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CANYON, Texas – The top ranked Lady Buffs of West Texas A&M and the #6 Angelo State Rambelles will renew one of the best rivalries in any division of NCAA Softball this weekend as WT takes a seven game win streak into San Angelo, Texas for a four-game Lone Star Conference series against ASU at Mayer Field. The Lady Buffs are 17-2 overall with a perfect 4-0 mark in LSC play while the Belles enter with an overall record of 20-2 and a 5-1 league mark.
 
WEST TEXAS A&M
The top ranked Lady Buffs of West Texas A&M began the defense of their Lone Star Conference championship in style this past weekend as they hit .511 as a team to outscored Midwestern State, 47-5 in four run-rule wins at Schaeffer Park in Canyon. WT was led at the plate by Kaisha Dacosin who hit .636 with two home runs and 11 RBI while junior shortstop Stacey Ramirez hit .625 on the weekend.
 
THE OPPONENT
The #6 Angelo State Rambelles (20-2, 5-1 LSC) enter the weekend following two big midweek wins over #5 St. Mary's in San Angelo on Wednesday highlighted by a nightcap no-hitter by Brandy Marlett, ASU took two of three from ENMU in LSC play last weekend and they hold the advantage of two more LSC games over the rest of the leage as they took two from TAMUK on opening weekend while all other series were cancelled due to weather. ASU is led by 12th year head coach Travis Scott who has led the Belles to four NCAA Division II College World Series appearances including the 2004 National Title during his first season in San Angelo.
 
The Belles are led at the plate by Micherie Koria who is hitting .446 with two doubles and one homerun to drive in 15 RBI while stealing 23 bases on 25 attempts, teammate Kenedy Urbany has provided the power with six homeruns to hit .387 with a team leading 19 RBI. Urbany has been solid in the circle as well, going 10-1 with a 1.33 ERA and 34 strikeouts while Marlett is also 10-1 with a 1.00 ERA to lead the team with 74 K's.
 
THE SERIES
The Belles lead the all-time series against the Lady Buffs 23-15 with WT taking four of the five meetings between the two teams last season including an LSC series sweep in Canyon before ASU responded with a win in the LSC Tournament Title game at Schaeffer Park. West Texas A&M is 5-13 all-time in San Angelo as they dropped two-of-three at ASU during their last road meeting back in 2013.
 
LSC PITCHER OF THE WEEK
WT senior left hander Rita Hokianga was named the LSC Pitcher of the Week on Tuesday morning following a pair of complete game gems against Midwestern State last weekend in Canyon. The Hawke's Bay, New Zealand native posted a 1.40 ERA with two complete game wins as she allowed just five hits and two runs in her 10.0 innings of work with 10 strikeouts and one walk. Hokianga was almost un-hittable on Friday night in the series opener as the senior carried a perfect game into the top of the fifth inning before a leadoff solo homerun ended her perfect night, but Hokianga responded to get three straight outs to pick up the win.
 
THE LONE STAR CONFERENCE
Lone Star Conference softball teams are 112-58 overall this season.  In the NCAA South Central Region, the group is currently 34-18 combined versus Heartland Conference teams and 36-11 against the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference. The overall LSC Champion will be the team(s) with the best winning percentage in regular-season conference games, while the winner of the postseason championship will be recognized as LSC Tournament Champion and receive the league's automatic qualification into NCAA postseason. The single-elimination championship will be played May 1-2, at the No. 1 seed.
 
HOME SWEET HOME
The Lady Buffs have gone 13-1 inside of the friendly confines of Schaeffer Park this season to continue their home dominance. WT is 121-20 (.859) at Schaeffer Park since the facility opened prior to the 2011 season. 2014 marked the third time in the last four years ('11, '13, '14) that the Lady Buffs hosted NCAA Postseason action in Canyon.
 
NFCA DIVISION II TOP-25 POLL (MAR. 11)
The Lady Buffs (17-2, 4-0 LSC) picked up 13 of the possible 16 first place votes for a total of 396 points followed by Valdosta State (3 first place, 384), Cal State Monterey Bay (359), Missouri-St. Louis (352), St. Mary's (333), Angelo State (303), Dixie State (297), Alabama-Huntsville (285), North Georgia (263) and West Chester (254) to round out the top ten. The South Central Region was represented by top ranked WT, St, Mary's (5th) and Angelo State (6th). It marks the 55th straight week (379 days) that WT has been atop of the poll dating back to Feb. 26, 2014, the run passes the Valdosta State reign atop of the rankings from March 28, 2012 to March 13, 2013 (51 weeks – 351 days) as the longest in recent history.
 
#CLAUSSTRONG
The Lady Buffs have chosen to play for a something bigger than themselves this season as they join the #ClausStrong campaign for former Lady Buff Amanda Claus and her family. Amanda's father Rick was in a single car accident in Dallas in late December and the father of two has been in a coma ever since. For more info, visit the family's journal at CaringBridge.org. We Are Buff Nation, We Are WT Softball, and We Are #ClausStrong.
 
LIVE COVERAGE
The Angelo State Athletic Communications Department will provide live stats and a webstram for all four games in San Angelo this weekend with the video feed costing a nominal fee. Fans can also follow the WT Softball Facebook page for updates. For links and more information, visit the Lady Buff Softball schedule page at GoBuffsGo.com.
 
A LOOK AT THE SCHEDULE
The Lady Buffs will once again face a tough schedule in 2015 as they look to defend their 2014 NCAA National Championship. The schedule is highlighted by a return trip to the NFCA Leadoff Classic with matchups against East Central, Western Oregon, Colorado Mesa, St. Mary's and Dixie State. LSC play will see matchups with four teams that made an NCAA Regional Tournament last year with #6 Angelo State, Texas Woman's, Midwestern State and Cameron while the Lady Buffs topped fellow NCAA Postseason entrant Metro State, 2-0 on Feb. 14th.