Oklahoma Christian and UT Tyler lead the Lone Star Conference standings with 20-4 league records after six weeks of play. Teams now have a week off from LSC games for Easter.
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.
The single-elimination LSC Championship featuring the top 10 teams will be played May 5-6-7, 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 the NCAA postseason.
In the NCAA Division II South Central Region, LSC teams are 37-18 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
Gabriella Valforte, West Texas A&M, SO, Marketing, INF, Keller, Texas, Fossil Ridge HS
Valforte went 7-for-10 in week 10 to lead the Lady Buffs to four victories with sweeps over Midwestern State and Texas Woman's. The sophomore from Keller, Texas had a game-changing hit in the MSU series finale when she hit a two-run homer into left field to level the score at three-all as WT went on to rally in the seventh and win 7-6 against the Mustangs. She finished the weekend hitting .700 with six runs, two home runs, seven RBI and three walks with no strikeouts or errors in the field.
PITCHER
Kaylee Davis, UT Tyler, FR, Criminal Justice, RHP, Venus, Texas, Venus HS
Davis tossed the first no-hitter of the season for No. 1 UT Tyler on Sunday afternoon in game two against St. Edward's, and was just a fielding error away from a perfect game. Davis finished the weekend by allowing just two hits in her 11.0 innings pitched. The Venus, Texas native shutdown St. Mary's on Friday night as well, allowing just two hits in her 4.0 innings pitched while conceding just the lone earned run of her weekend. Davis then retired 21 of the 22 batters she faced on Sunday, allowing just a single base runner to advance via an error in her 7.0 complete innings of work. She used just two strikeouts to accomplish the feat, as she forced 12 flyouts and seven groundouts. Davis is now a perfect 7-0 on the year and has posted a 1.47 ERA in her 52.1 innings pitched.
WEEKLY AWARDS
Hitter
F-8 Paxton Scheurer, Angelo State
F-15 Loren Kelly, Texas A&M-Kingsville
F-22 Tyla Lee, Lubbock Christian
M-1 Kasey Flores, Lubbock Christian
M-8 Tyla Lee, Lubbock Christian (2)
M-15 Sabrina Anguiano, Texas A&M-Commerce
M-21 Gabriella Valforte, West Texas A&M
M-28 Ashlyn Lerma, Angelo State
A-4 Jennifer Giesey, Texas A&M-Kingsville
A-12 Gabriella Valforte, West Texas A&M (2)
Pitcher
F-8 Emily Otto, Texas A&M-Commerce
F-15 Taylor Franco, Lubbock Christian
F-22 Alyssa LeBlanc, Texas A&M-Commerce
M-1 Catalina Cavazos, St. Mary's
M-8 Beth Montes, Texas A&M-Kingsville
M-15 Genesis Armendariz, Angelo State
M-21 Alyssa LeBlanc, Texas A&M-Commerce (2)
M-28 Taylor Franco, Lubbock Christian (2)
A-4 Saidi Castilo, Texas A&M-Kingsville
A-12 Kaylee Davis, UT Tyler
SELECTED NOTABLE PERFORMANCES
Kylie Janzen, Oklahoma Christian, delivered clutch hits to secure wins in two games and had a near-perfect batting average as No. 20-ranked Oklahoma Christian swept home doubleheaders from UT Permian Basin (9-0 and 2-1 on Friday) and Western New Mexico (3-1 and 13-0 on Sunday), extending its winning streak to a school-record 18 games and moving into a tie for first place in the LSC. She went 6-for-7 with an .857 batting average, to go with a double, a triple, a home run, nine RBIs, three walks, three runs scored and two sacrifice flies. Janzen posted an on-base percentage of .750 and a slugging percentage of 1.857. Locked in a 1-1 game with UTPB on Friday, Janzen delivered a ground-rule double to score pinch-runner Tristyn Hamilton with what proved to be the decisive run. That came after she hit two run-scoring singles in the opener. On Sunday against WNMU, the Eagles again found themselves tied 1-1 in the sixth inning when Janzen smacked a two-out home run to straightaway center field, providing the margin of victory against the Mustangs. OC won the second game comfortably, with Janzen driving in three runs with two sacrifice flies and a RBI double during a seven-run fourth-inning outburst.
Mikey Dominguez, Midwestern State, hit .636 with a double, a triple and a home run in doubleheaders at West Texas A&M and Eastern New Mexico. The freshman from Rockport went 7-for-11 collecting two hits in three of the four games. Dominguez launched her sixth home run -- a three-run shot -- to highlight a four-run first inning to help the Mustangs to an 11-1 run-rule win in five innings in the finale Sunday at ENMU.
Azalea Martinez, Eastern New Mexico, powered the Hounds to three wins over the weekend with a .571 batting average and a 1.000 slugging percentage. In the Hound's sweep of Texas Woman's Martinez accounted for six hits over the two games, going 4-4 with two doubles in game one. In game two against the Pioneers, the sophomore registered a triple and a single. On Sunday, Martinez delivered a 2-run home run during the Hound's 8-7 win over the Mustangs, along with a single in game two. Martinez improved their batting average from .271 before the weekend to .313.
