UT Tyler tops the Lone Star Conference standings with two league games remaining. The Patriots have clinched a share of the LSC title.
Nine of the 10 teams have been determined for the single-elimination LSC Championship with most of the seeding to be determined. UTT, Texas A&M-Commerce, Lubbock Christian, Texas A&M-Kingsville, Angelo State, Oklahoma Christian, St. Mary's, West Texas A&M, and Cameron have claimed spots.
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
Madison Schaefer, Texas A&M-Commerce, JR, Finance, Third Base, Frisco, Texas
Schaefer hit at least home run in each series this past weekend and batted .556 in six wins for the Lions. She had the game-winning home run against Oklahoma Christian in game one on Tuesday, while recording multiple hits in four of the six games. She went 4 for 5 with four RBIs against Oklahoma Christian, recorded four hits against Cameron, and had a home run against Henderson State as well. For the week, she had 10 hits, six RBI, and scored five runs.
PITCHER
Alyssa LeBlanc, Texas A&M-Commerce, SO, Sport & Recreation Management, Pitcher/DP, Katy, Texas
LeBlanc pitched in four of the six games this past week, collecting three wins and a save, while allowing just one earned run and striking out 24. She tossed a seven-inning no hitter in 1-0 win over Henderson State on Wednesday, picked up a complete game shutout win over Cameron on Friday, pitched in relief to get the save in game one against No. 15 Oklahoma Christian on Tuesday, and allowed just one run in complete game win over the Eagles in game two. She also hit the game-winning three-run home run against the Eagles in game two and is second in the conference with 156 strikeouts. For the week, LeBlanc allowed six hits in 19.2 innings and held opponents to a .098 batting average.
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)
A-18 Tristyn Hamilton, Oklahoma Christian
A-27 Madison Schaefer, Texas A&M-Commerce
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
A-18 Lizette del Angel, Texas A&M-Kingsville
A-27 Alyssa LeBlanc, Texas A&M-Commerce (3)
SELECTED NOTABLE PERFORMANCES
Keilei Garcia, Angelo State, led the Rambelle offense as they picked up four wins at home this past weekend against St. Edward's and St. Mary's. In the doubleheader against the Hilltoppers, she went 4-for-4 with a home run, driving in eight runs and scoring seven times. She went 3-for-6 against the Rattlers, sparking the comeback in game two with a solo home run in the fifth inning.
Shannon Klaus, UT Tyler, hit .700 and had at least one hit in all four Patriot wins over #15 Oklahoma Christian and Cameron this weekend. The Red Rock, Texas native went 7-for-10 between the four games with four RBI and a pair of doubles. Klaus had multi-hit efforts in game two against Oklahoma Christian and game one against Cameron, going 2-for-3 against the Eagles and a perfect 3-for-3 against the Aggies. She was particularly vital to the Patriot success in game two against Cameron, driving in one of two runs with two outs on the board for UT Tyler with two outs on the board in the 2-1 victory in game two. Klaus went 4-for-5 in those two games against Cameron, hitting a double in each game.
Nya Brown, Texas Woman's, helped lead the Pioneers to a win over Texas A&M International and she recorded a triple and a run against Texas A&M - Kingsville. She was also 3-4 in stolen bases and started all four games.
Aaliyah Ortiz, Texas A&M-Kingsville, swung a red-hot bat last week to help the Javelinas score back-to-back sweeps over Midwestern State and Texas Woman's. In the second game of Friday's doubleheader against the Mustangs, Ortiz belted a pair of homers and drove in five runs as TAMUK cruised to a 12-5 win. One day later, Ortiz started the Javs' doubleheader against TWU by collecting three hits including another long ball and two more RBIs in a 16-3 triumph and the Javelina third baseman would homer again in game two while going 2-for-3 with another pair of RBIs. Ortiz's numbers for the week included a .571 average and a 1.429 slugging percentage to go with four home runs and nine RBIs.
