SOFTBALL PLAYERS OF THE WEEK
HITTER
Keilei Garcia, Angelo State, FR, Nursing, Catcher, Hemet, Calif., Hemet HS,
Garcia led the Rambelles in their sweeps of Midwestern State and Texas Woman's. Garcia had 10 at-bats, registering a .700 batting average, a .769 on-base percentage, and a 2.000 slugging percentage. The freshman from Hemet, California scored six runs for Angelo State off of seven hits, one of which was a double and four were home runs. Garcia drove in 10 RBI, including two to win the second game against the Pioneers in their 5-4 win.
 
PITCHER
Emily Otto, Texas A&M-Commerce, SR, Interdisciplinary Studies, P, Richmond, Texas , Lamar Consolidated HS
 Otto picked up wins in two key road games, allowing 2 runs at Texas A&M International and shutting out No. 12 Texas A&M-Kingsville.  At TAMIU, she allowed two runs on six hits, striking out five and walking two. At TAMUK, she pitched a complete game two-hit shutout, striking out six and walking two.  She ranks fifth in the LSC this season in ERA in LSC games at 1.58, with a .200 opponents average, 65 strikeouts, and a 9-1 record in conference games."
 
WEEKLY AWARDS
Hitter
F-9       Brooke Makemson, Lubbock Christian
F-23     Shanna McBroom, West Texas A&M
M-2      Ruby Salzman, West Texas A&M
M-9      Uxua Modrego, Texas A&M-Commerce
M-16    Madison Fernandez, Angelo State
M-23    Haley Castle, Cameron
M-30    Shanna McBroom, West Texas A&M (2)
A-6       Claire Chernosky, Texas A&M-Kingsville
A-13     Keilei Garcia, Angelo State
 
Pitcher
F-9       Alyssa LeBlanc, Texas A&M-Commerce
F-23     Taylor Franco, Lubbock Christian
M-2      Erika Cortez, Texas A&M International
M-9      Alyssa LeBlanc, Texas A&M-Commerce (2)
M-16    Kali Crandall, Oklahoma Christian
M-23    Erika Cortez, Texas A&M International (2)
M-30    Kali Crandall, Oklahoma Christian (2)
A-6       Erika Cortez, Texas A&M International (3)
A-13     Emily Otto, Texas A&M-Commerce
 
