After two weeks of non-conference games, UT Tyler and Lubbock Christian remain unbeaten at 10-0 and 9-0, respectively.
A full slate of non-conference games is on tap for this week.
LSC softball teams are playing a single round-robin conference schedule with a doubleheader (two games) against each league opponent. The LSC Champion will be the team(s) with the best winning percentage in regular-season conference games.
The single-elimination LSC Championship featuring the top 10 teams will be played April 30-May 2, at the No. 1 seed. The winner of the postseason championship will be recognized as LSC Tournament Champion and receive the league’s automatic qualification into NCAA postseason.
LSC softball teams are 88-56 overall this season. In the NCAA Division II South Central Region, the group is currently 18-5 combined versus Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference teams.
LSC schedule and results available here:
http://www.lonestarconference.org/calendar.aspx?path=softball&&
PLAYERS OF THE WEEK
HITTER
Haleigh Swinney, The University of Texas at Tyler, JR, Kinesiology, Outfield, Crosby, Texas, Crosby HS
Swinney led UT Tyler to another 5-0 weekend, leading the Patriots to wins in all 5 games of last week's Texas A&M-Commerce/UT Tyler Invitational. UT Tyler posted its first wins over Division II Top 25-ranked opponents, scoring a combined 28 runs in victories over #14 Southern Arkansas and #23 Arkansas Tech. Swinney led the way from the leadoff spot, posting a .563 batting average and an on-base percentage of .682 for the week with nine hits and six walks.
PITCHER
Meagan Hill, Angelo State University, SR, Civil Engineering, Pitcher, Salado, Texas, Salado HS
Hill threw her first no-hitter while posting two shutout wins as Angelo State went 4-1 at the Florida Tech Invitational. Hill tossed a no-hitter versus Molloy with 11 strikeouts and one walk in the 2-0 victory. She followed that performance with a one-hitter against Florida Tech with four strikeouts as the Rambelles won 2-0. For the week, Hill allowed one hit and one walk with 15 strikeouts in two complete games.
WEEKLY AWARDS
Hitter
F-3 Jaiden Johnson, Oklahoma Christian
F-11 Haleigh Swinney, UT Tyler
Pitcher
F-3 Breanna Smith, Texas A&M-Kingsville
F-11 Meagan Hill, Angelo State
SELECTED NOTABLE PERFORMANCES
Briana Arredondo, Texas A&M International University, batted .769, compiled 12 RBIs, launched two home runs and scored six runs in the Texas A&M-Commerce/UT Tyler Invitational during a 2-2 week for the Dustdevils. The San Antonio, Texas native went 4-for-4 with a pair of home runs, two doubles and drove in a career-high eight RBIs en route to a 15-2 victory over Texas Woman’s on Friday (Feb. 7). This was Arredondo's first multi-home run game and her first four-hit performance. Arredondo also went 2-for-4 with two doubles and four runs batted in, including a three-RBI double as the Dustdevils dropped an 8-6 decision to UT Tyler on Friday (Feb. 7). The slugger closed out the week by going 3-for-3 at the plate and drew a walk while scoring three runs in a 10-9 victory over Arkansas-Monticello on Saturday (Feb. 8).
Kristen Zuehl, Tarleton State University, was a force at the plate for the No. 21-ranked Texans as she led Tarleton out of the weekend with a 2-0 record. The sophomore from San Antonio hit .600 on the weekend with two runs scored and four RBI. In the tournament opener against Henderson State, Zuehl scored the go-ahead run in a comeback 6-5 victory over the Reddies. In the second game against Missouri-St. Louis, Zuehl got Tarleton on the board with an RBI single and helped put the game out of reach in the third with a three-run triple down the right-field line to lead Tarleton past UMSL 9-1. She also played a flawless third base with two putouts, three assists and a 1.000 fielding percentage.
Paige Tamayo, Texas Woman's University, went 3-for-3 with four RBIs in a win over No. 23 Arkansas Tech... also went 2-for-2 vs. Arkansas-Monticello and 2-for-4 with a pair of doubles against UT Tyler.
Callie Busby, Cameron University, after missing the first two games of the weekend, Callie Busby returned to the CU lineup in a big way, hitting .583 and driving in seven runs to help the Aggies go 3-0 during their final three games of the first leg of the Edmond Festival. In Busby's first game on Saturday against East Central, the senior went 4-3 with two homers, both of the two-run variety, in her teams 15-3 victory. The Aggie backstop then capped the weekend with a 3-5 game with three RBI and three doubles in the extra-inning win over Pittsburg State. Busby finished the weekend with a 1.333 slugging percentage as five of her seven hits came for extra bases.
Brianna Robinson, Oklahoma Christian University, hit .583 and drove in at least one run in every game as the Eagles went 5-0 during the first weekend of the Edmond Regional Festival, extending their winning streak to eight games. She had three RBIs, including a two-run double, in an 8-0 win over Colorado School of Mines, then hit a grand slam in the first inning in a 9-1 win over Southwestern Oklahoma State. She drove in the game-tying run with a sharp single in the sixth inning of a 2-1 win over Southwest Baptist and had two RBIs during a record-setting 15-run first inning in a 20-3 win over Missouri Southern.
Kathryn Connelly, St. Edward's, led the Hilltoppers’s at the plate, going 10-18 from the plate with three doubles, two homeruns and six RBI. The Hilltoppers went 4-1 in the season opening weekend with three run rule victories.
