COMMERCE – The Texas A&M University-Commerce softball team begins its fourth consecutive trip to the NCAA Tournament on Thursday, by hosting its third straight NCAA South Central Regional. The No. 2 seeded Lions take on the No. 7 seeded St. Mary's Rattlers at 5:30 p.m. at the Cain Family Field.
NCAA South Central Regional 2 Schedule
| Thursday, May 12, 2022 |
| Game |
Time |
Matchup |
Coverage Links |
| Game No. 1 |
3 p.m. |
No. 3 Texas A&M-Kingsville vs. No. 6 Oklahoma Christian |
Live Video | Live Stats |
| Game No. 2 |
5:30 p.m. |
No. 2 A&M-Commerce vs. No. 7 St. Mary's |
Live Video | Live Stats |
| Saturday, May 14, 2022 |
| Game |
Time |
Matchup |
Coverage Links |
| Game No. 6 |
12 p.m. |
Game 3 winner vs. Game 5 winner |
Live Video | Live Stats |
| Game No. 7 (If Necessary) |
2:30 p.m. |
Game 3 winner vs. Game 5 winner |
Live Video | Live Stats |
LSC TOURNAMENT CHAMPIONS
The Lions beat three top 10 teams to win their first ever Lone Star Conference Tournament on Sunday. In a span of 24 hours, the Lions downed No. 7 ranked and No. 5 seeded Angelo State, No. 1 ranked and No. 1 seeded UT Tyler, and No. 2 ranked and No. 2 seeded Texas A&M-Kingsville. Pitcher
Alyssa LeBlanc (Katy) pitched in every game and was named the tournament's Most Valuable Player.
A LOOK AT THE BRACKET
The South Central Regional is split into two halves with each of the top two seeds hosting a regional this weekend. UT Tyler is the No. 1 seed in the South Central Region and hosts the other half of the regional in Tyler. The winners of the two regionals will meet in the Super Regionals next weekend at the site of the highest remaining seed.
NATIONAL RANKINGS
After beating three top 10 teams in the nation, the Lions moved up to No. 14 in the National Fastpitch Coaches Association rankings. The No. 14 ranking is the second highest for the Lions in 2022, who were ranked No. 9 for one week earlier this season.
ALL LONE STAR REGIONAL
The Lone Star Conference earned seven of the eight bids in the South Central Regional. The regional in Commerce features four LSC teams, who have all played each other at least twice this season. The lone team that is not from the LSC in this year's regional is Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference's automatic qualifier Colorado Christian, who is the No. 8 seed in Tyler.
ALL-REGION HONORS
LeBlanc and
Emily Otto (Lamar Consolidated) were named to all-region teams by the NFCA and Division II Conference Commissioners Association (D2CCA) on Wednesday. Otto was named to the first team as a pitcher by both organizations, while LeBlanc was named to the second team by both organizations as a utility player and a pitcher.
ALL-CONFERENCE RECOGNITION
Five Lions earned recognition during the Lone Star Conference Softball awards banquet last week. Otto,
Sabrina Anguiano (Riverside, Calif.), LeBlanc, and
Madison Schaefer (Frisco – Independence) were named to first team all-conference, while
Leo Terry was named to the all-freshman team. Otto was also selected to the all-academic and golden glove teams.
NATIONAL AND CONFERENCE WEEKLY RECOGNITION
A&M-Commerce's
Madison Schaefer (Frisco – Independence) and
Alyssa LeBlanc (Katy) swept the LSC Weekly awards on April 27. Schaefer was named the hitter of the week, while LeBlanc was named the pitcher of the week. Schaefer hit at one least home run in each series and batted .556 in six wins for the Lions. She had the game-winning home run against Oklahoma Christian in game one, while recording multiple hits in four of the six games.
LeBlanc pitched in four of the six games, 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, picked up a complete game shutout win over Cameron, pitched in relief to get the save in game one against No. 15 Oklahoma Christian, and allowed just one run in complete game win over the Eagles in game two.
She 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
A LOOK AT THE LIONS
A&M-Commerce enters the NCAA Tournament with a record of 42-13. One more win this weekend gives the Lions the most wins in program history. Last week, the Lions outscored their nationally ranked opponents by a margin of 17-6 to win their first ever conference tournament championship.
Anguiano is batting .378, followed by Schaefer, who has improved her batting average to .371. Anguiano hit two home runs last week, while Schaefer hit two as well and batted 5 for 8 with five RBIs.
MacKenzie Dugi (St. Hedwig – East Central) is batting .347 with 28 RBIs and earned all-tournament honors last week as did
Samantha Dutton (Tulsa, Okla.), who batted 5 for 8 with three runs scored.
LeBlanc has team-leading 12 home runs, while
Uxua Modrego (Burlada, Spain) has 11 with 36 RBIs.
Leo Terry (Emory – Rains) has totaled 28 RBIs in 31 opportunities.
SCOUTING THE RATTLERS
St. Mary's is into the postseason for the 16
th time in the last 22 seasons and posting a record of 36-17 this season. Earning the seven seed in the LSC Tournament, they downed St. Edward's before falling to Texas A&M-Kingsville in extra innings.
Jayme Johns is batting .403 with 35 RBIs, while Abigale Carney has 10 RBIs, and Amber Gonzales has three home runs. In the circle, Catalina Cavazos is 19-4 with an ERA of 2.65 with 116 strikeouts. The St. Mary's pitching staff is pitching to an ERA of 3.38.
SCOUTING THE JAVELINAS
The Javelinas advanced all the way to the LSC Tournament Championship game, before falling to the Lions on Sunday. A&M-Kingsville is 45-9 on the season and made the NCAA Tournament for the third straight year.
Jory Cervantes is batting .433 with 23 RBIs, while Aaliyah Ortiz has totaled 13 home runs, and Matisen Onofrei has driven in 55 runs as has Kayla Gonzales. The Javelinas' lineup features six players that have driven in 35 or more runs. In the circle, Carissa De Los Santos is 8-1 with an ERA of 1.59, while Beth Montes is 14-2 with an ERA of 1.80.
SCOUTING THE EAGLES
The Eagles return to the NCAA Tournament once again after advancing to the LSC Tournament semifinals before falling to the Javelinas. The two teams meet again on Thursday afternoon. Oklahoma Christian is 39-13 on the season.
Aaliyah Brown is batting .435 with 45 RBIs, Brooklin Bain has driven in 34 runs, and Whitney Walde has 29. Lindsey Stoeckel has an ERA of 1.63 with 51 strikeouts. Kali Crandall has 109 strikeouts with a record of 15-7.
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