Game Notes | Tournament Central
 
CANYON, Texas – West Texas A&M Lady Buff softball kick off the NCAA Tournament with a 2:30 p.m. matchup with Lone Star Conference foe Cameron on Thursday. The game is the first of the South Central Regional Tournament hosted by WT. 
 
GAME COVERAGE
A live stream and stats will be provided by the West Texas A&M communications department.  The game will be streamed on the Lone Star Conference Digital Network. All games of the regional tournament will be free of charge and links to each game can be found under the Tournament Central page on GoBuffsGo.com.
 
A WIN WOULD…
A win against the Aggies would advance the Lady Buffs to the winner's bracket where they would take on the winner of Colorado Christian and St. Mary's. The double elimination bracket sees opening games occurring on Thursday, a winner's bracket game on Friday followed by two elimination games, and a final game on Saturday at 2:30 p.m. An "if necessary" game is scheduled for 5 p.m. if both teams have one loss.
 
A LOOK AT THE LADY BUFFS
WT saw its Lone Star Conference run come to an end in the semifinals against Oklahoma Christian. The Lady Buffs reached the semis after defeating Eastern New Mexico with a hard-fought 3-2 win. The semifinal matchup against the Eagles went into the hands of OC. The Eagles handed WT a decisive 9-0 loss in six innings.  
 
Ruby Salzman spearheads a potent WT lineup that averages 6.91 runs per game. Salzman leads qualified players with a .389 batting average including, 14 doubles, two triples, and 19 home runs. As a team, WT features nine players with a .300 or better batting average and seven players with a 1.000 or better OPS. The Lady Buffs have been a force on the bases this season stealing 110 bases in 121 attempts with Gabie McConnell swiping 22 bags. 13 different WT players have stolen bases on the season including five with double-digit steals.
 
In the circle, WT has posted a 1.83 ERA with 336 strikeouts and 91 earned runs in 349 innings. Kyra Lair leads the team with 127 strikeouts and 124.2 innings pitched while Emma Parrish leads the team with a 1.05 ERA.
 
Head Coach Michael Mook is in his fourth season at WT, registering a 133-43 (.756) record in that time. For his career, Mook holds 287-104 record in eight seasons for an overall winning percentage of .734.
 
SCOUTING CAMERON
Cameron also advanced to the Lone Star Conference semifinals after defeating Lubbock Christian before falling to UT Tyler. The Aggies walked away with a 7-4 victory in their tournament opener. In the semifinals, the Aggies fell to the Patriots 5-0.
 
Kaiden Boren leads the Aggies offense as the sophomore holds a .333 batting average with a 1.054 OPS, .660 slugging percentage, and .394 on-base percentage. The Harrah, Okla. native has 53 hits including 13 doubles, three triples, and 11 home runs with 32 RBIs on the season.
 
Cameron holds a 3.16 earned run average as a pitching staff with Josie Swafford posting a 2.678 ERA. Swafford leads the Aggies in a multitude of categories including innings, appearances, shutouts, and strikeouts. Opponents are hitting .235 against the Cameron pitching staff, scoring 184 runs with 300 strikeouts.
 
Emma Johansen is in her first season at Cameron and first as an NCAA head coach. In just her first season, she has helped the Aggies to a 31-23 record.
 
SCOUTING #7 COLORADO CHRISTIAN
The seventh-ranked Cougars swept through the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference tournament, going 3-0 at the event. CCU defeated Colorado Mesa 2-0 before coming back to defeat MSU Denver 6-5. In the championship game, the Cougars cruised to an 8-3 victory over CMU.
 
Kenzie Middleton leads the Cougars' offense as the senior holds a .413 batting average with a 1.267 OPS, .803 slugging percentage, and .464 on-base percentage. The Golden, Colo. native has 86 hits including 21 doubles, six triples, and 16 home runs with 17 stolen bases on the season.
 
