CANYON, Texas – The West Texas A&M 2018 senior class decided to leave Schaeffer Park with a bang on Saturday afternoon as right-hander Kilee Halbert tossed her first career no-hitter in the finale while outfielder Ashley Hardin set a new Division II career grand slam record in the opener as the #12 Lady Buffs swept past the visiting Greyhounds of Eastern New Mexico on Senior Weekend.
 
The Lady Buffs now head to the 2018 Lone Star Conference Championship as the second seed as they will receive a bye in the quarterfinal round and face a TBD opponent in the semifinal round on Friday night at Mayer Field in San Angelo, Texas at a time to be determined.
 
THE BASICS:
- Game 1 Score: #12 West Texas A&M 18, Eastern New Mexico 2 (5 Innings)
- Game 2 Score: #12 West Texas A&M 8, Eastern New Mexico 0 (6 Innings)
- Records: WT (38-10, 21-6 LSC) / ENMU (18-34, 9-21 LSC)
- Location: Canyon, Texas
- Venue: Schaeffer Park
 
HOW IT HAPPENENED (GAME 1):
WT started off the scoring in the home half of the first inning as Ashley Hardin doubled off of the left field wall to leadoff the frame followed by a pair of wild pitches for the early 1-0 lead, Suka Van Gurp singled up the middle later in the frame to drive in Kourtney Coveney followed by a Shayne Starkey RBI double down the left field line to make it 3-0 with no outs. The Lady Buffs scored three more runs with bases loaded walks before Hardin stepped to the plate and set a new NCAA Division II career grand slam record with her eighth to pass former teammate and WT All-American Allie Cranfill to run the lead to 9-0.
 
Eastern got on the board in the top of the third inning as Jennifer McElroy connected on a two-run bomb on top of the batting cages in left field to cut the lead to 9-2. WT added to their lead in the home half of the third as Hardin doubled to left field followed by a Coveney RBI single up the middle to make it 11-2, Ursula Del Campo singled up the middle for her first career hit to drive in a pair to make it 13-2.
 
Allie Smith made it a memorable senior day in the bottom of the fourth as the Flower Mound product lifted a leadoff solo bomb to left field followed later in the inning by a Del Campo RBI single and a Van Gurp three-run bomb off the scoreboard in center field to make it 18-2.
 
Starkey picked up the win (14-2) for the Lady Buffs in the circle, giving up two runs on six hits with one walk and three strikeouts in the complete game victory.
 
HOW IT HAPPENENED (GAME 2):
WT got on the board first in the bottom of the first inning as Van Gurp tripled to left center with two outs to score Kylee Moore followed by a Shayne Starkey stand-up double to right center to make it 2-0. The Lady Buffs added to their lead in the bottom of the fourth as Cordell doubled off of the left field wall to drive in a pair followed by a Hardin two-run laser homerun down the left field line to run the lead to 6-0 and set a new single season program record with her 24^th of the season and 82^nd of her storied career.
 
The Lady Buffs added to their lead in the home half of the fifth inning as Starkey doubled to center field to score Van Gurp with one out to run the lead to 7-0. WT would end it in the bottom of the sixth inning as Coveney doubled to left center to score Hardin to wrap-up the eighth no-hitter in program history with an 8-0 run-rule victory.
 
Halbert was magical in the circle as the senior ended her career at Schaeffer Park with a bang, tossing her first career no-hitter and the eighth in program history. The Dalhart native moved to 20-6 overall on the season, allowing no runs on no hits with two walks and four strikeouts in the complete game shutout.