Game Notes
 
CANYON, Texas – With  postseason seeding on the line, the West Texas A&M softball team travels to rival Lubbock Christian for a crucial three-game series starting on Friday. The No. 12 Lady Buffs and No. 16 Lady Chaps play a doubleheader at 2 and 4 p.m. at Maner Park on Friday. WT and LCU then meet up for a series finale at 1 p.m. on Saturday.
 
GAME COVERAGE
A live stream and stats will be provided by the LCU Communications department.  The game will be streamed on the Lone Star Conference Digital Network.  Fans will be able to purchase a $10 daily pass that will give them access to all contests on the network that day as well as access to previously aired games from the current season for 24 hours. Fans can also purchase a $75 softball season pass that will give them access to all Lone Star Conference softball games.  In addition to live and archived streaming options, viewers will have the option to purchase and download games from the 2022-23 season for $10 each.
 
A LOOK AT THE LADY BUFFS
WT got back on the winning track with a sweep of Texas A&M International at home. The Lady Buffs outscored the Dustdevils 22-1 in the series with the lone run being an unearned run. Emilee Boyer pitched six innings, allowing six hits and an unearned run in the 7-1 win. Game two saw the Lady Buffs cruise to a 7-0 victory to win the series. WT finished off a sweep of TAMIU with an 8-0 run-rule win.
 
Brittni Rufus and Ruby Salzman spearhead a potent WT lineup that averages 7.17 runs per game. Rufus leads qualified players with a .400 batting average and four triples to go along with five home runs and six doubles. Salzman has posted a .393 batting average with a 1.236 OPS and a .800 slugging percentage, hitting 11 doubles, a triple and 16 home runs along the way. As a team, WT features nine players with a .300 or better batting average and eight players with a 1.000 or better OPS. The Lady Buffs have been a force on the bases this season stealing 98 bases in 106 attempts with Gabie McConnell swiping 19 bags. 13 different WT players have stolen bases on the season including five with double-digit steals.
 
In the circle, WT has posted a 1.61 ERA with 292 strikeouts and 67 earned runs in 292 innings. Kyra Lair leads the team with 112 strikeouts and 104.2 innings pitched while Emma Parrish leads the team with a 1.17 ERA.
 
Head Coach Michael Mook is in his fourth season at WT, registering a 126-42 (.750) record in that time. For his career, Mook holds 280-103 record in eight seasons for an overall winning percentage of .731.
 
SCOUTING #16 LUBBOCK CHRISTIAN
Lubbock Christian enters the series with a 36-11 overall record and 26-10 mark in Lone Star Conference play. The Lady Chaps come off a series in which they won two of three against Angelo State. LCU and Angelo State battled to a pair of extra-inning games on Saturday with the Lady Chaps taking both by a run in eight innings. After the 3-2 and 8-7 losses, the Rambelles came back to win game three and salvage an 8-5 win over LCU.
 
Kasey Flores leads the Lady Chaps offense as the graduate student holds a .380 batting average with a 1.388 OPS, .876 slugging percentage, and .512 on-base percentage. The El Paso, Texas native has 49 including 11 doubles, one triple, and 17 home runs with 55 RBIs on the season. Hope Banales follows Flores with a .378 batting average, hitting 17 doubles, a triple and seven home runs with 34 RBIs.
 
LCU holds a 1.93 earned run average as a pitching staff with Taylor Franco posting a 1.34 ERA. Franco leads the Lady Chaps in a multitude of categories. Opponents are hitting .175 against the LCU pitching staff, scoring 107 runs with 312 strikeouts.
 
Daren Hays is in his 13th season in Lubbock, posting an 519-168 record during his 13 seasons as a head coach on the NCAA level.
 
THE SERIES
WT leads the all-time series between the two programs, 17-10. The Lady Buffs are 8-7 in Lubbock and 4-1 against the Lady Chaps under Michael Mook. WT and LCU split the series in Lubbock last season with the Lady Buffs taking game one 10-1 in six innings and the Lady Chaps taking game two 8-6. The loss in game two snapped a six-game winning streak against LCU.
 
L, 8-6 – Lubbock, 2022
W, 10-1 (6) – Lubbock, 2022
W, 7-3 – Canyon 2021
W, 1-0 – Canyon 2021
W, 4-3 – Lubbock, 2020
 
NFCA RANKINGS
West Texas A&M softball moved up two spots in this week's National Fastpitch Coaches Association Division II Top 25 Poll. The Lady Buffs now rank 12^th in the nation and are the second highest school in the Lone Star Conference. Tampa rose to the No. 1 spot for the first time in program history by picking up all 12 first-place votes. North Georgia occupied the No. 2 spot while UT Tyler, Alabama-Huntsville, and Central Oklahoma filled the third through fifth spots. Indianapolis, Grand Valley State, and Rogers State held firm at No. 6 through No. 8. Colorado Christian jumped into the top 10 for the first time to hold the No. 9 ranking while Sonoma State finishes out the top 10 teams. Four South Central Region programs received rankings in this week's poll with UT Tyler leading the way at No. 3. Colorado Christian (9^th), West Texas A&M (12^th), and Lubbock Christian (16^th) each earned spots in the poll.
 
LSC PRESEASON POLL
UT Tyler picked up 35 of 37 possible first-place votes and 550 total points as the Patriots were selected to defend their LSC title. Angelo State followed the Patriots in the standings with 474 points while Texas A&M-Kingsville (466, 1 first place) took the third spot. Lubbock Christian (454) and Oklahoma Christian (405, 1 first place) sit ahead of WT's 368 points.
 
St. Mary's received the seventh spot with 346 points followed by Cameron (242) and St. Edward's (240). Texas Woman's (228) and Texas A&M International (199) occupy the 10^th and 11^th spots, respectively. Eastern New Mexico (181), Midwestern State (124), UT Permian Basin (123), and Western New Mexico (40) round out the poll.
 
EXTRA ELITE 100 LIST
Diana Murtha, Brittni Rufus, Ruby Salzman, and Heidi Vortherms were named to Extra Innings Softball's inaugural Extra Elite 100 List. Criteria utilized to form these rankings includes a combination of career achievements, most recent on-field history, and overall impact on their team and the sport as a whole.
 
Salzman led WT on the list ranked No. 21 followed by Murtha at No. 62, Vortherms at No. 75, and Rufus at No. 92.
 
2022 REVIEW
The Lady Buffs ended the 2022 season 29-16 with the program's 13 straight appearance in the LSC Tournament, excluding the cancelled 2020 season. After the season, Ruby Salzman earned Division 2 Conference Commissioners Association honorable mention All-American status. In addition to the D2CCA award, Salzman was also named a CoSIDA Academic All-American along with NFCA First Team All-Region, D2CCA First Team All-Region, CoSIDA Academic All-Region, and First Team All-Lone Star Conference. Brittni Rufus also earned D2CCA First Team All-Region and NFCA Second Team All-Region along with First Team All-LSC and an LSC Golden Glove. Other honorees included Heidi Vortherms on the LSC All-Freshman Team and Second Team All-LSC and Gabriella Valforte on the Third Team All-LSC.
 
UP NEXT
WT returns to Schaeffer Park on Friday, April 28 where the Lady Buffs welcome Cameron for a 6 p.m. matchup. On Saturday, WT celebrates Senior Day with a 1 and 3 p.m. doubleheader with the Aggies.