COMMERCE— The No. 9 Texas A&M University-Commerce softball team prepares for its second week of action as they travel to San Antonio for five games this weekend.
 
OPPONENTS: New Mexico Highlands, St. Mary's, Drury, Regis, Colorado School of Mines
WHERE: St. Mary's Softball Complex in San Antonio, Texas
WHEN: Friday-Sunday
LIVE STATS: Click HERE
 
The Lions are coming of a 5-1 opening weekend. The Lions defeated St. Mary's, Arkansas Tech, Washburn, Central Oklahoma and Colorado Mines. Head Coach Richie Bruister liked the way his team played in the first week of the season.
 
"We kind of had a slow start going against St. Mary's," he said. "Then Bri Sims had a big hit for us to put us ahead in that seventh inning. Then [Emily] Otto picked up where she left off last year, pitching great. It was wonderful to see us stay composed and defense in a tight ball game. Then we got the bats rolling and scored some big runs. Unfortunately, we didn't finish the way we wanted to but it was a good weekend."

For her play, Bri Sims was named the LSC Hitter of the Week. She had two game-winning hits and is currently leading the LSC in home runs and RBIs. Bruister liked what he saw from his senior first baseman in the first week.
 
"I'm very proud of the way she played," he said. "Bri had some big-time hits for us in several games. She had a really good fall and she came back ready to go. That showed in this first weekend. It was a good thing she did because she had some clutch plays for us against some really good teams. I'm really proud of the way she led us offensively."

Another standout performer on offense was Kimber Neal. Neal hit .533 last week and had a near .700 on-base percentage. After struggling with an injury to end last season, Bruister was happy to see her hard work pay off as she returned to the field.
 
"Kimber had an injury that she was coming off of last season," he said. "She rehabbed all fall. But she was determined that she was going to be in the starting lineup that first game and she was. We started her in the nine-hole but we had to move her up to the top of the lineup. She was playing great. She had some clutch hits. She looked good out there and had a lot of confidence. We had to get her as many at bats as we could and she continued to perform."

Bruister also liked what he saw from sophomore pitcher Emily Otto. Otto pitch 20 innings and was credited for three wins with 17 strikeouts against just one walk.
 
"When she is out there, she is fantastic," Bruister said. "She has ice water running in her veins. She is great out there. It is very exciting when she is on the mound. She is going to give your team a chance to win. She is going to keep you in the ball game. With our offense and the way our defense has been playing behind her, we have a chance to win every game when she's out there."

The Lions also had several players make their Lion debut. Kynslee Noriega started at catcher in all six games while Madison Schaefer also made starts in right field. Bruister liked their play, as well as the relief pitching outing of Alexis Velasquez. After a promising start, Bruister is looking forward to seeing their development.
 
"Good teams don't rebuild, they reload," Bruister said. "Saying that, you have to have confidence in your new players. Kynslee was fantastic behind the plate. She caught all six games for us. She was throwing out base runners, blocking, she just did wonderful behind the plate. Velasquez did great. She came in against Mines and threw 5.2 shutout innings and looked awesome. That was her first performance as a collegiate pitcher and she looked like a veteran out there. Very proud of her performance and we certainly needed it. Then Madison Schaefer really just had one practice out there in the outfield. We put her out in right field because she has been swinging the bat really well in practice and she needed an opportunity somewhere in the lineup. She went out there and was fantastic defensively. She also had a big home run for us. I'm very proud of those three players in how they played for us this first weekend."

Now the Lions return to the field for their second tournament. With just one week before the Lions open up their conference season, Bruister is looking for the team to continue to improve and clean up their mistakes.
 
"We have things that we still need to work on," he said. "That last game showed us some stuff that we will get to in practice and work on. You have to continue to get better. You can't be satisfied with 5-1, even though it was a good weekend. You have to continue to get better. We have to hit the ball better, we can pitch better, we can play defense better. In all facets of the game, we can get better. That is what we are looking for this weekend."