South Central Regional Challenge (Los Lunas. N.M. | Jan. 31-Feb. 2)
Friday, January 31
New Mexico Highlands | 4 p.m.	Stats | Game Notes
Adams State | 6:30 p.m.	Stats | Game Notes
Saturday, February 1
UCCS | 4 p.m.	Stats | Game Notes
Simon Fraser | 6:30 p.m.	Stats | Game Notes
Sunday, February 2
Simon Fraser | 11 a.m.	Stats | Game Notes
All Times Central

CANYON, Texas – No. 13-ranked West Texas A&M softball starts the 2025 season in Los Lunas, N.M. where the Lady Buffs will compete in the South Central Regional Challenge. The three-day tournament sees WT face in-region opponents Adams State, New Mexico Highlands, and UCCS as well as West-Region member Simon Fraser.
 
GAME COVERAGE
Live stats will be available for all games at the South Central Regional Challenge. A live stream will not be available for the event. Links to the games can be found on GoBuffsGo.com
 
A LOOK AT THE #13 LADY BUFFS
Head coach Michael Mook enters his sixth season with the program after leading the 2024 Lady Buffs to a 50-8 overall record and 37-5 mark in LSC action. WT earned a share of the Lone Star Conference regular season title and the right to host the postseason tournament at Schaeffer Park. The Lady Buffs swept through the bracket, capping off the tournament with an 8-0 win in six innings over No. 3 UT Tyler. At the regional tournament in Canyon, Regis upset WT to open the tournament before the Lady Buffs eliminated No. 20 Angelo State and Regis the next day. In the finale, Oklahoma Christian upset the No. 1-ranked Lady Buffs 9-8 in an eight-inning thriller.
 
The Lady Buffs return 11 student-athletes from the 2024 team including All-Americans Emilee Boyer and Lauren Granger along with All-Region pitcher Heidi Vortherms. Other key pieces returning to the lineup include All-Lone Star Conference Freshman team selections Emily Liskai and Ashley Mandell, and junior infielder Heaven Moreno.
 
WT welcomed eight newcomers to the 2024 roster featuring infielders Avery Cannon, Melanie Baldwin, Cadence Colborn, Lily Mulder, and Abby Howell. Other newcomers include outfielders Brianna Stokes and Kendall Luna de la Fuente as well as pitcher Kendall Selitzky.
 
SCOUTING NEW MEXICO HIGHLANDS (Friday / 4 p.m.)
The Cowgirls were selected to finish 11^th in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference Preseason Poll after a 20-31 overall and 16-31 overall (12-30 RMAC) record in 2024. New Mexico Highlands is led by first-year head coach Marc Benjamin.
 
Returning senior Karla Banegas led the Cowgirls in batting average with a .364 average while Jazmyn Griego followed with a .289 average. Banegas and Griego also pitched last season for New Mexico Highlands which posted a 6.36 team ERA with 99 strikeouts to 124 walks in 286.1 innings of work.
 
SCOUTING ADAMS STATE (Friday / 6:30 p.m.)
Adams State finished 12^th in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference Preseason Poll after an 5-48 and 3-41 RMAC record. Dane Craig returns at the helm for his third season in Alamosa, posting a 16-88 record in his tenure as the head coach.
 
Last season, the Grizzlies hit .274 led by returning outfielder Grace Hendrickson with a .330 batting average. Adams State adds three new pitchers for the 2024 season after posting a 9.65 ERA in 309.2 innings of work.
 
SCOUTING UC-COLORADO SPRINGS (Saturday / 4 p.m.)
UCCS was selected sixth in the RMAC preseason poll and are led by second-year head coach Dwight Sanders. Last season, Sanders led the Mountain lions to a 19-32 overall record and 16-26 mark in RMAC play. UCCS is set to return 14 players from last year's squad with 11 newcomers to the program for the 2025 season, including nine freshman and two transfers.
 
UCCS hit .272 as a team led by returning sophomore Gianna Pancost. The Tucson, Ariz. native earned All-RMAC Honorable mention with a .394 batting average and 1.048 OPS. In the circle, the Mountain Lions produced a 5.90 earned run average with 206 strikeouts. Two of five pitchers return from last season's squad including Autumn Kunze's team-leading 3.95 earned run average.
 
SCOUTING SIMON FRASER (Saturday / 6:30 p.m. | Sunday / 11 a.m.)
Simon Fraser was selected to finish seventh in the Great Northwest Athletic Conference Preseason Poll after going 11-31 overall and 6-18 in conference play for a sixth-place finish in 2024. Stacy Fournier will begin her third season in charge of the program with a 22-67 record in her career.
 
Janique Balcaen returns after leading the squad with a .327 batting average last season, and Grace McMillan is back after hitting .326 and stealing 13 bases. SFU also has its top two home run hitters back in Abby McGlynn (6 HR, 20 RBI) and Cassidy Affeldt (5 HR, 18 RBI). Monica Bourque is back after leading the team with a 3.91 ERA and 49 strikeouts in 112 2/3 innings pitched.
 
NFCA RANKINGS
Reigning national champion UT Tyler received all 16 first-place votes to claim the top spot in the preseason poll. 2024 National Runner-up Western Washington earned the No. 2 spot with 384 points followed by Indianapolis (362), Lenoir-Rhyne (356), and Wilmington (325). Auburn-Montgomery (317), Augustana (310), North Georgia (273), Rogers State (256), and Tampa (255) round out the top 10.
 
The South Central region is represented by five teams with UT Tyler leading the way at No. 1. Angelo State (11^th), WT (13^th), Colorado Mesa (21^st), and Oklahoma Christian (24^th) earned spots in the poll.
 
LSC PRESEASON POLL
Reigning National Champion UT Tyler took the top spot in the poll with 34 first-place votes and 672 points followed by WT with eight first-place votes and 642 points. Angelo State grabbed the final first-place vote for 590 points with Oklahoma Christian following at 528 points. Lubbock Christian and St. Mary's tied for fifth in the poll with each school totaling 483 points. Texas Woman's (382), Texas A&M-Kingsville (372), Cameron (348), and Eastern New Mexico (315) occupy the seventh through 10^th spots, respectively. St. Edward's (293), Texas A&M International (215), Midwestern State (214), UT Permian Basin (97), and Sul Ross State (72) round out the poll.
 
UP NEXT
The Lady Buffs return to Schaeffer Park for their home opener on Friday, Feb. 7 as part of the 2025 WT Invitational. WT will face Lincoln, MSU-Moorhead, and UCCS over the three-day tournament.