Kaiden Boren, Cameron, slugged almost 1.700 with four home runs and 16 RBI to help the Aggies go 4-0 during their homestand this weekend and tied a Division II record in the process. The freshman catcher opened the weekend with grand slams in back-to-back innings, tying the DII record for grand slams in a single game, in game one against Western New Mexico. Two days later, Boren clubbed two homers again in the first game against UT Permian Basin and added a bases-clearing triple that gave her another 8-RBI performance. She then added a double in game two to give her six extra-base hits out of seven hits on the weekend.
Ashlyn Lerma, Angelo State, led the Rambelles to a 4-1 record this weekend on the road. She recorded eight hits in 17 at-bats, also drawing three walks. She scored three runs and drove in two more, stealing three bases. Defensively, she was perfect in 26 attempts.
Ashley Perez, UT Tyler, had a hit in all four No. 1 UT Tyler wins this weekend and finished the week with a .429 average at the plate. Perez also matched the UT Tyler softball career record with the 40th homer of her Patriot career on Friday night against St. Mary's. The Pflugerville, Texas native went 6-for-14 for the weekend and totaled four RBI, all four of which came on Friday against the Rattlers, to pace the UT Tyler offense. Perez went 2-for-4 in game one and 2-for-3 in game two against St. Mary's, notching a pair of RBI in each contest.
Kasey Flores, Lubbock Christian, had some clutch hits in leading LCU to a trio of wins on the week, which included a road win at No. 7 Texas A&M-Kingsville. In the win, she hit a two-out double to provide LCU a 1-0 lead in the first inning of the 4-3 result. She followed Sunday with a combined 3-for-5 performance in the doubleheader sweep at TAMIU (LCU's first-ever sweep at TAMIU), with eight RBI produced and a combined three home runs hit. The Lady Chaps won the opener 2-0, with Flores hitting a two-run home run in the sixth inning. In the second game (her first at-bat following the two-run home run from the prior game), Flores opened the scoring with a three-run home run and followed with a solo home run in the third inning (three home runs in three consecutive at-bats). The trio of homers places her with 15 home runs on the season and six have come with two outs and seven have come when LCU has either trailed or were tied at the time of the home run. On the week, Flores was 3-for-6 with runners on base.
Grace Anderson, Oklahoma Christian, pitched Oklahoma Christian's first no-hitter in more than three years and it was a perfect game, as the freshman right-hander retired all 15 Western New Mexico batters in the Eagles' 13-0 win on Sunday that extended the Eagles' winning streak to a school-record 18 games and kept them atop the LSC standings. She also started and allowed only two hits and one run in a 2-1 win over UT Permian Basin on Friday. She lowered her season ERA to 2.17 with the two performances.
Maxine Valdez, Lubbock Christian, was 2-0 on the week, guiding LCU to road wins at No. 7 Texas A&M-Kingsville and Texas A&M International to help break the program's single-season total for road wins (16). At TAMUK, LCU trailed 3-1 and rallied, as Valdez, pitching her third complete game of the season, went the final 3.2 innings (12 batters faced) without allowing a hit. She followed with a combined one-hit shutout Sunday at TAMIU, pitching 4.1 innings of the five-inning 13-0 win and not allowing a hit to the final 16 batters faced in the appearance. Valdez struck out seven batters in the game and completed the week with 12 strikeouts.
Torrey Hogan, Angelo State, picked up a pair of wins in the circle this past weekend. Against Texas A&M International, she allowed five hits and one earned run in a complete-game victory. Against No. 7 Texas A&M-Kingsville, she only allowed two hits through the first six innings, finishing with one run and four hits allowed.
Heidi Vortherms, West Texas A&M, led the Lady Buffs on the mound to a pair of victories in week 10 while WT finished the weekend 4-0. The freshman recorded her first collegiate and the program's fourth perfect game on Sunday afternoon with a 4-0 shutout over Texas Woman's to go along with six strikeouts, including three in a single inning. On the weekend, she limited opponents to hit .204 with 10 hits, seven runs (four earned), one walk, 15 strikeouts through 15.0 innings. She currently ranks fourth in the LSC with 126 total strikeouts on the season, averaging 1.2 an inning.
Catalina Cavazos, St. Mary's, bouncing back after the loss to No. 1 UT Tyler in which Cavazos earned a no decision, the hurler buckled down and got a complete game shutout against No. 13 Texas A&M Commerce. She gave up a leadoff double to the Lions and retired the next 15 she faced, striking out at least the leadoff batter in each of the next four innings for a total of six strikeouts against no walks as the Rattlers run-ruled the Lions, 9-0 in five innings.
Jennifer Gress, Eastern New Mexico, picked up her first two collegiate wins in the circle during a 3-1 weekend for the Greyhounds. In a 4-3 win over Texas Woman's, she tossed two shutout innings in relief without allowing a hit and two strikeouts to claim the win. Gress then delivered 4.1 strong innings against Midwestern State in the 8-7 victory, picking up the win with two strikeouts. In the second game against the Mustangs, she went 1.2 innings with two runs allowed.