West Texas A&M University Athletics

CANYON, TEXAS – The Lady Buffs of West Texas A&M punched their ticket to the program's sixth NCAA Division II South Central Super Regional on Saturday afternoon while also breaking a Lone Star Conference record for homeruns in a single-season with a 13-5 victory over the Texas A&M-Kingsville Javelinas at Schaeffer Park in Canyon.
 
The Lady Buffs got on the board in the top of the first inning as an errant Javelinas throw on a fielder's choice scored Lily Mulder followed by a Heaven Moreno sac fly to left as Cadence Colborn crossed the plate for the 2-0 lead.
 
WT added to their lead in the top of the third inning as Colborn doubled to left center with two outs to score Jordyn De Los Santos at 3-0. Kingsville pushed across their first run of the game in the bottom of the third on an Alaunah Almaraz RBI single up the middle to score Jolyn Perez at 3-1.
 
The Lady Buffs broke the game open in the top of the fourth inning as Bella Holland lifted a three-run homer to left center for the 6-1 advantage. 
 
De Los Santos extended the WT lead in the top of the sixth inning with a sac fly to right center that scored Moreno followed by RBI singles from Abby Howell and Trinity Kuntz, the Lady Buffs weren't done yet as Maddie Hight drew a walk with the bases loaded to make it 10-2. The sac fly by De Los Santos also broke the program's single-season RBI record with 91.
 
The Javelinas wouldn't go down without a fight as Ayla Gonzales lifted a pinch-hit two-run single to right center with two outs in the bottom of the sixth to keep the game alive at 10-4. The Lady Buffs added to their lead in the top of the seventh on a Holland inside-the-park homerun off the wall in left field before Abby Howell crushed a two-run shot to center to set a new West Texas A&M and Lone Star Conference single-season team homerun record at 106.
 
Laci Peskey claimed the win (21-4) in the circle, allowing four runs (three earned) on seven hits with four walks and three strikeouts in her 5.2 innings of work.
 
The Lady Buffs punch their ticket to the NCAA South Central Super Regionals next weekend as they will host the Oklahoma Christian Eagles in a best-of-three series beginning on Thursday at Schaeffer Park in Canyon. Stay tuned to GoBuffsGo.com for the complete schedule and ticket information.