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CANYON, Texas – The #4 Lady Buffs will open up their 2017 home schedule this weekend as they host the WT Invitational at Schaeffer Park with matchups against Fort Lewis, Washburn (twice), Chadron State, Missouri Southern and Fort Hays State.
 
- SCOUTING THE FIELD
FORT LEWIS
Fort Lewis is led by second year head coach Elle Fracker who guided the Skyhawks to a 15-32 overall record in 2016. The Skyhawks will open their season in Canyon this weekend as they are led offensively by Preseason All-RMAC selection Tehenia Telliano who hit .396 last season with 11 RBI. 
 
WASHBURN
Washburn is led by first year head coach Brenda Holaday who served as the head coach at Washburn Rural HS for 19 seasons. The Ichabods enter the weekend following an 0-6 showing at last weekend's Southern Arkansas Invite. WU is led offensively by Erica Harper who is hitting .438 this season with four doubles and two homeruns with 7 RBI.
 
CHADRON STATE
The Eagles are led by 10th year head coach Dr. Robert Stack who led CSC to a school record for wins last seasons (29-19-1). Chadron State is 1-5 so far this season as they topped #17 Saint Leo (2-1) last weekend in Florida. The Eagles are led offensively by Aspen Eubanks who is hitting .429 this season with one RBI.
 
MISSOURI SOUTHERN
The Lions are led by second year head coach Melissa Chmielewski who led MSSU to a 23-32 overall record in her first season. MSSU is 1-5 so far this season with a win over Southwestern Oklahoma State in their season opener. The Lions are led offensively by Abi Corbett who is hitting .571 with a double and a triple with three stolen bases.
 
FORT HAYS STATE
The Tigers are led by third year head coach Adrian Pilkington who has led FHSU to two straight appearances in the MIAA Tournament. Fort Hays State is coming off a 21-30 season in 2016 as they went 13-13 in the MIAA. The Tigers are led by Kylie Strand who hit .219 with four home runs, eight doubles and 25 RBI last season.
 
TRADITION NEVER GRADUATES
The Lady Buffs return 12 letterwinners from last season's South Central Regional Championship team that registered an overall record of 59-5. All-American selections Kilee Halbert, Ashley Hardin, Brittany Cruz and Allie Smith highlight the talented returning group that have led WT to three-straight LSC Titles and an incredible record of 164-23 (.877) since the start of the 2014 season.
 
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 175-28 (.863) 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 and a free webstream for 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 of West Texas A&M have been selected the preseason favorite in the 2017 LSC Preseason Softball Poll announced by the league's office in Richardson, Texas. 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).