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DURANT, Okla. – Southeastern will take a step out of Great American Conference play March 12-13 to face a former Lone Star Conference rival with a three-game series against Angelo State in San Angelo, Texas.
Game one is slated for a 6 p.m. first pitch on March 12, with a 1 p.m. double-header to follow on March 13.
The series comes on the heels of the Savage Storm picking up its second-straight league-series victory, this time taking two-out-of-three from then GAC leading Arkansas Tech in Russellville, Ark.
The wins lifted SE to 11-8 on the season overall and moved the conference record to an even 6-6.
After opening the season with a 4-6 start the Storm have bounced back, winning seven of its last nine, including two-straight to end the series against the Wonder Boys.
In that series, SE opened with a 2-1 loss that saw both ATU runs come home thanks to errors, overshadowing an 8.0 inning complete game performance by
Vance Woodruff who scattered five hits and four strikeouts while allowing just the two unearned runs.
The Storm responded with an offensive explosion on day two, piling up 20 runs and 29 hits over two games with wins of 10-1 and 10-2.
The Southeastern pitching staff has climbed to the top of the league standings with a staff ERA of 3.02, and features only one pitcher who has thrown more than 10 innings with an ERA higher than 4.00.
Cameron Mann has assumed the top spot in the GAC in ERA with a 1.71 mark in 10 relief appearances and 21.0 innings pitched, amassing a 2-0 record with five saves.
Eddie Cervantes also makes the league's top-10 ERA list and actually leads the team with a 4-1 record despite making just one start in seven appearances. His 2.74 ERA was bolstered over the weekend with 5.2 innings of hitless, scoreless long-relief which allowed him to collect his fourth win.
Woodruff leads a group of starters that have faced some adversity. He boasts a 1.82 ERA, third best in the GAC, but is 1-3 on the season.
Brandon Marris has fell victim to a similar fate as he has a 3.67 ERA, but has yet to register his first win and has a 0-3 record after reaching double-digits in wins a season ago.
Those fortunes could change if the offensive awakening of recent weeks catches on for good.
Southeastern has crawled out of the league's hitting cellar and is now ninth with a .262 team average. However, the team has been on a tear of late, posting a .324 average over the last two weeks, during which SE swept Tarleton State and took back-to-back GAC series and posted a 6-2 record.
Evan Ramsey has been a big part of the offensive resurgence as he has lifted his average to .386 on the season, good for seventh in the conference, doing a lion's share of the heavy lifting in the last two weeks when he hit .500, going 13-for-26 with four doubles, three home runs and nine RBI.
Two others join him over the .300 mark, with
Ryan Salter next in line at .342 with a team-best 18 runs scored as well as a GAC-leading 17 stolen bases.
Tucker Alexander also checks in with a .338 average on the season, including a team-best six doubles and 13 RBI.
ASU comes into the midweek series at 12-5 after winning its last two contests against Bellarmine back on March 4-5.
The Rams are led by Reggie Rodriguez and Lee Neumann who are neck-and-neck at .386 and .385, respectively.
Neumann leads the club in RBI with 19, while Rodriguez has posted a team-best three home runs.
Bryce Zak leads the ASU pitching staff with a 3-0 record and a 1.53 ERA, while three different pitchers have handled the closing duties, with Jake Feckley posting a team-best two saves.
