting at 1 p.m.

Cameron will be coming off a midweek match-up against Southeastern Oklahoma State after taking a three game series, 2-1, against Tarleton in Stephenville last weekend. In its last meeting with the Rams, the Aggies emerged on the losing end of a four game series, 3-1, in San Angelo. CU currently sits three games behind West Texas A&M at No. 4 in the Lone Star Conference Standings.  

The ASU pitching staff will enter the weekend series with the top ranking in the LSC with a staff ERA of 3.86 and holding the opposition to a .261 average at the dish. It also continues to remain within the top 25 nationally in several categories which includes Shutouts (9^th), strikeout-to-walk ratio (24^th) and strikeouts per nine innings (24^th). Offensively, it is 13^th in the nation in sac bunts (45) and leads the conference in stolen bases (59) and stolen bases per game (1.34). On the field, the Rams hold the 12^th best field percentage in the nation (.971) and lead the LSC in double plays (34) and double plays per game (.77).

Taking the mound for the Rams this weekend will be Matt Shannon (5-4), Bryce Zak (7-2) and Jayden O'Dell (0-0). Shannon, who is currently leading the trio with a staff low 2.63 ERA, will be looking to add to his season total of 89 strikeouts, which has him sitting second in the conference and 11^th in the nation.  The sophomore is also ranked within the top 10 in the LSC with five wins on the season and a .247 opposing batting average. In last week's sweep of West Texas A&M, Shannon tossed a solid seven innings of shutout ball before giving up one run in the eighth. He retired seven on strikes, walked two and gave up only three hits for the outing. Zak, who has amassed a team leading seven wins, has moved into second on ASU's all-time single season strikeout list with 109. This also places him third in the nation in this category. The San Angelo native is sporting a 3.28 ERA and has held the opposition to a team low .224 average at the plate. Finally, O'Dell will be making his third start of the season after going 3 2/3 innings in the WT series finale. In 10 2/3 innings pitch this season he has sat down 14 on strikes and given up less than one hit per inning. Opposing hitters are only averaging .243 at the dish when he is putting in work on the hill.

Also possibly making an appearance during the series will be pitcher, Graylon Brown (5-5, 6). After recording his sixth save of the 2016 season and 23^rd of his career, the senior is only one save away from tying the all-time saves record for the Lone Star Conference.  He is second on the squad with a 2.68 ERA and has mowed down 37 hitters on strikeouts. Brown came away from the WT series with an appearance in each of the three games, a win and a save.

Leading the Rams offensive attack will be LSC Co-Hitter of the Week, Sam Kohler. The middle infielder out of Dripping Springs, Texas was a rock in ASU's lineup this week and played a major role in the team's series sweep of WTAMU. The senior went 8-for-15 at the dish for the week, which included a 3-for-3 performance in Friday night's game. The eight hits placed him just four behind the Lone Star Conference leader with 54. He recorded a team high .533 batting average, a .733 slugging percentage and a .588 on base percentage for the series. Kohler tallied three total RBIs, his sixth double, his second triple and scored three times. He is also first in the LSC with nine total sac bunts. On the field, the second baseman chalked up 12 put outs and 10 assists. He remains second in the LSC with 133 total assists and first having fielded 25 double plays in 2016.

Paxton DeLaGarza, Tyler Coolbaugh and Steven Pinales will all be looked upon to make major contributions to the lineup. Senior, DeLaGarza, leads the team with six homers on the season. He is sporting a .327 batting average and has scored a team second 50 hits and 32 runs. His .536 slugging percentage, 10 doubles and 30 RBIs lead the Rams offense as well. Coolbaugh, a junior from Colleyville, Texas, is second on the team with 29 RBIs. He has 38 hits on the season and is boasting a .309 average at the plate. Along with Kohler, He shares the team lead and is first in the conference with nine successful sac bunts laid down this season. Pinales has also come up big at times for the Rams as he is second on the team with five home runs and 20 RBIs. On the base paths, the 6"3' outfielder shares the lead with a team high nine stolen bags and is third with 29 runs scored.

Elias Aguirre, Jarryd Klemm and Jay Gonzales will complete the offensive contributors for the Rams. Along with a driving in 13 runs for the team, Aguirre has also shown his speed around the bases with a team leading nine stolen bases and crossing the plate 21 times. Klemm, a native of Australia, has played a major role in the team's success as of late. He is batting a team second .337, with 34 hits and six RBIs. Gonzales rounds out the bunch with 31 hits thus far in the 2016 season. He had recorded a team second seven doubles and has driven in 17 runs.