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CANYON, Texas – No. 6 West Texas A&M finishes the regular season with a Top 25 Lone Star Conference Showdown at No. 19 Tarleton on April 26-27. First pitch is scheduled for 6 p.m. on Friday at the TexAnn Softball Complex followed by a doubleheader on Saturday at 1 p.m.
NO. 19 TARLETON
The TexAnns (36-11, 18-9) are playing some of their best softball at the right time having won five straight and nine of 11. Mark Cumpian is in his third season at the helm of TSU softball where he has gone 121-44 (.733).
TSU are scoring 6.6 runs per game led by sophomore Georgia Capell, who leads the nation in home runs and RBI. The Midlothian, Texas product is hitting .418 with 16 doubles, 17 home runs and 62 RBI for a .894 slugging percentage. She was named the LSC Hitter of the Week for the second time this season on Tuesday after becoming the first player in program history to drive in over 60 runs in a season.
Tanna Huie has been equally impressive for the TexAnns with the senior hitting .398 with five doubles, one triple and 10 home runs with 35 RBI and .677 slugging percentage. Amanda Conner ranks second on the team in RBIs (49) with Karli Herron ranking second in home runs (13).
Jordan Withrow is the TexAnns' ace in the circle as the senior is 18-4 with an ERA of 2.00. In 150 1/3 innings, the Trenton, Texas product has allowed 51 runs (43 earned) on 100 hits with 89 walks and a team-high 178 strikeouts while opponents are hitting a mere .186. Tristan Bridges has made 18 appearances including 16 starts for TSU where she is 9-5 with an ERA of 2.88 having allowed 41 runs (34 earned) on 64 hits with 78 strikeouts.
A LOOK INSIDE THE SERIES
The Lady Buffs lead the all-time series 23-19 including a 5-11 record in Stephenville. WT took two-of-three from the TexAnns last year in Canyon including a 2-0 victory where
Shanna McBroom and
Kylee Moore hit solo home runs.
STATS OF THE DAY
The Lady Buffs lead the nation in three categories while ranking in the Top 5 in another. As of April 21, WT is hitting a nation-best 1.95 home runs a game while their .638 slugging and .458 on-base percentage are also tops in DII. They rank second in scoring with 8.15 trailing only South Central rival Colorado Mesa.
Alyx Cordell doesn't get much publicity as WT's nine-hole hitter but the Canyon, Texas native has been one of the most patient hitters in the country as she ranks eighth nationally in walks per game (0.8). The junior has walked a career-high 32 times in 2019, eight more than last season.
KEEPING THE STREAKS ALIVE
With their three-game sweep of Texas Woman's last week, WT has now won at least 20 conference games in seven straight seasons, five more than TSU and Texas A&M-Commerce.
The Lady Buffs are a
Shanna McBroom or
Brittany Cruz home run away from their seventh straight season with three players hitting 10-plus home runs in season. Since 2012, WT has had a minimum of three players with 10 long balls including a program-high five in 2014 and 2015.
THE '60' CLUB
Kylee Moore became the third Lady Buff in program history to hit 60 career home runs with her walk-off grand slam against the Pioneers on Saturday. The senior, who leads the nations in walks per game (1.1), ended a six-game home run drought with her moonshot to left field for her fifth career grand slam.
LADY BUFFS SIT THIRD IN REGIONAL RANKINGS
The Top 8 teams remained the same in the second edition of the NCAA Division II South Central Regional Rankings released on Wednesday. Colorado School of Mines is the only newcomer as the Orediggers leapfrogged Dixie State into ninth.
A LOOK AT THE NATIONAL RANKINGS
Central Oklahoma is now the No. 1 ranked team in the nation edging West Florida by one point. The Bronchos and Argonauts both received seven first-place votes, but UCO collected 384 points to UWF's 383. Texas A&M-Kingsville remained third receiving two first-place votes followed by North Georgia (4th) and Florida Tech in (5th). WT remained in the Top 10 for the eighth straight week in sixth with Winona State (7th), Texas A&M-Commerce (8th), UC San Diego (9th) and Grand Valley State (10th) rounding out the Top 10.
The South Central Region is represented by TAMUK (3rd), WT (6th), TAMUC (8th), Colorado Mesa (11th) and Tarleton State (19th).
THE LONE STAR CONFERENCE
There is a three-way tie atop the leaderboard heading into the final three games of the regular season. TAMUK, TAMUC and WT are all 21-6 in LSC play through 27 games with the Javelinas holding the tiebreaker due to head-to-head. Cameron sits fourth but could move up with wins over the Lions while Tarleton sits fifth and Angelo State is sixth.
UP NEXT
WT has punched their ticket to the Lone Star Conference Championships on May 3-4 that will be hosted by the Regular Season Champion.
