The 2022 season continues with all 16 Lone Star Conference teams in action. UT Tyler is the lone unbeaten team remaining at 9-0 overall.
LSC teams are playing a single round-robin 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.
In the NCAA Division II South Central Region, LSC teams are 17-12 combined versus Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference competition.
LSC schedule and results available here:
http://www.lonestarconference.org/calendar.aspx?path=softball&&
SOFTBALL PLAYERS OF THE WEEK
HITTER
Loren Kelly, Texas A&M-Kingsville, SR, Mathematics, Outfielder, Rockport, Texas, Rockport-Fulton HS
Kelly spent seemingly the entire weekend on base, totaling 11 hits and six walks in five games, all of which ended in Javelina wins. In a 7-0 win over Ouachita Baptist on Friday, Kelly went 2-for-2, walked twice, drove in two runs, stole two bases and scored a run. On Saturday, Kelly scored four times, stole three bases and picked up another RBI while going 4-for-5 in wins over Ouachita Baptist and Hillsdale College. On Sunday, she finished the weekend with a 5-for-7 afternoon in which she crossed the plate three times and swiped four more bags. In five games last week, Kelly posted a .786/.850/1.000 slash line, was a perfect 9-for-9 stealing bases and scored eight times.
PITCHER
Taylor Franco, Lubbock Christian, SR, Exercise Sports Science, Pitcher, Monahans, Texas, Monahans HS
Franco completed two no-hitters and recorded three wins in the homestand, as she book-ended a trio of starts with a no-hitter against Oklahoma Baptist on Thursday and a no-hitter Saturday against Northwestern Oklahoma State. The no-hitters were the 19th and 20th in program history, placing Franco with a trio in her LCU career. She faced one batter over the minimum in each no-hitter. In the game she did not garner a no-hitter, Franco went six innings against Nebraska Kearney and pitched scoreless frames with only two hits allowed. She combined for 19 strikeouts in 16.0 innings, with nine strikeouts recorded in the no-hitter against NWOSU. Her pitching led to 24 groundouts and 3 flyouts on the week, and opponents went 0-for-16 in two-out at-bats. The three wins improved her to a 39-19 career record, which placed her into sole possession of third on LCU's career wins list.
WEEKLY AWARDS
Hitter
F-8 Paxton Scheurer, Angelo State
F-15 Loren Kelly, Texas A&M-Kingsville
Pitcher
F-8 Emily Otto, Texas A&M-Commerce
F-15 Taylor Franco, Lubbock Christian
SELECTED NOTABLE PERFORMANCES
Paige Tamayo, Texas Woman's, helped lead TWU to a combined 25 runs in their sweep of Dallas Christian on Saturday. In two games, she combined for six hits and six RBIs, including one home run.
Genisa Marrero-Carter, St. Edward's, hit .722 for the week and was a double short of hitting for the cycle against East Central. She went 2-for-3 with a stolen base in the loss to #18 Angelo State as the Hilltoppers started the year 4-1.
Amanda Marek, UT Tyler, went 5-for-8 for the weekend at the Alvy Early Memorial Classic for #1 UT Tyler, recorded four extra-base hits along the way. The Robinson, Texas native helped the Patriots move to a perfect 9-0 to start off 2022 with a pair of doubles and two homers, finishing the weekend with 8 RBI in the four games. She posted a 1.625 slugging percentage and scored six runs of her own between the four games. Marek went 4-for-5 in the Saturday wins against Drury and Quincy, recording six RBI and four runs off of those four hits. She then turned around and went 2-for-3 in Sunday's wins over Emporia State and Illinois Springfield. Marek hit both of her homers in the Patriot win over Quincy on Saturday and finished that outing with five RBI and two runs scored. For the season Marek has posted a .522 batting average and has 13 RBI.
Savannah Wysocki, Lubbock Christian, was a key figure in a 5-0 record during the week, as she had a .722 on-base percentage and a .615 batting average (8-for-13), leading to Most Valuable Hitter honors at the 11-team Visit Lubbock Collegiate Classic. Eight of her 13 at-bats came with the bases empty, and she was 5-for-8 in those at bats. Had four extra-base hits, which included a pair of triples to place her with 18 career triples, which actively leads all of NCAA Division II in career triples. Went 2-for-2 in two-out at-bats, placing her with two (of her three) RBI coming with two outs. She was a menace once reaching base, going 6-for-6 in stolen bases and scoring nine times. Her top performance on the weekend was a 3-for-3 performance, which included two doubles, a triple and an RBI against a 3-1 Oklahoma Baptist squad.
