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CANYON, Texas – The #10 Lady Buffs of West Texas A&M and the #6 Belles of Angelo State will renew one of the best rivalries in NCAA Division II Softball on Friday afternoon with a spot in the South Central Regional Finals on the line with first pitch scheduled for 2 p.m. at Mayer Field in San Angelo, Texas.
 
- SCOUTING THE OPPONENT
ANGELO STATE
The Belles enter Friday with an overall record of 48-7 following a 8-2 win over Colorado Christian on Thursday night at Mayer Field on opening day of the NCAA South Central Regional Tournament. The Belles are 26-3 overall in San Angelo so far this season.
 
Travis Scott enters his 14th season at the helm of the Belles. Under his guidance, Angelo State has averaged 48 wins per season, hoisted five NCAA Division II South Central Region trophies and made five trips to the NCAA D-II National Championships, bringing home the national title in 2004 and finishing as national runner-ups in 2017. Scott has guided ASU to seven LSC Conference Championships and six LSC South Division titles in the last 13 years.
 
The Belles are led offensively by Taegan Kirk who is hitting .430 on the season with 18 doubles and 14 homerun to drive in 62 RBI with 134 total bases for a slugging percentage of .779. In the circle, Brandy Marlett leads the way with a 1.74 ERA (23-3) as she has tossed 12 complete games in 35 appearances with 176 strikeouts in 161.1 innings of work to allow an opposing batting average of .199.
 
ASU is hitting .335 as a team with 79 doubles, nine triples and 70 homeruns to drive in 362 RBI for a team slugging percentage of .549. Defensively they have committed 42 errors on 1,426 chances for a fielding clip of .971. In the circle, they have registered a 1.97 staff ERA with 21 complete games, 18 shutouts and 335 strikeouts while allowing an opposing batting average of .222.
 
THE SERIES vs. ANGELO STATE
The Belles lead the all-time series against the Lady Buffs, 31-27 in a series dating back to the 2006 season. WT has won nine of the last 14 meetings between the two teams but the Belles have taken three of the four meetings this season. The Lady Buffs are 9-17 all-time at Mayer Field and Friday will mark the first NCAA meeting between the two teams in San Angelo.
 
The Lady Buffs and Belles have battled just twice in NCAA Postseason play as they have split those two contests. ASU ended WT's 2013 season at Schaeffer Park with a 4-1 win followed by a 7-6 walkoff in nine innings on May 9, 2015 in Canyon as the Lady Buffs ended ASU's season.
 
LADY BUFFS IN THE NCAA TOURNAMENT
The Lady Buffs will make their sixth straight and eighth overall appearance in the NCAA Division II Softball postseason during the 2018 campaign. The Lady Buffs are 27-16 all-time in the NCAA Postseason including 18-10 in games played at Schaeffer Park. WT is 5-2 in the College World Series as they claimed the 2014 NCAA DII National Championship.
 
SCHUTT SPORTS/NFCA PLAYER OF THE YEAR TOP-25
West Texas A&M's Kylee Moore and Suka Van Gurp have been named Top-25 finalists for the Schutt Sports/National Fastpitch Coaches Association (NFCA) Division II National Player of the Year.
 
This group of student-athletes is represented by 20 different programs and 13 conferences. Ten student-athletes from the original Top-50 "Watchlist" made the cut with the final group consisting of nine seniors, eight juniors, seven sophomores and one freshman.
 
The process began prior to the 2018 season as a Top-50 Watchlist was released followed by the release of the 25 finalists, the NFCA offices will collect updated statistics for the 25 finalists following the completion of the regular season on Monday, April 30th followed by the announcement of the 10 finalists on Tuesday, May 15th. The winner will be announced on Monday, June 4th.
 
USING THE LONG BALL
The Lady Buffs have hit 97 homeruns during the 2018 season to lead all of NCAA Divison II in total homeruns and homeruns per game (1.94). The Lady Buffs have eclipsed the century mark twice in program history with 105 in 2014 on their way to the Division II National Championship followed by 102 in 2015.
 
The Lady Buffs are also the only team in NCAA Division II history to have multiple players with atleast 25 homeruns in a single season as Ashley Hardin and Kylee Moore are both tied for the Lone Star Conference single-season record.
 
LSC POSTSEASON AWARDS
Ashley Hardin, Kylee Moore, Shayne Starkey and Kilee Halbert were named to the All-Lone Star Conference First Team while Suka Van Gurp, Alyx Cordell and Kourtney Coveney picked up Second Team honors. Allie Smith was named to the All-LSC Third Team while Hardin picked up Golden Glove acclaim in centerfield. On the academic side, Halbert and Smith were honored for their efforts in the classroom as members of the Lone Star Conference All-Academic Team.
 
NFCA ALL-SOUTH CENTRAL REGION
West Texas A&M placed four different student-athletes on the National Faspitch Coaches Association (NFCA) Division II South Central All-Region squads announced on Wednesday afternoon by the assocation's offices in Louisville, Kentucky.
 
Ashley Hardin, Kylee Moore and Shayne Starkey were named to the All-South Central Region First Team while junior Suka Van Gurp picked up Second Team accoladed as a utility player. The three first team selections will now move onto the national ballot voted on by head coaches across the country for a chance to be named All-Americans.
 
LIVE COVERAGE
The Angelo State Athletic Communications Department will provide live stats and a free webstream for this weekend's South Central Regional Tournament in San Angelo. Fans can also follow the WT Athletics (@WTAthletics) Twitter account for live updates. For links and more information, visit the Lady Buff Softball schedule page at GoBuffsGo.com.
 
LSC CAREER HOMERUN & RBI LEADER
Ashley Hardin became the new LSC career leader in homeruns back on Tuesday, March 13th in Lakewood, Colorado as she tied a single game league record with three homeruns in a game to push her career total to 67 to surpass former MSU All-American Katelyn Vinson (2013-2016). Hardin became the league's new all-time leader in RBI on Sunday, April 15th with a two-run homerun to left center at Schaeffer Park for her 245th career RBI to pass former teammate and two-time National Player of the Year Renee Erwin (2012-2015).
 
NFCA DIVISION II TOP-25 POLL (MAY 9)
North Georgia remained atop of the poll in this week's National Fastpitch Coaches Association (NFCA) Division II Top-25 Poll announced on Wednesday morning by the association's offices in Louisville, Kentucky. The NightHawks picked up 15 of the possible 16 first place votes for a total of 399 points followed by Chico State (1 first place, 384), Colorado Mesa (369), North Alabama (348), Winona State (331), Angelo State (327), Palm Beach Atlantic (294), Southern Arkansas (280), Grand Valley State (266) and West Texas A&M (244) to round out the top ten.
 
The South Central Region was represented by Colorado Mesa (3rd), Angelo State (6th), West Texas A&M (10th), Texas A&M-Commerce (13th) Tarleton State (17th) and Colorado Christian (RV).
 
WT SOFTBALL IN THE NFCA TOP-25 POLL
The Lady Buffs have been ranked inside of the NFCA Division II Top-25 for 68 consecutive polls. The Lady Buffs have been ranked in the Top-5 in 41 polls since the start of the 2014 season while sitting atop of the poll an incredible 29 times.