CANYON, Texas – The West Texas A&M softball team opens its 2024 NCAA Tournament against the No. 8-seed Regis Rangers on Thursday. The Lady Buffs and Rangers are scheduled for a 2:30 p.m. first pitch at Schaeffer Park with Angelo State and Oklahoma Christian to follow.
 
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. The streams are free to fans for the NCAA Tournament. Live stats will also be provided for fans to stay up to date.
 
A LOOK AT THE #1 LADY BUFFS
WT comes off an impressive performance at the 2024 Lone Star Conference Tournament held in Canyon last weekend. The Lady Buffs opened the tournament with an 8-2 victory over Texas A&M-Kingsville before defeating St. Mary's 9-1 in five innings. In the LSC Championship game, WT put forth a dominant showing against No. 3-ranked UT Tyler, rolling past the Patriots 8-0 in six innings. The win over UT Tyler secured the program's sixth LSC tournament title and, eventually, the No. 1 seed in the NCAA tournament.
 
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 .975 fielding percentage ranks seventh in Division II.
 
Senior Diana Murtha ranks inside the top 20 of Division II hitters in batting average (.481), doubles (21), RBIs (61), slugging percentage (1.046), and total bases (137). Murtha's .616 on base percentage leads the nation. Brittni Rufus follows Murtha with a .436 batting average, 1.178 OPS, and a .691 slugging percentage. Lauren Granger's 19 doubles rank 18^th in the nation while Rufus' 79 hits and seven triples rank 20^th and 10^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 1.9 ERA in 338.0 innings with 291 strikeouts. The Lady Buffs' ERA ranks 20^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 184-51 (.783) record in that time. For his career, Mook holds 338-112 record in nine seasons for an overall winning percentage of .751.
 
SCOUTING (8) REGIS
Regis earned the No. 8 seed to the South Central Regional Tournament after an improbable run through the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference Tournament. The Rangers entered the tournament as the No. 5 seed and unranked in the last NCAA Regional poll. Regis won its first game 4-2 over Colorado School of Mines before upsetting top-seeded Colorado Mesa, 8-0. The Rangers then completed its sweep of the tournament with back-to-back wins over No. 2-seeded and No. 10-nationally Colorado Christian, winning 7-4 and 4-3.
 
Miia Campos leads the Regis offense as the junior holds a .426 batting average with a 1.056 OPS, .568 slugging percentage, and .488 on-base percentage. The Tucson, Ariz. native paces the Rangers with 81 hits including 13 doubles, seven triples, 50 runs, and 36 RBI. Rachel Williams follows with a .354 average, 1.159 OPS, and a .488 on-base percentage with 58 hits, 44 runs, a team-leading eight triples, and 34 RBI.
 
As a pitching staff, Regis hold a 4.23 ERA in 363.2 innings of work. During that time, opponents are hitting .296 while hitting 76 doubles, 10 triples, and 38 home runs while striking out 263 times. Kylie Harpman leads qualified players with a 3.35 ERA on 34 appearances with 28 starts, holding a 18-9 record with 145 strikeouts and 37 walks. Ava Edwards serves as the Rangers' second primary starter, appearing in 22 games with 18 starts. Edwards holds a record of 5-4 on a 4.66 ERA over 67.2 innings with 30 strikeouts to 24 walks. Regis has received 21 complete games from its pitching staff including 19 from Harpman and one from Ava Edwards.
 
Nicole Thompson is in her fifth season as the head coach of the Regis program and eighth overall. Thompson holds a 9213-170 (.556) record for her career with an 131-99 (.570) record at the helm of the Rangers. 
 
THE SERIES
WT leads the all-time series with Regis 4-1 including 3-0 in Canyon. The Lady Buffs are 1-0 against the Rangers under Michael Mook. The two programs last met in the 2020 season with WT taking the neutral site game in Las Vegas, Nev. In the 8-0 run-rule victory, the Lady Buffs jumped out to a 4-0 lead in the first inning before adding on and shutting out the Rangers.
 
W, 8-0 (5) – Las Vegas, 2020
W, 15-3 (5) – Canyon, 2018
W, 9-0 – Canyon, 2012
W, 3-2 – Canyon, 2012
L, 5-8 – Amarillo, 2006
 
POSTSEASON AWARDS
The Lady Buffs pulled in 14 All-Lone Star Conference awards across nine players with head coach Michael Mook earning his first Lone Star Conference Coach of the Year award. Diana Murtha, one of five first team players, was awarded the 2024 Lone Star Conference Player of the Year while Emilee Boyer, Lauren Granger, Brittni Rufus, and Heidi Vortherms joined Murtha on the first team. Gabriella Valforte represented the Lady Buffs on the second team as Megan Guericke and Ashley Mandell earning spots on the third team. Emily Liskai joined Mandell on the all-freshman team while Boyer and Rufus were honored as all-academic team members. Brittni Rufus also earned her second Lone Star Conference Gold Glove.
 
NFCA RANKINGS 
WT earned the top spot after receiving 12 first-place votes for a total of 396 points followed by Indianapolis with four first-place votes and 388 points. UT Tyler stayed at No. 3 with 364 points followed by Mississippi College (348) and Pittsburg State (342). Tampa (303), Wingate (296), North Georgia (287), Charleston (281) and Rogers State (265).
 
The South Central region boasts five teams in the top 25 with WT leading the way at No. 1. UT Tyler (3^rd), Colorado Christian (11^th), Angelo State (20^th), and Colorado Mesa (25^th) also received spots in the poll.
 
UP NEXT
The winner of the Lady Buffs' South Central Region I bracket will face off against the winner of the South Central Region II bracket hosted by UT Tyler in Tyler, Texas.  The best-of-three Super Regional series will be held at the highest seed remaining.