- Game Notes (PDF)
- Friday Live Stats (MARY | LMU)
- Saturday Live Stats (ART | DIXIE)
- Sunday Live Stats (DIXIE)
- Twitter Updates (@WTAthletics)
Tweet #BuffNation
Tweet #LSCsoft

CANYON, Texas – The #2 Lady Buffs hit the road this weekend as they travel to Tucson, Arizona to take part in the 2017 Cactus Classic at Lincoln Park. WT is scheduled to take on the University of Mary, Academy of Art, Lincoln Memorial and #23 Dixie State (twice).
 
- SCOUTING THE FIELD
UNIVERSITY OF MARY
The Marauders are led by first year head coach Kerry Shaw who spent last season as an assistant at SE Missouri State. Shaw is a former member of the USA Men's National Fastpitch Softball Team and gold medalist at the 2002 Pam Am qualifier.
 
Mary enters the weekend with an overall record of 0-5 as they took part in the Desert Stinger Invite in Las Vegas. The Marauders are led offensively by Taylor Mendez who is hitting .385 with two doubles and a homerun to drive in an RBI. 
 
LINCOLN MEMORIAL
Lincoln Memorial is led by fifth year head coach Natalie Layden who led LMU to an overall record of 24-28 last season with a trip to the South Atlantic Conference Tournament.
 
The Railsplitters are 4-0 so far this season with doubleheader wins over Mount Olive and Lees McRae. LMU is led offensively by Dakotah Fraley who is hitting .364 this season with a double and two RBI.
 
ACADEMY OF ART
The Urban Knights are led by third year head coach Natalie Layden who was a three-time All-American pitcher at San Francisco State during her playing career.
 
Acdemy of Art enters the weekend with an overall record of 3-3 with wins over San Francisco State and Northwest Nazarene. The Urban Knights are led offensively by Gabi Hirsh who is hitting .563 so far this season with a double and an RBI to go along with two stolen bases.
 
DIXIE STATE
The TrailBlazers are led by ninth year head coach Randy Simkins who has turned the Dixie State program into a staple in the national scene with a pair of College World Series appearances and the 2015 DII National Title game.
 
#23 Dixie State enters the weekend with an overall record of 8-1 following a doubleheader split with Colorado Mesa last Sunday in St. George. The TrailBlazers are led offensively by 2015 National Freshman of the Year Janessa Bassett who is hitting .688 with 11 hits and three RBI to go along with 12 stolen bases.
 
The Lady Buffs lead the all-time series against Dixie State, 4-0 as WT took the only 2017 meetings between the two teams in a nine-inning thriller last February in St. George, Utah as WT completed a six-run comeback with a Lacey Taylor walkoff homerun in the ninth inning at Karl Brooks Field.
 
LSC HITTER OF THE WEEK
West Texas A&M junior designated player Allie Smith has been named the LSC Softball Hitter of the Week. The Flower Mound product went 9-for-16 at the plate this weekend to hit .563 with six doubles and a homerun to drive in 10 RBI for a slugging percentage of 1.125 to go along with a walk and just one strikeout for an on-base clip of .588. The junior registered a hit in all six games of the WT Invitational to run her hitting streak to 11
 
2016 IN-REVIEW
The Lady Buffs continued their dominance in 2016 as Kevin Blaskowski led the program to their third straight and fourth overall Lone Star Conference Championship as they finished the season 59-5 with a 30-2 mark in LSC play. WT made national news during the 2016 season as they went on the longest win streak in South Central Region history, winning their first 30 games. WT claimed their second South Central Regional Championship in 2016, coming from the loser's bracket to top Colorado Mesa twice on Championship Sunday followed by a Super Regional sweep of St. Mary's to advance to the program's second College World Series as WT finished the season ranked fifth in the nation.
 
HOME SWEET HOME
The Lady Buffs have turned Schaeffer Park in Canyon into one of the top home environments in all of NCAA Division II Softball. WT is 181-28 (.866) at Schaeffer Park since the facility opened prior to the 2011 season including 71-13 (.845) during regular season Lone Star Conference games in Canyon. 2016 marked the fifth time in the last six years ('11, '13, '14, '15, '16) that the Lady Buffs hosted NCAA Postseason action.
 
LIVE COVERAGE
The West Texas A&M Athletic Media Relations Department will provide live stats all games during the weekend. Fans can also follow the WT Athletics (@WTAthletics) Twitter account for live updates during all games. For links and more information, visit the Lady Buff Softball schedule page at GoBuffsGo.com.
 
LSC PRESEASON POLL/PLAYERS OF THE YEAR
The three-time defending LSC Champion #4 Lady Buffs have been selected the preseason favorite in the 2017 LSC Preseason Softball Poll. Kilee Halbert was named the LSC Preseason Pitcher of the Year while fellow junior Ashley Hardin was tabbed the league's Preseason Player of the Year.
 
WT picked up 26 first place votes for a total of 324 points followed by A&M-Commerce (three first place, 269), Texas Woman's (one first place, 268), Angelo State (263), Cameron (176), Tarleton State (167), Midwestern State (161), A&M-Kingsville (144), Eastern N.M. (80), Western N.M. (79) and UT Permian Basin (49).