- Game Notes

CANYON, Texas – West Texas A&M continues tournament play this weekend, Feb. 13-16, at the Cactus Classic held in Tucson, Ariz., at Lincoln Park.  The Lady Buffs will face Colorado Mesa, Hawaii-Hilo, Dixie State, Lindenwood (Mo.), Western Oregon, Fort Lewis, Southern Nazarene and Simon Fraser over the four day tournament.
 
GAME COVERAGE
Live stats will be available for fans to stay up-to-date on all Lady Buff action provided by WT athletics.  For more information, visit the Lady Buffs' softball schedule at GoBuffsGo.com.
 
Last Time Out
The Lady Buffs opened the 2020 season with a 3-2 record at the Desert Stinger in Las Vegas, Nev., with run-rule victories over Sonoma State, MSU-Billings and Regis.
 
WT hit .373 as a team as the Lady Buffs outscored their opponents 34-19.  Steph Elliott and Alyx Cordell led WT at the plate as each hit .500 at the tournament with a combined 13 hits.  Cordell recorded her second career grand slam in the game against Regis to lead to an 8-0 victory.
 
Kyra Lair recorded her 100^th career strikeout against Regis as the sophomore went 3-1 with a 1.80 ERA allowing 10 runs (six earned) on 21 hits.  The Canyon native struckout 23 batters in 23 1/3 innings.
 
COLORADO MESA (Thursday)
The Lady Buffs and Mavericks meet for the eighth time in program history on Thursday with WT leading the series 7-1.  In their last matchup, West Texas A&M defeated Colorado Mesa 7-3 in the opening round of the NCAA Division II South Central Regional. 
 
The Mavericks led off the 2020 season going 4-1 at the Dixie State Courtyard Classic.  
 
As a team, CMU compiles a .376 batting average with five starters hitting above .400 led by freshman infielder Camryn Mullen who went .529 at the plate with nine hits totaling seven RBI and three runs. 
 
Shea Mauser, Ellie Smith and Paige Adair have all recorded starts on the mound for the Mavericks, totaling a 3.06 team ERA.  Mauser is 2-0 in the circle with a 2.47 ERA allowing five runs (four earned) in 11 1/3 innings with 10 strikeouts and two walks.
 
Erik Kozel enters his second season overall as the Mavericks head coach after leading the Mavericks to their fourth consecutive Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference (RMAC) Championship as the interim head coach in 2019.  Under Kozel, the CMU posts a 49-12 overall record (35-4 RMAC).
 
HAWAII-HILO (Thursday)
The Vulcans opened the season with a 1-4 record at the Dixie State tournament with a 9-1 victory over Central Washington. 
 
Kenzie Fox is hitting a team-high .667 recording four hits in her six t bats for UHH.  Kiarra Lincoln leads the team with 10 hits for a .526 average while Markie Okamota has driven in a team-high six runs.
 
Three different pitchers have started in the circle for the Vulcans who post a 7.00 team ERA.  Valerie Alvarado has made three game starts for the Vulcans allowing 16 runs (16 earned) on 20 hits in 13 2/3 innings with 11 strikeouts. 
 
Callen Perreira enters his 24^th season with the Vulcans as the programs winningest coach with a 664-339-3 career record.  He had 17 consecutive winning seasons with UHH from 1991-2007 including two Pacific West Conference (PWC) Championships in 2004 and 2005.
 
DIXIE STATE (Friday)
The Trailblazers are on an eight game win streak after falling in the season opener to Central Washington.  DSU now leads the RMAC with an 8-1 record. 
 
DSU is hitting .324 against opponents, averaging six runs and nearly nine hits per game. Hanna Hughbanks leads the team in five offensive categories as the California native hit .414 in nine games with three doubles and has drawn five walks for a .500 on-base percentage.
 
Carissa Burgess (4-0) has compiled a .1.17 ERA for the Trailblazers recording 20 strikeouts in 24 complete innings.  The sophomore has allowed nine runs (four earned) on 22 hits.
 
 Dixie State is led by Randy Simkins as he enters his 12^th year as the Trailblazers head coach.  Simkins has accumulated 472 wins to just 132 losses for a .781 winning percentage. 
 
