Game Notes

CANYON, Texas – The defending Division II National Champions West Texas A&M return to action this weekend, Feb. 4-6, when they open the 2022 campaign for the Gulf Shores Invitational Tournament in Gulf Shores, Ala.  The No. 4 Lady Buffs will face No. 17 West Florida, Spring Hill College, No. 7 Valdosta State, West Alabama, and Barry.
 
GAME COVERAGE
Live stats will be available for fans to stay up-to-date on all Lady Buff action provided by the tournament.  A live stream will not be provided for the games but fans can follow live updates on the Lady Buff's Twitter page (@WTSoftball).  For more information, visit WT's softball schedule at GoBuffsGo.com. 
 
A LOOK AT THE LADY BUFFS 
Head coach Michael Mook returns to the helm of the program after leading the Lady Buffs to the 2021 NCAA Division II National Championship and has led WT to a 57-21 (.731) overall record. 
 
The Lady Buffs return 14 student-athletes from the National Championship team including All-American Ruby Salzman and Tournament Most Outstanding Player Kyra Lair. 
 
WT welcomed 11 newcomers to the 2022 roster including pitchers Emma Parish, Riley Stiner, and Heidi Vortherms. Other newcomers include Olivia Ringo and Tayler Brown along with transfers Braeland Booth, Diana Murtha, Nikki Warren, Megan Guericke, Alessandra Rosalez and Brittni Rufus.
 
SCOUTING #17 WEST FLORIDA (Friday/3 p.m. CT)
The Agros were selected 17^th in the National Fastpitch Coaches Association (NFCA) Division II Preseason Poll and are led by fourth-year head coach Ashleigh McLean.  West Florida enters tournament play 0-1 after falling to Barry 5-1 in its season opener. 
 
Returning senior Teala Howard went 2-for-3 at the plate against Barry as the Lake Butler, Fla. product is hitting .459 in her career at UWF. Kelsey Sweatt also returns to the Agros roster for her senior season as she led the program to 16 victories last season.  
 
SCOUTING SPRING HILL (Friday/5 p.m. CT)
SHC is coming off a 14-12 season under Steve Kittrell who is in his fourth season at the helm of the Badgers' program after spending 25 seasons as the head baseball coach at the University of South Alabama. 
 
Last season, the Badgers hit .275 led by Delany Thomas with a .367 batting average. Olivia Indorf returns for her sophomore campaign after recording seven victories on the mound for UWF. 
 
SCOUTING #7 VALDOSTA STATE (Saturday/9 a.m. CT)
Valdosta State was selected seventh in the NFCA Division II Preseason Poll following the program's fifth appearance in the NCAA Elite Eight.  The Lady Buffs and Blazers will meet for the first time since the 2014 National Championship game. 
 
The Blazers are led by 15^th year head coach Thomas Macera, the winningest active DII softball coach, where he has led VSU to a 661-191-2 (.775) overall record.  Last season, Valdosta State hit .325 as a team along with a nation leading 109 homeruns.  
Senior Nikki Pennington was responsible for 24 of the Blazers homeruns and finished the season batting .406.  Samantha Richards returns to the mound for VSU after leading the Blazers in the circle with 27 victories and a 1.36 ERA 
 
SCOUTING WEST ALABAMA (Saturday/11:15 a.m. CT)
The Tigers went 18-23 last season with a 11-19 record in the Gulf South Conference.  Stephanie Defeo enters her first season at the helm of the program after spending eight seasons as the head coach at Mercer University where she recorded an 217-195 overall record. 
 
UWA hit .293 as a team led by returning senior Cassie Matlock.  The Alberta, Canada product finished the season with a .374 batting average while Kacy Noland had a team-high eight wins in the circle with a 3.99 era. 
 
SCOUTING BARRY (Sunday/9 a.m. CT)
Barry opened the 2022 season 1-0 with a victory over West Florida on Thursday afternoon.  The Bucs are led by Sean Cotter who became the eighth head coach after taking over the program in 2017.  
                    
The Bucs finished the 2021 campaign 11-14 and where selected eighth in the Sunshine State Conference Preseason Poll after completing the regular conference schedule 9-12. Taylor Thompson returns for her sophomore campaign after hitting .273 in her first year while senior Maggie Whelss led with 15 RBI.  
 
NFCA RANKINGS
UT Tyler was selected atop the national standings as the 2022 season will be the first season that the Patriots are eligible for Division II postseason play.  Augustana received five first-place votes to stand second in the rankings followed by Biola with three in third.  
 
WT ranked fourth followed by North Georgia, Grand Valley State, Valdosta State, Saint Anselm, West Chester, and Concordia Irvine to round out the Top 10. Three additional programs from the LSC were named to the preseason poll with Oklahoma Christian in 15th followed by Angelo State (18th) and Texas A&M-Commerce (22nd) while Texas A&M-Kingsville is receiving votes.
 
LSC PRESEASON POLL
The UT Tyler Patriots were chosen to defend the regular-season title after picking up 22 of the possible 43 first place votes for a total of 654 points to sit atop the poll followed by the Lady Buffs (16-fpv), Angelo State (1-fpv), Oklahoma Christian (3-fpv), and Texas A&M-Commerce to close out the top five selections. 
 
Texas A&M-Kingsville (1-fpv) ranked sixth followed by Lubbock Christian, Texas A&M International, Cameron, St. Mary's, St. Edward's, Midwestern State, Texas Woman's, UT Permian Basin, Eastern New Mexico and Western New Mexico rounding out the poll.
 
UP NEXT
The Lady Buffs will return to competition on Feb. 11-13 for the Visit Lubbock Collegiate Classic hosted by Lubbock Christian at the PlainsCapital park.  WT will fact Chadron State, Fort Lewis, Colorado Christian, Colorado School of Mines and UC-Colorado Springs.