Tournament Central
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CANYON, Texas- The #3 Lady Buffs of West Texas A&M will begin the defense of their 2014 National Championship this weekend as they host the NCAA South Central I Regional Tournament at Schaeffer Park in Canyon, Texas. Action starts on Friday with Cameron and Angelo State at 4:00 p.m. followed by the Lady Buffs taking on Tarleton State at 6:30 p.m. This weekend will mark the program's third straight and fifth overall appearance in the NCAA Postseason.
 
WEST TEXAS A&M
Coming off of a Lone Star Conference Tournament Championship on Saturday afternoon, the #3 Lady Buffs of West Texas A&M have been tabbed the top seed in the 2015 NCAA Division II South Central Region and will host Cameron, Angelo State and Tarleton State in a double-elimination tournament this weekend at Schaeffer Park in Canyon, Texas. It will mark the program's third straight and fifth overall appearance in the NCAA Postseason as the Lady Buffs look to defend their 2014 National Championship.
 
THE OPPONENT
The TexAnns of Tarleton State enter the weekend with an overall record of 30-20 as they finished third in the Lone Star Conference with a 16-10 league record, TSU topped Texas A&M-Commerce in the LSC Quarterfinals last Friday in Canyon before falling to Texas Woman's (9-1, 5 Innings) in the Semifinal round. Tarleton will be making their fourth appearance in the NCAA Postseason and first since 2007 this weekend under 19th year head coach Julie Mata. The TexAnns are led at the plate by All-LSC 1st Team selection Nyka Wood who is hitting .404 with eight doubles, one triple and six homeruns to drive in 52 RBI while fellow freshman and All-LSC 2nd Teamer Haley Freyman leads the way in the circle with a 3.12 ERA, going 20-12 with 13 complete games and two saves in 195 innings of work while striking out 79 batters and allowing an opponent batting average of .285.
 
THE SERIES
The Lady Buffs lead the all-time series against the TexAnns 16-15 with the 2015 regular-season series between the two teams being cancelled due to weather earlier this season in Stephenville. It will mark the first every postseason meeting between the two teams dating back to 2006. Tarleton State is 6-11 all-time in Canyon and 0-7 at Schaeffer Park since the facility opened prior to the 2011 season, the Lady Buffs have taken the last 10 meetings between the two teams in Canyon.
 
NFCA POSTSEASON AWARD WATCHLISTS
West Texas A&M has put three student-athletes on the National Fastpitch Coaches Association (NFCA) Postseason Award Watchlists as Renee Erwin and Lacey Taylor are two of 10 finalists for the Schutt Sports/NFCA National Player of the Year award while designated player Allie Smith is one of 10 finalists for the inaugural NFCA Freshman of the Year accolade. The upcoming weeks will see the number of finalist be reduced down and these awards will be announced by the association during the week prior to the 2015 NCAA Division II College World Series in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.
 
USING THE LONG BALL
The Lady Buffs are known for using the long ball and the 2015 season has been no different, WT has crushed 102 homeruns so far this season which ranks tied for 4th in Division II history for homeruns in a season. The 2015 Lady Buffs become just the sixth team in DII history to surpass the 100 homerun mark and they are the only team in history to do it twice, hitting 105 dingers during their 2014 DII National Championship run as they have done it in back-to-back years. The Division II record for homeruns in a season is 114 held by Humboldt State (2013) followed by Metro State (2010) who hit 112 in a single season, WT's 2014 total of 105 is third followed by Lenoir-Rhyne (2010) and this year's Lady Buffs with 102 on the season. UM-St. Louis has currently hit 101 homeruns this season.
 
HOME SWEET HOME
The Lady Buffs have gone 29-5 inside of the friendly confines of Schaeffer Park this season to continue their home dominance. WT is 137-24 (.861) at Schaeffer Park since the facility opened prior to the 2011 season. 2015 marks the fourth time in the last five years ('11, '13, '14, '15) that the Lady Buffs will host NCAA Postseason action in Canyon.
 
NFCA DIVISION II TOP-25 POLL (MAY 6TH)
The Tritons of Missouri-St. Louis move into the top spot for the first time in program history with 12 of the possible 16 first place votes for a total of 395 points followed by Valdosta State (2 first place, 375 points) who dropped one spot. The Lady Buffs picked up one first place vote (369) along with Dixie State (359) followed by Cal State Monterey Bay (334), North Georgia (318), St. Mary's (307), Georgia College (276), Augustana (265) and Indianapolis (265) to round out the top ten. The South Central Region was represented by WT (3rd), St. Mary's (7th), Metro State (18th), Cameron (RV) and Angelo State (RV).
 
LONE STAR CONFERENCE CHAMPIONS
This past weekend, the Lady Buffs claimed their first LSC Tournament Title since 2011 and became the second team since the league combined their two divisions prior to the 2012 season to claim the regular season and tournament championship in the same season. WT topped Cameron (10-3) in the semifinal round as Ashley Hardin drove in five RBI before tournament MVP Kaisha Dacosin led the Lady Buffs past rival Texas Woman's (9-3) in the LSC Championship game with freshman right hander Kilee Halbert tossing five solid innings out of the bullpen for WT.
 
LIVE COVERAGE
The West Texas A&M Athletic Media Relations Department will provide live stats and a free webstream for all games in Canyon this weekend. 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.
 
RE-WRITING THE RECORD BOOKS
Senior outfielder Renee Erwin, the 2015 LSC Player of the Year, has been on a tear through the WT Softball and Lone Star Conference record books this season as the Anna, Texas native has set new league and school marks in homeruns (62), runs batted-in (244) and runs scored (265). Erwin, the defending Daktronics Ron Lenz National Player of the Year, is currently tied for 4th in NCAA Division II history with 62 homeruns while ranking fourth all-time in runs scored (265), sixth in runs batted-in (244) and fourth in total bases (547).