Last season, the Trailblazers made an appearance in the NCAA tournament after claiming the RMAC tournament title in their first season in the conference.
 
LINDENWOOD (Mo.) (Friday)
Lindenwood opens the year this weekend in Arizona led by fourth year head coach Liz Kelly.  In the program's first season as a member of the Great Lakes Valley Conference (GLVC), the Lions were selected eighth in the conference preseason poll. 
 
The Lions returns six starters to the diamond from last year's lineup that finished 29-17, including all three starting pitchers.  Stormee Galka led the Lions with a .394 batting average last season with a team-high seven triples. Galka led on the mound with 17 victories for a 3.06 ERA allowing 69 runs (61 earned) in 139.1 innings.  
 
WESTERN OREGON (Saturday)
Western Oregon started the season at the Desert Stinger followed by a doubleheader against Eastern Oregon to a post a 4-3 record. 
 
As a team, the Wolves are batting .342 led by outfielder Aryanna Arceneaux.  The Washington native holds a .480 batting average with a team-high 12 hits and has drawn three walks for a .536 on-base percentage.  Tyler Creach is hitting .435 and has recorded seven runs with eight RBI. 
 
Maddie Mayer (2-0) posts a 3.50 ERA allowing eight runs (seven earned) on 11 hits in 14 complete innings with nine walks and five strikeouts.
 
Lonny Sargent enters his eighth season in charge of the WOU softball program and has complied 203-168 overall record.  Under Sargent, the Wolves are 112-70 in Great Northwest Athletic Conference (GNAC) for a .615 winning percentage in league play.
 
Last season the Wolves went 33-18 to earn an at-large berth to the NCAA tournament.
 
FORT LEWIS (Saturday)
Fort Lewis moved to 2-3 after recording a pair of victories against Notre Dame De Namur and Montana State-Billings at the Dixie State Courtyard Classic. 
 
The Skyhawks are hitting .282 with two players batting above .400.  Twin sisters McKenna and Kylie Hefley both hit .417 at the tournament for a combined 10 hits, six runs and six RBI.  
 
FLC has started four different pitchers on the mound this season with a team ERA of 5.87.  Brianna Leavell and Emily Morris each tallied a victory for the Skyhawks.  Leavell has allowed six runs (five earned) on eight hits in 13 1/3 innings.  She is responsible for 16 of the Skyhawk's 33 strikeouts.
 
Ashley Reeves enters her first season as the Skyhawks head coach in January of 2020 to become the program's seventh head coach after a seven year stint at Abilene Christian.
 
SOUTHERN NAZARENE (Sunday)
SNU went 4-2 at the Lubbock Christian tournament last weekend to open the season. 
 
Southern Nazarene is batting .303 as a team out-scoring opponents 40-36.  Sophomore Peyton Robinson leads at the plate as she hit .545 in Lubbock with seven runs and a .667 on-base percentage while Caitlyn Curlee registered four home runs for the Storm for a 1.056 slugging percentage. 
 
Four pitchers have registered wins for SNU as the team posts a 4.17 ERA allowing 36 runs (25 earned) on 65 hits in 42 complete innings. 
 
SNU enters their first season with co-head coaches Tere Webber and Brian Madden.  Webber is in her 16^th season for the Crimson Storm with a 400-419-1 record while Madden is in his 11^th after joining the staff in 2009.
 
SIMON FRASER (Sunday)
Simon Fraser is on a two-game win streak after going 3-2 at the Desert Stinger.
 
Junior third baseman Alex Ogg put on a show at the tournament going 14-for-19 (.737) in Las Vegas to lead SFU and the GNAC.  She drove in seven runs with five doubles and one triple for a 1.105 slugging percentage and leads with a .762 on-base percentage.
 
 All three pitchers have recorded starts in the circle for the Canadian team for a total 4.43 ERA.  Anissa Zacharczuk (2-0) has a 2.68 ERA allowing 14 runs (six earned) on 23 hits in 15 2/3 innings. 
 
Tina Andreana, a former Canadian national team pitcher, enter her first season in charge of SFU's softball program. 
 
UP NEXT
WT softball will return to Texas the Lubbock Christian Invitational on Feb. 22-23, for the final nonconference tournament as they compete against Tarleton, UT Permian Basin, Lubbock Christian and Eastern New Mexico.