SELECTED NOTABLE PERFORMANCES
      Callie Christensen, Cameron, had a weekend to remember at the plate for the Aggies, as the team split a doubleheader against No. 10 West Texas A&M and then dominated a twin-bill against Eastern New Mexico. The senior catcher recorded just two outs the entire weekend, posting a 2.86 OPS. Christensen started the weekend with a 1-1 game where she drew three walks and hit a two-run homerun against WT; she walked again and scored a run in the second game against the Lady Buffs. The Washington, Okla. native saved the best for last, going a perfect 6-6 with six runs scored, a triple, two homers, and six RBI in a doubleheader sweep of the Greyhounds on Cameron’s Senior Day.
      Courtney Plocheck, UT Tyler, had hits in eight of her 12 trips to the plate to lead a UT Tyler offense that hit .405 as a team for the weekend and totaled 45 hits as a club. Plocheck had three doubles in those eight hits in #5 UT Tyler's sweeps of #12 Texas A&M-Kingsville and Texas A&M International. The Deer Park, Texas native totaled four RBI in the four games, recording multiple hit efforts in three out of the four contests over the weekend. Plocheck went 3-for-4 in game one on Friday afternoon against Texas A&M-Kingsville and then went 2-for-2 and 2-for-3 in the two wins over Texas A&M International. She also crossed home plate herself four times in the four games played. UT Tyler's 19 runs in the 19-0 run rule of Texas A&M International in game number two on Sunday afternoon are the most recorded by the program in a single game against a Division II opponent.
      Skylar Herrera, Lubbock Christian, had four multi-hit performances, with at least one hit in each of LCU's six games in a 6-0 week for the Lady Chaps. Herrera's top performances included a 3-for-4 contest against Hardin-Simmons in which she was a home run shy of a cycle, and a 3-for-4 contest against Texas Woman's in which she had three extra-base hits (two doubles and a home run). She averaged 2.0 runs per game on the week and had a home run in each doubleheader played. Eleven (11) of Herrera's at-bats were with the bases empty, and she was 9-for-11 (.818) in those at-bats. She was also 4-for-4 in leadoff at-bats reaching base and 3-for-6 (.500) in two-out at bats, leading to three of her six RBI on the week resulting in two-out-RBI. She stranded one runner in 19 at-bats on the week.
      Brianna Robinson, Oklahoma Christian, continued her slugging ways, hitting .600 with a 1.300 slugging percentage and seven RBIs as the Eagles swept Eastern New Mexico and No. 10 West Texas A&M to move into sole possession of second place in the LSC race. She hit two home runs, including a first-inning grand slam, in a 12-0 win over ENMU and finished with six RBIs and added two more hits in an 8-1 win in the second game. Against WT, her third-inning single led to a run in a 9-1 win in the opener and she delivered a run-scoring double in the third inning of the second game to give OC a 3-1 lead, with the Eagles eventually winning 6-5.
      Shanna McBroom, West Texas A&M, continues to rake as the senior hit .571 with a double, triple and home run during the Lady Buffs trip to the Sooner State last weekend. She went 5-fo-8 as WT split with Cameron including her sixth triple of the season. She also went 3-for-4 with a home run in the top of the seventh in the second game of the doubleheader against No. 13 Oklahoma Christian. On the season, the Sachse native ranks first in the nation in hits (57) and total bases (96).
      Valerie Brant, St. Edward's, led the Hilltoppers to three wins this week, posting seven hits in just 13 at bats.
Abigale Carney, St. Mary's, Carney continued her hot streak at the plate, extending her hitting streak to eight games. In a doubleheader sweep of UT Permian Basin, Carney collected three RBI including a go-ahead two-run home run in the sixth to lift the Rattlers over the Falcons, 8-6. In the first win over Western New Mexico, Carney drove in five runs via a three-run home run and a two-run home run. In game two, Carney drew three walks in three plate appearances.
      Alex McLennan, St. Mary's, picked up two wins in a sweep over UT Permian Basin this weekend. The senior came on in relief and tossed 1.1 innings, throwing just 12 pitches to earn the win. Starting in the circle in game two, McLennan tossed a complete game, allowing just two hits and striking out two batters.
      McKenna Leamon, St. Edward's, threw two complete games to earn a pair of wins this weekend. She scattered seven hits in two games, allowing just one run, and posted one shutout.
      Taylor Franco, Lubbock Christian, went 3-0 in the circle, as LCU was 6-0 on the week. She had a trio of complete games, with a pair of seven-inning efforts and a 5.0-ining complete game shutout. Franco did not allow a earned run over the final 17.1 innings pitched on the week. She had seven strikeouts in a victory over Texas Woman (Apr. 9) and in a win over Midwestern State (Apr. 11).
      Bethany Hines, Cameron, was near perfect in the circle for the Aggies this weekend, recording a save against No. 10 West Texas A&M and then throwing a one-hitter against Eastern New Mexico. The senior opened the weekend by throwing 3.1 innings in relief in game one against WT, giving up one run on just one hit while striking out two batters. In game two, Hines came in to pitch in the seventh inning with the bases loaded, no outs, and her team leading by two. Despite a run scoring on an error, the Washington, Okla. product and program leader in saves retired the next three batters to close things and secure the Aggie win. Hines followed that up with a one-hit performance on Senior Day against the Greyhounds. She carried a perfect game into the fifth inning with her team leading 17-1, and the lone ball to make it out of the infield was a homer with one out away in the final frame. She finished the game with four strikeouts and was also 3-3 with two RBI at the plate.
      Lizette Del Angel, Texas A&M-Kingsville, tied a program record by throwing a 12-inning complete game on Sunday and outdueling her opponent to help the Javelinas earn a 3-2 win. Del Angel scattered 10 hits and didn't walk a batter while striking out six and stranding six runners on base. Multiple times in extra innings, she maneuvered out of situations with runners in scoring position to keep the Javelinas in the game. For the week, Del Angel pitched to a 1.79 ERA and didn't walk a batter in 15 2/3 innings.
      Payton Foster, UT Tyler, threw two complete games, picked up a pair of wins and recorded a save in three appearances over the weekend as #5 UT Tyler went 4-0 against #12 Texas A&M-Kingsville and Texas A&M International. She totaled 13.1 innings thrown over the weekend, tossing complete game efforts to pick up wins in her traditional first game starting role, and then came in to save the day against Texas A&M-Kingsville and recorded a save in a 4-3 UT Tyler game two win on Friday. Foster came into the sixth inning of the second game win against Texas A&M-Kingsville after tossing seven innings and allowing just two earned runs to the Javelinas in her game one start. She worked out of a bases-loaded sixth inning jam in that relief appearance and cruised through the seven innings unscathed to pick up her first save of 2021. She followed Friday's win plus a save effort on Sunday with a complete game against Texas A&M International, going all five innings of the run rule while allowing just a single earned run off of three hits. Foster walked only two batters the entire weekend, striking out five while limiting opponents to a .208 batting average.
      Kali Crandall, Oklahoma Christian, who leads NCAA Division II in pitching wins, picked up three more to move to 18-1 on the season. In a 12-0 win over Eastern New Mexico, she recorded her first seven outs by strikeout and finished with 8 Ks in four innings while allowing only two singles and no walks. She pitched a complete-game four-hitter in a 9-1 win over No. 10 West Texas A&M, striking out six, and in the second game, she entered in relief in the third inning and went the rest of the way as the Eagles completed the sweep with a 6-5 win. She threw a whopping 170 pitches in the two wins over the Buffaloes. Batters from ENMU and WT combined to hit only .196 against her.
      Halle Lytal, West Texas A&M, made two appearances out of the bullpen for the Lady Buffs this weekend in their four-game road trip to the Sooner State. The freshman allowed three runs, two earned, on five hits and three walks in five innings of work. She pitched 3 2/3 innings against Cameron on April 9 before coming out the pen again for 1 1/3 innings against Oklahoma Christian.