April Arellano, The University of Texas Permian Basin, had a huge weekend at the plate up in Lubbock. Playing in all six contests over the weekend, the junior had seven hits as the Falcons split the weekend 3-3. She had four hits on Sunday alone as the Falcons closed the weekend strong with a pair of wins over Newman and Southern Nazarene. The junior hit her first home run and drove in a pair on Friday against Nebraska at Kearney, the second of her career. She is now hitting .400 on the second with four RBI.
Kinsie Hebler, Texas A&M University-Commerce, was a bright spot in the Lion lineup, hitting .455 on the week and aiding in a pair of Lion wins. She had a pair of hits and a run scored in the team's win over No. 23 Arkansas Tech. She then had two hits and two RBIs in the team's loss to No. 14 Southern Arkansas. Hebler then had an RBI in the team's win over Arkansas Monticello and had a hit against Rogers State.
Skylar Herrera, Lubbock Christian University, the Lady Chaps went 6-0 on the week, placing them with a 9-0 start and their best start since 2012 behind Herrera, who had hits in five of the six games on the week. Her week included a pair of back-to-back four-RBI performances, highlighted by a grand slam in a 10-run first inning against Oklahoma Baptist. She had two-hit games against Nebraska-Kearney and New Mexico Highlands. On the base paths, she was 9-for-9 in stolen base attempts, getting three steals against UCCS and NMHU.
Matisen Onofrei, Texas A&M University-Kingsville, swung a loud bat for the Javelinas last week, slugging .917 with a pair of homers, six RBIs and a .333 average while leading her team to three more wins. Her first hit of the week was a two-run homer, which helped TAMUK top Ouachita Baptist on Saturday. In her team's first game on Sunday, Onofrei started the scoring by launching another two-run dinger and she later drove in a third run, accounting for half of the Javelinas' offense in 6-2 victory. Her final hit of the week was an RBI double during TAMUK's 9-0 triumph over Henderson State. For the season, Onofrei's already piled up four homers, the second-highest total in the LSC.
Andrea Cline, Eastern New Mexico University, helped led the Hounds to a 10-7 victory over the weekend against CSU-Pueblo recording her first home run of the season. Cline went up to bat eight times with three hits and five RBI's. The catcher recorded a batting average of .325 between both Friday games.
Saidi Castillo, Texas A&M University-Kingsville, was spectacular in pitching the Javelinas to two wins during the season's second weekend. She hurled a two-hitter and struck out nine in a 6-1 win over Ouachita Baptist on Saturday and followed that up with a shutout of Henderson State on Sunday. Against the Reddies, Castillo permitted only four singles and one walk while striking out six to earn her third win of the season. In 14 innings, Castillo recorded 15 punch-outs and pitched to 0.50 ERA.
Taylor Franco, Lubbock Christian University, went 3-0 on the week to help keep LCU with a flawless record (9-0 and their best start since 2012), with two starts (she went the distance in both) and a combined 16.0 innings pitched. She had 14 strikeouts and allowed one walk. The allowed walk came in the fourth inning of her final performance on the week (vs. Colorado State - Pueblo), which ended her season-opening streak at 24 straight innings without allowing a walk. Her wins in a start came against UCCS and CSU-P, and her win in relief was against Nebraska-Kearney (allowed one hit over 4.0 innings).
Tristan Bridges, Tarleton State University, was dealing from the circle in Tarleton’s 9-1 rout of Missouri-St. Louis. The Tritons struck first with a single run, but Bridges kept them off the board the rest of the way to earn her first win of the season. The Tritons only threatened in the second, but Bridges struck out the next batter to get Tarleton out of the jam. Bridges allowed three hits and struck out four in her six innings of work.
Kali Crandall, Oklahoma Christian University, picked up wins over Southwestern Oklahoma State, Pittsburg State and Missouri Southern as the Eagles went 5-0 in the Edmond Regional Festival. She didn't allow an earned run and gave up just four hits in a complete-game 9-1 win over Southwestern Oklahoma State on Friday. The next day, she struck out five in 2 2/3 innings of relief, slowing down Pitt State enough to allow OC to rally for a 10-9 win in eight innings. She started and pitched four innings in a 20-3 romp over Missouri Southern on Sunday. On the week, she had 14 strikeouts against only three walks.
Reagan Carter, St. Edward's University, earned three of SEU's four wins this weekend, posting an impressive 23 strikeouts with just three walks.
Miranda Leal, The University of Texas at Tyler, provided stability out of the bullpen in several back-and-forth contests at the Texas A&M-Commerce/UT Tyler Invitational, and she recorded a pair of wins plus a save in her four appearances last weekend. Her longest outing came in the win over #14 Southern Arkansas, when she delivered 4 innings of relief and surrendered just 1 run on 3 hits after SAU jumped out to a 7-0 lead before UT Tyler rallied for an 11-8 extra-innings win.
Emily Otto, Texas A&M University-Commerce, picked up a pair of wins last week for the Lions. She pitched a complete game against No. 23 Arkansas Tech, giving up just one run with five strikeouts and only two hits. She had another strikeout against No. 14 Southern Arkansas in relief. She then pitched six innings and got the win against Arkansas Monticello.
Brook Leger, Eastern New Mexico University, started her Greyhound and Lone Star Conference career 2-0 after a 10-7 win last weekend at the Lubbock Tournament. Leger recorded 11 strikeouts in two games, six hits and six runs. Leger only allowed one on third base between the two games and two on second. Leger has a 3.50 ERA in her three games played this season.