COMMERCE – The No. 13 ranked Texas A&M University-Commerce softball team is in first place with 12 games left in the regular season. The Lions head back out on the road this weekend to face St. Edward's on Friday and St. Mary's on Sunday, who is tied for second place.
LIONS' WEEKEND SCHEDULE
NATIONAL AND CONFERENCE RECOGNITION
For the second time this season,
Alyssa LeBlanc (Katy) was selected as the Lone Star Conference Pitcher of the Week on March 21 after 18.2 shutout innings with 32 strikeouts. She was also named the conference's top pitcher on February 22 and selected as the NFCA Pitcher of the Week that day as well.
Emily Otto (Lamar Consolidated) has also earned an LSC Pitcher of the Year award this season.
Sabrina Anguiano (Riverside, Calif.) was named the Louisville Slugger/NFCA Player of the Week as well as the Lone Star Conference Hitter of the Week on March 15. She batted .909 with three home runs and seven RBIs in four games against Western New Mexico and UT Permian Basin.
LSC PLAYERS OF THE WEEK
NFCA NATIONAL PLAYERS OF THE WEEK
NATIONAL RANKINGS
After a 2-2 week last week, the Lions fell four spots to be ranked No. 13 in the National Fastpitch Coaches Association (NFCA) rankings this week. The Lions have seven wins over ranked teams this season.
A LOOK AT THE LIONS
The two losses to the Javelinas ended a stretch for the Lions in which they had won 10 of their previous 12. The Lions are 31-9 on the season and 16-4 in conference play, tied for first place with Lubbock Christian, Oklahoma Christian, and UT Tyler. A&M-Commerce won both games over Lubbock Christian and ends the regular season with a pair of doubleheaders against Oklahoma Christian and UT Tyler, respectively.
The Lions are 10
th in the country with 48 home runs, third with 114 stolen bases, and 13
th with 69 doubles. As a team, the Lion hitters are slugging .547 percent, which is 17
th in the country. The Lion pitching staff is pitching to an earned run average of 2.73 and is fourth in the country with 296 strikeouts.
LeBlanc has team-leading nine home runs, followed by eight from
Uxua Modrego (Burlada, Spain), as well as seven each from Anguiano and
Ayanna Williams (Round Rock – Cedar Ridge), who leads the team with 39 RBIs. Seven hitters for the Lions have at least 20 RBIs. Anguiano is team's leader with .426 batting average,
MacKenzie Dugi (St. Hedwig – East Central) is batting .375.
Leo Terry (Emory – Rains) has 22 stolen bases, while
Samantha Dutton (Tulsa, Okla.) had 17 and both Williams and
Alina Jasso (San Benito) have 13 each.
Otto had 125 strikeouts this season, which 25
th in the country. She is 14-3 on the season with an ERA of 2.19 and has tossed 12 complete games as well as three complete shutouts. LeBlanc is 27
th in the country with 122 punch outs, she has an ERA of 2.52 with a record of 11-4.
WHAT'S AHEAD
After the four games this weekend, the Lions are off for 10 days due to Easter and return home to host Henderson State on April 20.
SCOUTING THE HILLTOPPERS
The Hilltoppers are 17-17 on the season and 8-12 in conference play, winning five of their last seven. St. Edward's is batting .305 as a team with 16 home runs.
Genisa Marrero-Carter is batting .393 on the season, while Valerie Brant has 21 RBIs on a batting average of .305. Alexis Massie and Brant have three home runs each, behind Kathryn Connelly, who has team-leading four.
St. Edward's has used three starters in the circle this season. Renna Toomey has an ERA of 2.82 in 16 appearances, McKenna Leamon is 9-7 with 105 strikeouts, and Cadie Belle Currie has started 11 games, retiring 58 hitters via a punch out.
The Lions and the Hilltoppers met for the first time in 2015, which was the Lions' first game in the inaugural season of the program. In the 17 meetings all-time, the Lions are 16-1, including 4-0 in Austin.
SCOUTING THE RATTLERS
St. Mary's has won seven of its last eight and is 31-8 on the season. The Rattlers have appeared in the NFCA top 25 multiple times this season and currently sit in a tie for second place with a conference record of 15-5. The next 10 games for the Rattlers come against teams that are currently nationally ranked.
The Rattlers have hit 25 home runs this season. Jayme Johns is batting .454, which is second in the LSC among hitters with at least 50 at-bats, and had 29 RBIs. Abigale Carney has 10 home runs and 31 RBIs. Bari Christian has an on-base percentage of .421 with 21 stolen bases.
Catalina Cavazos is pitching to an ERA of 1.66 with a record of 16-1. She is second in the LSC in wins and her ERA is fourth. Savannah Youngblood is 9-3 on the season and struck out 30 batters in 68.2 innings. Jadyn Abrego is 6-4 in 17 starts with 44 strikeouts.
The Lions and the Rattlers are 6-6 against each other, with the Lions winning two of the three meetings in San Antonio. The Rattlers are 4-2 in Commerce.
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