CANYON, Texas  – The top two teams in the Lone Star Conference battle it out in a four game series at Wilder Park this weekend as the No. 18/22 West Texas A&M Buffs return home to host Angelo State for a four game series.  The Buffs enter with a 17-5 record overall and a 6-2 mark in Lone Star Conference play, while Angelo State enters with a 13-8 record overall and an equal 6-2 record in league play.
 
Friday's game is scheduled for nine innings beginning at 6:30 p.m., followed by a pair of seven inning games Saturday at 4 p.m. and a single nine inning game Sunday at 1 p.m. to conclude the series.  The weekend series is sponsored by Amarillo National Bank and it is Youth Baseball Weekend as all youth will be admitted for $1 with a wearing a team t-shirt or uniform.  Come out and support the Buffs for Youth Baseball Weekend.
 
The games will have live streaming and live stats as links can be found at www.gobuffsgo.com on the baseball schedule page.
 
 WT is coming off a 3-1 weekend series at Cameron where it battled back from two deficits and posted a 10-0, run-rule win in the finale.  The Buffs opened with a 6-3 win in the first game of two doubleheaders as the series was altered due to wet conditions.  Behind a complete game from senior Austin Moore, WT took the opening game in come-from-behind fashion with four runs in the fourth and two in the sixth for the win.  Moore allowed six hits, three runs – one earned, walked one and fanned nine.  Four players each had two hits for the Buffs in the game.  In the nightcap, WT built a 3-0 lead, but was unable to hang on as Cameron scored two in the sixth, three in the seventh and one in the eight for the 6-3 win.  The next day, WT needed extra-innings it tied the game at four in its last at bat in the top of the seventh and then scored the go ahead run in the top of the eighth as senior closer Kyle Tinius earned his fourth save of the year in the 5-4 win.  Junior Thomas Garland picked up his first win in a Buff uniform.  In the nightcap, junior Joshua Payne was masterful as he went all seven innings, tossing a complete game shutout as he allowed seven hits, walked one and fanned four.  Payne got out of five jams in the game with runners in scoring position for the 10-0 win. 
 
For the series, WT hit .274 and held Cameron to .248.  The Buffs tallied 34 hits and 12 doubles in the series, while scoring 24 runs and driving in 18.  Senior Trace Hansen was 6 of 15 from the plate with three runs scored, three RBI and two doubles, while junior Troy LaBrie was 5 of 10 with two doubles, two RBI and three runs scored. 
 
The pitching matchups for the weekend are slated to be junior Justin McAllister (1-1, 4.00 ERA) against Matt Shannon (2-2, 2.97 ERA) for the first game on Friday.  Saturday's first game is scheduled for senior Brooks Trujillo (4-1, 3.62 ERA) against Bryce Zak (4-1, 3.03 ERA) and the third game is senior Austin Moore (4-1, 1.72 ERA) against Paxton De La Garza (2-0, 0.00 ERA).  Sunday's game is senior Luke Wiechec (1-0, 4.20 ERA) against a player to be named for Angelo State.
 
Angelo State leads the all-time series 36-18, but the Buffs have won three of the last five and went 4-4 against ASU last season.  Since 2013, WT is 13-6 against the Rams.  The Buffs went 2-1 against Angelo State last season in Canyon and 2-2 in San Angelo as ASAU won 6-5 in the LSC Tournament in Kingsville in May.
 
WT head coach Matt Vanderburg is in his eighth season at the helm of the Buffs.  He is 222-158 at WT and 321-225 overall in 10 seasons of coaching.  Vanderburg is 17-20 against Angelo State during his time at West Texas A&M.
 
The Buffs are tied for 18^th in this week's National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association Top 25.  Due to playing the Cameron series on Sunday-Monday, the Monday doubleheader sweep didn't count in the ranking this week as the poll comes out on Tuesday.  WT is 22^nd in the Collegiate Baseball Newspaper poll this week and are 21^st in the D2Baseballnews.com Poll. 
 
