COMMERCE— The No. 9 Texas A&M University-Commerce softball team will play five games this week. The Lions will host Texas A&M-International on Wednesday in a doubleheader before facing UT Permian Basin on the road beginning Friday.
 
Texas A&M-International
WHO: No. 9 Texas A&M-Commerce (12-1, 3-0 LSC) vs. Texas A&M-International (5-8, 0-0 HC)
WHERE: John Cain Family Softball Field in Commerce, Texas
WHEN: Wednesday, Feb. 20 at 2 & 4 p.m.
LIVE STATS: Click HERE
LIVE WEBCAST: lionathletics.com/live
 
UT Permian Basin
WHO: No. 9 Texas A&M-Commerce at UT Permian Basin (2-9, 0-0 LSC)
WHERE: UTPB Softball Field in Odessa, Texas
WHEN: Friday, Feb. 22 at 4 & 6 p.m., Saturday, Feb. 23 at 1 p.m.
LIVE STATS: Click HERE
 
The Lions are coming off of five wins at home last week. The Lions defeated nationally-ranked Arkansas Tech twice and then shut out MSU Texas, winning three shutouts to begin their conference season. Head coach Richie Bruister was excited to see his team outscore opponents by 36 runs during the week.
 
"I'm really excited with how we did," he said. "Coach May does a great job with our hitters. Then you follow that up with Coach McNutt with the pitchers and our defense. It was a well-rounded performance. We outscored our opponents 38-2. When you do that, good things are going to happen for you that week."
 
The Lions also received five complete game performances from their pitching staff. Katie Dean delivered two complete games, including a shutout against MSU. Then Emily Otto had a one-run complete outing against Arkansas Tech followed by a seven-inning shutout and a five-inning no-hitter against MSU Texas, which earned her LSC Pitcher of the Week honors. Bruister loved what he saw in the circle from both players.
 
"It was very exciting to see their confidence and what they are doing in the circle," he said. "Both Dean and Otto did a great job out there. Then the defense was fabulous behind them. They made all the routine plays and some of those great plays. It is fun to watch. They are making double plays. If you are a fan, it is fun to see those plays made. If you are a pitcher, you have to feel great that you have a great defense behind you."
 
With the final win on Saturday, Bruister was able to reach win No. 500 in his coaching career. Bruister gave all the credit to his former and current players.
 
"I thank the good Lord for blessing me with everything I've been able to achieve in my short career," he said. "It is exciting to see the way our team won. It is about those kids out there working hard. It is not about my accolades. It is a testament to everybody- our administration, our university. That's why we are able to win the games we do. It is a community effort and a university effort. When you have all those things going like we do, it gives you a chance to be very successful. We are taking advantage of that."


The Lions now return to the diamond, starting Wednesday against A&M-International in Commerce. While Bruister is pleased with his team so far, he knows the team still has a long way to go to get to where they want to finish.
 
"You can't be satisfied," he said. "We still have a lot of things to work on. That's what our kids are doing every day in practice. They are trying to get better and work on the things we need to work on. That's what we will continue to do through Wednesday and then we will head off on the road for another Lone Star Conference matchup."