Sydney Bishop, UT Permian Basin, was a major part of the Falcon offense last week who scored 44 runs over seven games. She was unstoppable with a .611 batting average and recorded a hit in every game on the week as the Falcons went 5-2. In the final two games of the week, she went 5-for-9 at the plate with five RBI, a home run, and a double while also catching. Working with Bishop behind the plate, Falcon pitching allowed just 16 runs on the week, including a pair of shutouts. The junior is currently seventh in the LSC with a .542 batting average.
Breley Webb, Cameron, led the Aggies at the plate during their 3-2 weekend in Edmond this past weekend. The Yukon, Okla. native hit .571 with half of her hits going for extra bases. Webb tallied a pair of hits in all four of CU’s wins and is now third in the LSC in total hits this season. She also scored a pair of runs and drove in three for the Aggies.
Abigale Carney, St. Mary's, led team to a perfect 5-0 record at the Javelina Invitational in Portland, Texas, hitting .538 with an .846 slugging percentage. She tied for the team lead with four RBI and led the team with seven hits and six runs scored. She was also a perfect 4-for-4 in stolen bases with a double and a home run as the team stretched it's winning streak to seven straight.
Ruby Salzman, West Texas A&M, led a Lady Buff offense that hit .370 and went 5-0 at the Visit Lubbock Collegiate Classic. The junior hit .529 with nine hits including three home runs. Against UCCS, Salzman sent out her 40th career home run becoming just the sixth player in program history to reach the milestone. She collected a 1.235 slugging percentage with three home runs, two doubles and a .556 on-base-percentage. In the field, she recorded a 1.000 fielding-percentage with six putouts.
Kristin Maldonado, Texas A&M International, was a spark for the Dustdevils batting in the second spot of the lineup for three of the five games of the TAMUK Tournament and batted seventh the other two games. She hit a team best .500 over the tournament with seven singles and a triple to the total with a .625 slugging%. She scored one run and drove in a run, and was a perfect 2-for-2 in stolen base attempts. So far through 11 games, the freshman is 2nd on the team in batting average at .346 and is third in slugging% (.423) and on base percentage (.346).
Lindsey Evans, Angelo State, continues to be an important piece in the Rambelles' lineup in the young season as they opened their home schedule this past weekend with the George and Ola McCorkle Challenge. Against East Central, she hit an RBI triple to start the scoring in the first inning; in her second at-bat of the inning, she notched an RBI single as the Rambelles scored eight runs in the first inning against the Tigers. Against Bethany College on Saturday, she hit a three-run home run as a part of a 10-run inning for the Rambelles. In their fourth game of the weekend against East Central, she hit two home runs and drove in three runs as the Rambelles came back from a 3-0 deficit to beat the Tigers 4-3. She closed her weekend by drawing two walks and scoring a run in their 8-0 win over St. Edward's.
Marina Garcia, Western New Mexico, played an exceptionally well for the Mustangs in a three-game home series versus CSU-Pueblo. She tallied six hits in three games with a .500 batting average along with five runs and five RBI. Garcia blasted her first home run of the season, bringing in two runs. Garcia is now tied on the team with 12 hits, hitting .414 on the year, has yet to strike out, and is a fierce leader in center field.
Ashley Turner, Midwestern State, hit .500 with three doubles and a home run while driving in seven runs to lead Midwestern State last weekend at the Edmond Regional Softball Festival. The junior from Cache, Okla. collected a hit in each of MSU's five games to extend her hitting streak to seven games dating back to last season.
Aaliyah Brown, Oklahoma Christian, hit .467 with 10 RBIs as No. 15-ranked Oklahoma Christian went 4-1 on the week. She drove in all three runs in OC's 3-1 win over Southeastern Oklahoma State on Monday in Conroe, Texas, with her two-run home run proving to be the difference. She drove in two runs in a 9-1 win over Fort Hays State (Kan.) on Friday and five runs – on a three-run double and two-run homer – in a 12-4 win over Missouri Southern on Sunday.
Ayanna Williams, Texas A&M-Commerce, had a hit in four of the five games this past weekend and totaled two home runs and six RBIs as well. She had two multi-hit games, while batting .462 on the weekend. She hit two three-run home runs on Sunday against Davis & Elkins. She is eighth in the LSC this season with 11 RBIs.
Sarah Gartman, UT Tyler, didn't allow an earned run and struck out nine in her 6.0 innings of work to help lead #1 UT Tyler to a perfect 9-0 record to start out 2022. Gartman began her weekend in the Saturday victory over Quincy for UT Tyler, scattering three hits in 4.0 innings of work while fanning five batters before giving way to the Patriot bullpen for the fifth inning. The Kinder, La. native then joined the bullpen effort in her Sunday appearance, shutting down an Emporia State offense in her 2.0 innings of relief work while recording four strikeouts. Gartman hasn't allowed an earned run through 10.0 complete innings in 2022 and has struck out 13 while only allowing seven hits.
