COMMERCE— The Texas A&M University-Commerce softball team will host Texas A&M-International University on Tuesday in a doubleheader. The Lions are looking to add to their win streak, which sits at eight games.
 
WHO: Texas A&M-Commerce (20-8, 8-4 LSC) vs. Texas A&M-Int'l (7-16, 2-1 HC)
WHERE: John Cain Family Softball Complex in Commerce, Texas
WHEN: Tuesday, March 21 at 11 a.m. and 1 p.m.
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The Lions are coming off of two series sweeps last week. A&M-Commerce defeated St. Edward's in a doubleheader on the road to complete the four-game season sweep of the Hilltoppers. The Lions then traveled to Odessa and swept UT Permian Basin in three games. Head coach Richie Bruister was proud of his team and is excited about the momentum they have right now, riding an eight-game winning streak.
 
"We had a great spring break," he said. "We decided to go to Austin and Odessa for our spring break destination this year. Things worked out really well for us. We had some things to work on going in and we started off the weekend with Midwestern. We just carried that momentum in. We had a lineup that we are really comfortable with. Our defense played well and we had some outstanding pitching on top of it."
 
One of the Lions' standouts last week was freshman Kinsie Hebler. She had a grand slam against St. Edward's and overall she had two home runs, 11 RBIs and hit .467. She also made school history in the circle, pitching the first no-hitter in program history.
 
"She is just getting better and better," Bruister said. "As freshmen do, they are going to have some great weeks and some weeks where they have to figure things out. She has done a really good job with that. She has had more great weeks than figuring things out weeks. We are very proud of her and we see her just continuing to get better throughout the year."
 
Selena Rima also had a big impact for the Lions in the circle. She won three games and had a save. She won both games against St. Edward's coming out of the bullpen. She then pitched a complete game against UTPB and had eight strikeouts in her two appearances against the Falcons. She had an ERA of 1.29 and held batters to a .230 average.
 
"She was spot on," Bruister said of Rima. "She came into some crucial situations for us and obviously gave us a great start as well. Our game starts with pitching. If our pitching keeps us in the ball game, it gives us a chance to score a bunch of runs and that's what we want. She did a great job of that. And she had some stellar defense behind her the whole time."
 
In addition, the Lions had several hitters who put up impressive numbers. Baylea Higgs hit .632 with 12 hits, 11 runs scored, seven RBIs and nine steals without being caught. She leads the Lone Star Conference with 31 stolen bases and is in the top-10 in the nation. Mariah Jameyson also hit well, driving in nine runs on nine hits and blasting two home runs. The Lions had multiple players hit over .500 over the five-game span.
 
"We are excited," Bruister said. "And we will apologize for people who are hitting .500 who aren't getting mentioned this week, just from the outstanding performances. We hit over .400 as a team for the week. That is a team effort to be able to do that. Baylea led the way with 11 runs scored, a perfect 9-for-9 stolen bases and drove in seven runs in the leadoff spot. She was an absolute force this week for us."
 
The Lions will now host sister school Texas A&M-Int'l for two games on Tuesday. Bruister is expecting a team that will battle, led by a former Air Force airman, head coach Scott Libby.
 
"They are well coached," Bruister said of the Dustdevils. "Coach Libby is an Air Force guy and played fast pitch in the military on some very good teams. He is one of the good guys. I look forward to playing their team. They are a scrappy bunch. They are going to come in here and do everything they can to beat us."
 
The doubleheader is part of Lion Education Day, presented by Alliance Bank. The team has invited students from Commerce ISD to attend the game. This is the first time the team has done this, taking the idea from the men's and women's basketball teams. Bruister is excited for what he knows will be a noisy and energetic crowd.
 
"I'm not sure about the exact number but it is going to be several hundred of our kids in our community coming out to a softball game," he said. "Most of them probably have not seen a game so it is a great opportunity to educate them on our sport and hopefully get them interested in the sport. We've got great interest in the community and this is one of the ways to be able to show them what we have and hopefully interest them in our sport and in going to college for their future. We are looking forward to having them out tomorrow."