For the season, the Buffs are led by senior Matt Cole who leads the team with a .385 average in 22 starts on 30 of 78.  He has eight doubles, scored 15 runs, hit two triples, one home run and drove in 16 which shares for the team lead.  Cole is slugging .577 and reaching base at a .484 clip.  Redshirt freshman Christian Loya leads the team in average at .405 win 14 games with 12 starts.  Hansen leads the team with 33 hits at a .375 clip as he is 33 of 88 with a team-high 22 runs scored, a team-best 11 doubles, one triple and three home runs, while driving in 16.  Hansen is slugging .625 and reaching base at a .40 clip, while going 7 of 7 in stolen bases.  Loya leads the team with five home runs on 17 hits with four doubles.  He has 15 RBI and scored 12 runs.
 
As a team, the Buffs are hitting .314 on the year with 220 hits, including 56 doubles, three triples and 20 home runs.  The Buffs have scored 143 runs and driven in 125, while slugging .489 and reaching base at a .404 clip.  Conversely, the opposition is hitting .238 with 162 hits, including 33 doubles, five triples and 10 home runs as it is slugging .346 and reaching base at a .300 clip.  Both WT and the opposition have 26 errors on the year.
 
On the hill, the Buffs are led by Moore who is 4-1 with a 1.72 ERA in 36.2 innings.  He has two complete games to lead the team and is one of four Buffs with a shutout.  Moore has allowed 23 hits, 12 runs – seven earned, walked 13 and fanned a team-high 48 as teams are hitting .174 against him.  Senior Brooks Trujillo also is 4-1 with a 3.62 ERA in 37.1 innings of work.  He has one complete game and one shutout, while allowing 26 hits, 16 runs – 15 earned, walked 10 and fanned 45.  Teams are hitting just .191 against him.  Junior Justin McAllister is third in innings pitched at 27.0 as he is 1-1 with a 4.00 ERA.  McAllister has fanned 32 and walked just seven as teams are hitting .235 against him.  Tinius leads the team with four saves.
 
As a staff, the Buffs carry a 3.77 ERA into the series this weekend as they have pitched 179 innings, allowing 162 hits, 97 runs – 75 earned, walked 55 and fanned 195.  The opposition has a 6.30 ERA in 170 innings, allowing 220 hits, 143 runs – 119 earned, walked 84 and fanned 123. 
 
Angelo State enters with a 13-8 record and a 6-2 mark in the LSC after splitting a four game series with Texas A&M-Kingsville last weekend.  It was the first home series of the year for the Rams.  ASU and TAMUK alternated wins in the series as the Rams took the opener 10-9.  ASU garnered both LSC Player and Pitcher of the Week this week as Paxton De La Garza earned Pitcher of the Week, while Steven Pinales earned Player of the Week.
 
The Rams are led by Pinales who leads the team hitting .385 in 15 games.  He has 20 hits, with 17 runs scored, two doubles, two triples and three home runs, while driving in 13.  Sam Kohler is second in average at a .381 clip in 21 starts as he has a team-high 29 hits, scoring 24 times, with four doubles, one triple and nine RBI.  De La Garza also hits and is fourth in average at .359 with 28 hits, 21 runs scored, a team-high seven doubles, one triple and three home runs, while driving in a team-high 19. 
 
As a team, the Rams are hitting .317 with 219 hits, 35 doubles, six triples, 12 home runs, 122 RBI on 153 hits.  ASU is 27 of 38 in stolen bases.  Teams are hitting .251 against the Rams this season with 155 hits, 95 runs scored, 32 doubles, two triples and five home runs along with 79 RBI. 
 
On the mound, Bryce Zak is 4-1 with a 3.03 ERA in 35.2 innings.  He has allowed 27 hits, 14 runs – 12 earned, walked 15 and fanned a team-high 59.  Matt Shannon leads the team in innings pitched with 36.1.  Shannon (2-2, 2.97 ERA) has allowed 42 hits, 24 runs – 12 earned, walked eight and fanned 52.  Graylon Brown leads the team with three saves and is 2-3 with a 3.67 ERA.  De La Garza is 2-0 with a 0.00 ERA in 12.2 innings of work, fanning 12 and walking five.
 
As a staff, the Rams have a 3.87 ERA in 163 innings.  They have allowed 155 hits, 95 runs – 70 earned, walked 72 and fanned 175 as teams are hitting .251 against them.