Date	Time	Opponent	Location	Venue	Live Links
Friday, April 26	6:00 p.m.	#22 Angelo State	Canyon, Texas	Schaeffer Park	Stats | LSC Digital Network | Game Notes
Saturday, April 27	1:00 p.m.	#22 Angelo State	Canyon, Texas	Schaeffer Park	Stats | LSC Digital Network | Game Notes
Saturday, April 27	3:00 p.m.	#22 Angelo State	Canyon, Texas	Schaeffer Park	Stats | LSC Digital Network | Game Notes

 
CANYON, Texas – The No. 1-ranked West Texas A&M softball team finishes out the 2024 regular season with rival Angelo State coming to Canyon on April 26-27. The Lady Buffs and No. 22-ranked Rambelles start the series at 6 p.m. on Friday, April 26 before wrapping up the regular season on Saturday with a doubleheader starting at 1 p.m. Following the doubleheader, WT will host Senior Day festivities on the field.
 
Two wins for the Lady Buffs would guarantee a share of the Lone Star Conference regular season title and the right to host the conference tournament at Schaeffer Park. A sweep of the Rambelles would claim the regular-season title outright.
 
GAME COVERAGE
A live stream will be available for the game provided by the West Texas A&M athletic communications department through the Lone Star Conference Digital Network. Fans can buy a yearly pass for $140 that grants access to all broadcasts for the LSC including previous years or a $30 monthly subscription. Live stats will also be provided for fans to stay up to date.
 
A LOOK AT THE #1 LADY BUFFS
WT wraps up its regular-season schedule at home after winning the series against Cameron in Lawton, Okla. Game one saw the Lady Buffs dominate the Aggies 10-1 in six innings. The second game of the series proved to be a pitcher's duel as both teams put up zeroes entering the sixth inning. A two-run home run from Cameron put the Aggies on top 2-0 where WT couldn't put up a run. In the series decider, the Lady Buffs scored 10 runs on 15 hits to defeat Cameron, 10-6. WT enters its series with Angelo State with an overall record of 43-5 and a 35-4 mark in Lone Star Conference play.
 
The Lady Buffs feature a potent lineup that ranks inside the top 30 for Division II in almost every offensive category including top 20 standings in batting average, doubles, hits, home runs, on-base percentage, runs, scoring, slugging percentage, and walks. WT's .980 fielding percentage ranks third in Division II.
 
Senior Diana Murtha ranks inside the top 20 of Division II hitters in batting average (.500), doubles (19), RBIs (58), and total bases (127). Murtha's .629 on base percentage, and 1.095 slugging percentage lead the nation. Brittni Rufus follows Murtha with a .435 batting average and 1.185 OPS and a .702 slugging percentage. Lauren Granger's 18 doubles rank 14th in the nation while Rufus' 70 hits and six triples rank 20^th and 13^th, respectively.
 
In addition to a high-octane offense, the Lady Buff pitching staff has been dominant so far this season. As a team, WT holds a 1.94 ERA in 299 innings with 263 strikeouts. The Lady Buffs' ERA ranks 18^th in Division II while the strikeout total also ranks inside the top 50.
 
Head Coach Michael Mook is in his fifth season at WT, registering a 179-50 (.782) record in that time. For his career, Mook holds 333-111 record in nine seasons for an overall winning percentage of .750.
 
SCOUTING #22 ANGELO STATE
Angelo State returns to the diamond for the first time in nearly two weeks after winning its series against Lubbock Christian on April 13-14. The Rambelels won game one of the series 9-7 after a five-run top of the seventh put Angelo State on top. After LCU won game two of the set 5-0, the Rambelles jumped ahead early in the finale, leading 7-0 after two innings. The Lady Chaps put up runs but not enough as Angelo State won the game and series with a 7-4 score line. The Rambelles, ranked No. 22 in the NFCA poll, enter the final regular-season series with an overall record of 36-13 including 27-12 in Lone Star Conference play.
 
Tatiana Trotter leads the Angelo State offense as the sophomore holds a .359 batting average with a 1.104 OPS, .672 slugging average, and .432 on-base percentage. The Lubbock, Texas native paces the Rambelles with 47 hits, seven doubles, eight triples, and 35 runs to go along with six home runs and 37 RBI. Laylonna Applin follows with a .313 average, .864 OPS, and a .377 on-base percentage with 47 hits, 28 runs, and 27 RBI.
 
As a pitching staff, Angelo State hold a 2.10 ERA in 323.1 innings of work. During that time, opponents are hitting .237 while hitting 47 doubles, six triples, and 19 home runs while striking out 253 times. Cheyenne Floyd leads the staff with a 1.55 ERA on 30 appearances with 31 starts, holding a 20-6 record with 144 strikeouts and 47 walks. Torrey Hogan serves as the Rambelles second primary starter, appearing in 18 games with 10 starts. Hogan holds a record of 5-5 with two saves on a 2.66 ERA over 55.1 innings with 43 strikeouts to 19 walks.  
 
Travis Scott is in his 21^st season as the head coach of the Angelo State program and 24^th overall. Scott holds a 971-358-3 (.730) record for his career with an 870-308-1 (.738) record at the helm of the Rambelles. 
 
THE SERIES
WT leads the all-time series with Angelo State 36-35 including 18-13 in Canyon. The Lady Buffs are 6-2 against the Rambelles under Michael Mook. Last season, an unranked-WT team went to San Angelo and swept then No. 23-ranked Angelo State. Game one saw the Rambelles take a 1-0 lead after the first inning before the Lady Buffs answered with seven unanswered. Game two saw the teams battle for 11 innings before a four-run top of the 12^th boosted WT to a 5-1 victory. In the series finale, eight-unanswered runs in the final two innings held off Angelo State, 11-5.
 
W, 11-5 – San Angelo, 2023
W, 5-1 (12) – San Angelo, 2023
W, 7-3 – San Angelo, 2023
W, 10-8 – San Angelo, 2022
L, 2-10 (6) – San Angelo, 2022
 
NFCA RANKINGS 
The Lady Buffs received seven of the 16 first-place votes to earn 388 points with Indianapolis (6 fpv, 385) and Tampa (3 fpv, 379) close behind. UT Tyler (344) and Central Oklahoma (326) each moved up a spot to round out the top five. Colorado Christian (305), Wingate (300), North Georgia (293), Pittsburg State (285), and Mississippi College (249) finish out the top 10.
 
The South Central region boasts four teams in the top 25 with WT leading the way at No. 1. UT Tyler (4^th), Colorado Christian (6^th), Angelo State (22^nd), and Colorado Mesa (25^th) also received spots in the poll.
 
NCAA REGIONAL RANKINGS
West Texas A&M holds the top spot with a 43-5 overall and in-region record followed by UT Tyler, Colorado Christian, Angelo State, and Oklahoma Christian. Colorado Mesa, St. Mary's, and Lubbock Christian holding the No. 6-8 spots. Texas A&M-Kingsville and MSU Denver occupy the ninth and 10^th spots, respectively.
 
The top eight teams in the South Central Region will take part in the Regional Tournament taking place on May 9-11. The winners of the two conference tournaments (LSC, RMAC) will receive an automatic bid into the postseason with the last six spots being filled by at-large selections. The official announcement of the 64-team NCAA Division II Championship field will be made on Monday, May 6 at 9 a.m. Central with the NCAA Selection Show on NCAA.com.
 
UP NEXT
The top 10 teams in the LSC standings will meet at the No. 1 seed on May 1-2-3 with the winner of the tournament earning the Lone Star Conference's automatic qualifier bid to the 2024 NCAA Division II Tournament.