Kelsie Briggs, Texas Woman's, Kelsie Briggs allowed no runs in one game against Dallas Christian. She only allowed two hits and struck out three batters in her first win of the season.
Heidi Vortherms, West Texas A&M, continues to be a force on the mound in her first year as she picked up a pair of victories for WT that went 5-0 in week two. The Sioux Falls, S.D. product allowed just two hits in 13.1 innings with 19 strikeouts, limiting opponents to a .048 batting average. Against Fort Lewis, Vortherms posted her second game with double-digit strikeouts as she struck out 10 batters in 6.1 innings to earn the victory.
Saidi Castilo, Texas A&M-Kingsville, had a pair of complete-game, three hit shutouts as she picked up wins over Ouachita Baptist and Henderson State. Against the Tigers on Friday, Castillo allowed only three singles and handed out only two walks while striking out six in a 7-0 triumph. She followed that up by allowing only three hits to the Reddies as well and striking out 11, her highest total in nearly three years, without issuing a walk. Castillo's totals for the week included 14 scoreless innings, 17 strikeouts against only two walks and she held her opponents to a .133 batting average.
Torrey Hogan, Angelo State, has been the Rambelles' most consistent starter in the circle this season, improving to an LSC-best 6-0 on the season after picking up a trio of wins at the George and Ola McCorkle Challenge. In an 18-2 run-rule victory over East Central, Hogan only allowed three hits in 3.2 innings of work, striking out five Tigers. In a 20-0 run-rule victory over Bethany College, she only allowed two hits and three walks in four innings, striking out six. To close the weekend against St. Edward's, the Lubbock native pitched her first-career complete-game shutout, not allowing a walk and only allowing two hits while striking out six Hilltoppers over six innings.
Savannah Youngblood, St. Mary's, was 2-0 at the Javelina Invitational, helping St. Mary's to a perfect 5-0 record on the week. She had a complete game 5.0 inning shutout over Ouachita Baptist, giving up just two hits and striking out two in the 9-0 win. She also pitched four innings in the 3-1 win over Henderson State, striking out three and allowing only four hits. She didn't walk a single batter and was efficient, throwing only 104 pitches through the nine frames.
Destini Trahan, UT Permian Basin, was nearly untouchable last week for the Falcons fanning 25 over 28.1 innings. The junior allowed just one earned run over 21.0 innings to lower her season ERA to 1.59. She opened the week with a one-hitter against the University of the Southwest for her first win of the season. She followed that by throwing 8.0 innings and allowed no earned runs while striking out nine against the University of Sciences and Art. Her 19.2 innings without an earned run streak was snapped in the final game of the weekend, where she threw a complete game and struck out seven for the win.
Darrian Smith, Texas A&M International, was fantastic in the circle for the Dustdevils during the Texas A&M-Kingsville Tournament, leading TAMIU to all three wins in the 3-2 weekend. In her first start of the tournament, a 2-0 victory over Ouachita Baptist, Smith threw a complete game, two-hit shutout and struck out nine with no walks. Her second appearance came in relief, and she picked up the victory throwing three more shutout innings, allowing just two hits, no walks and fanned six of the nine outs recorded. In her third appearance and second start of the tournament against Hillsdale, Smith threw another complete game, allowing just one run, two hits, three walks and struck out eight more. Her weekend total in the circle equaled to 3-0, 0.41 ERA, 17 IP, 1 R, 7 H, 3 BB and 23 K with an opponent BA of .118. She didn't allow a run over the first 11.2 innings of work in the tournament.
Emily Otto, Texas A&M-Commerce, started three games this past week and allowed just two runs in 13 innings of work. She struck out program-record 13 batters on Sunday against Davis & Elkins, allowing just two hits in a complete game shutout. She is tied for the LSC with two shutouts, is second with 43 stirkeouts, and pitching to an ERA of 1.60.
Brook Leger, Eastern New Mexico, had a major impact on the team during a 4-1 weekend. Leger pitched in every game the Hounds won and threw three complete games, with a 3-0 record. First, Leger threw a one-hitter against Fort Lewis with 18 strikeouts in the Hound 7-0 win. The 18 K's marked a career-high and is second all-time in ENMU history. Leger followed up with another complete game shutout against Chadron State (9-0, 5 Inn.), along with a win over UC-Colorado Springs (8-5). Leger currently leads the conference in strikeouts with 66 and complete games with five. Leger is second in the conference for wins with a record of 5-0.
Kali Crandall, Oklahoma Christian, pitched Eagles to wins over Fort Hays State (9-1) and Missouri Southern (12-4) in the Edmond Regional Festival. Against Fort Hays State, she struck out four batters and allowed only two hits in 4 1/3 innings, and in the win over Missouri Southern, she surrendered only two earned runs and three hits in five innings.