Brooke Makemson, Lubbock Christian, helped LCU to a 3-1 week, hitting .545 on the weekend and producing a .571 on-base percentage. She had a pair of multi-hit performances, including a 3-for-4 performance against St. Mary's in an 8-4 victory. Sunday, LCU and St. Edward's were scoreless entering the bottom of the fourth inning, until Makemson hit a two-out solo home run on a full-count pitch for LCU's first hit of the game. LCU would win the game 2-0, as they were held to two hits for their fewest hit total in a win in program history. Makemson was also vital on the base paths, as she swiped three bases (entered the week with three on the season). She was 3-for-5 in at-bats with runners in scoring position and 3-for-3 in two-out at-bats during the week.
Ashley Turner, Midwestern State, went 7-for-14 with two homers and six RBIs to lead Midwestern State in Lone Star Conference doubleheaders against Texas A&M-Kingsville and Texas A&M International. The senior from Cache, Okla. delivered her fifth three-hit game of the season going 3-for-5 with a homer and four RBIs in a 10-7 win over Texas A&M International in Game 1 on Saturday, then added her 14th multiple-hit game of the season in the nightcap going 2-for-3 with two RBIs powered by her ninth homer of the season. Turner also had a hit in each game of Friday's twin bill against No. 5 Texas A&M-Kingsville.
Aracely Araiza, UT Permian Basin, had a monster weekend as the Falcons went 4-0 and kept their playoff hopes alive. The junior drove was a part of more scoring than the opposition. She drove in 6 while scoring 3 times as the Falcons allowed just 8 runs over the weekend. On Friday, she came up clutch in the Falcons comeback win over No. 22 West Texas A&M. She ripped a game-tying triple in the seventh inning before coming into score the winning run. Then on Sunday she broke a tied game in the fifth of game 1 with a 2-run double before driving in 3 more in the second game of the day.
Lizette del Angel, Texas A&M-Kingsville, put together a pair of excellent outings to lead the Javelinas to wins over Midwestern State and Texas Woman's. Against MSU on Friday, Del Angel permitted only one unearned run on four hits over five innings and didn't walk a batter to pick up her eighth win. One day later she was back in the circle against the Pioneers and she fired another complete game. In seven innings, Del Angel gave up only one run on five hits and picked up six strikeouts in an 8-1 Javelina victory. Across 12 innings, Del Angel crafted a 0.58 ERA with a 2-0 record and walked just one batter against seven strikeouts.
Becky Berth, UT Permian Basin, was brilliant in the circle as the Falcons went undefeated over the weekend. The senior allowed just 1 one and 3 hits against No. 22 West Texas A&M to upset the Lady Buffs. Then on Sunday, she allowed just 1 run on 4 hits in a sweep of Eastern New Mexico. Against WT, Berth only allowed multiple base runners in the first inning and against ENM only in the third.
Maxine Valdez, Lubbock Christian, went 2-0 braving the windy elements on the week in the circle for Lubbock Christian. She went 4.2 innings in the first start of the week (8-4 win over St. Mary's) before turning it over to Taylor Franco for the save. She followed with a 75-pitch 7.0-inning complete game shutout Sunday over St. Edward's to garner her second complete game shutout of the season. Against SEU, she allowed hits to the first two batters faced (infield singles) and then held the Hilltoppers to three hits the rest of the game (went a sequence surrendering one hit over a 17-batter stretch, with all hits allowed in the game resulting in singles. overall on the week, she held the opposition to a .067 batting average with runners on base (1-for-15).
Tatum Goff, UT Tyler, won both her starts in the Patriot sweeps over #15 Oklahoma Christian and Cameron, striking out 12 batters along the way in her 11.1 innings pitched. Goff started her weekend with a complete game effort against Oklahoma Christian, striking out eight Eagles in her 7.0 innings of work. Goff didn't allow a single earned run in outing and scattered just three hits. The Rusk, Texas native then turned around on Sunday and went 4.1 innings for her second win of the weekend, allowing just two earned runs against Cameron. Goff finished her two outings with a 1.59 ERA and allowed just eight hits in 11.1 innings of work.