Kali Crandall heads a CCU pitching staff with a 1.60 ERA and 28-2 record in the circle. Crandall has pitched the most innings (197.1) for the Cougars this season while striking out 219 batters. As a team, CCU holds a 2.37 ERA in 398.1 innings of work. During that time, opponents are hitting .191 while hitting 46 doubles, 11 triples, and 20 home runs while striking out 369 times.
 
Larry Hays is in his sixth season as a softball head coach and fifth at Colorado Christian. In his softball coaching career, Hays holds a 243-56-4 record for a .809 winning percentage.
 
SCOUTING ST. MARY'S
St. Mary's bowed out of the Lone Star Conference tournament early. The Rattlers faced off in a pitching duel with Eastern New Mexico where the Greyhounds' first inning run held up for a 1-0 victory.
 
Lauren Gonzlaes leads the Rattlers' offense as the junior holds a .357 batting average with a .824 OPS, .406 slugging percentage, and .418 on-base percentage. The San Antonio native has 51 hits including two doubles, a triple, and a home run with 10 RBIs on the season.
 
Catalina Cavazos heads the StMU pitching staff with a 1.87 ERA and 15-10 record in the circle. Cavazos has pitched the most innings (168.1) for the Rattlers this season while striking out 136 batters. As a team, StMU holds a 2.78 ERA in 383 innings of work. During that time, opponents are hitting .259 while hitting 63 doubles, three triples, and 26 home runs while striking out 218 times.
 
Donna Fields is in her 26^th season at the helm of the St. Mary's softball program. During her nearly three decades as a head coach, Fields boasts an impressive 1,038 wins to only 473 losses.
 
THE SERIES VS. REGIONAL OPPONENTS
West Texas A&M is 41-13 all-time against Cameron including sweeping the season series a few weeks ago at Schaeffer Park. Coach Michael Mook is 7-1 against the Aggies during his time at WT.
 
The Lady Buffs are 2-0 against Colorado Christian in the series. Coach Mook is 1-0 against the Cougars with the last meeting between the programs coming last season where WT defeated CCU 8-1 in Lubbock, Texas.
 
Against St. Mary's, the Lady Buffs are 13-14 all-time. WT swept the Rattlers in the LSC series earlier this season, snapping a three-game losing streak to StMU. Coach Mook is 4-3 against St. Mary's while at WT.
 
The Lady Buffs are a combined 7-4 against Cameron, Colorado Christian, and St. Mary's during NCAA Tournament play. WT is 6-3 against StMU and 1-2 against Cameron with no matchups in the postseason against CCU.
 
NFCA RANKINGS
West Texas A&M softball enters the NCAA tournament with the No. 9 overall ranking as voted on by the National Fastpitch Coaches Association. It is the 11^th consecutive week the Lady Buffs have been ranked in the top 25 and third week in a row they have moved up the poll. The top six teams stayed the same with Tampa remaining at the top with all 16 first-place votes. North Georgia, UT Tyler, Central Oklahoma, and Alabama-Huntsville kept its spot and round out the top five. Indianapolis also stayed as Colorado Christian and Grand Valley State flipped at the No. 7 and No. 8 spots. West Texas A&M moved up one as did Saint Leo to finish the top 10. Four South Central Region programs received rankings in this week's poll with UT Tyler leading the way at No. 3. Colorado Christian (7th), West Texas A&M (9th), and Oklahoma Christian (23rd). Lubbock Christian received votes in the poll.
 
LONE STAR CONFERENCE HONORS
Nine Lady Buffs were honored at the Lone Star Conference Awards Banquet before the LSC tournament in Tyler, Texas. Of those honored, Emilee Boyer, Kyra Lair, Brittni Rufus, and Ruby Salzman earned spots on the First Team. Gabie McConnell and Diana Murtha were named to the Second Team while Braeland Booth, Madison Johnson, and Emilee Wilson were Third Team members. Rufus also earned a spot on the All-Academic team, Boyer was awarded LSC Freshman of the Year, and Salzman was named the 2023 Softball Player of the Year.
 
UP NEXT
Winning the bracket in Canyon would put the Lady Buffs in the South Central Region Supers. Opponent and location are to be determined.