COMMERCE – The Texas A&M University-Commerce softball team heads to the desert this weekend to play in the Hillenbrand Invitational hosted by the Arizona Wildcats on Friday-Sunday.
 
LIONS' WEEKEND SCHEDULE

Date	Time	Opponent	Coverage
Friday, March 3	1 p.m. MST (2 p.m. CST)	Nebraska	Live Stats | Watch (FloSoftball)
Friday, March 3	6 p.m. MST (7 p.m. CST)	No. 18/16 Arizona	Live Stats | Watch (Free)
Saturday, March 4	5 p.m. MST (6 p.m. CST)	No. 18/16 Arizona	Live Stats | Watch (Free)
Saturday, March 5	7 p.m. MST (8 p.m. CST)	CSUN	Live Stats | Watch (FloSoftball)
Sunday, March 6	11 a.m. MST (Noon CST)	Weber State	Live Stats | Watch (FloSoftball)

 
LAST TIME OUT FOR THE LIONS
A&M-Commerce suffered five losses at the Baylor Invitational, but had impressive showings in the final three games of the weekend, holding a lead over both Baylor and Maryland, who were nationally-ranked at the time.
 
LIONS DOWN AKRON FOR FIRST DIVISION I WIN
A&M-Commerce beat Akron at Tarleton on February 17 to open the Whataburger Invitational by a score of 7-4 for the first win as a Division I program. It was also coach Brittany Miller's first win as a head coach.
 
LIONS WALK-OFF BLUE JAYS
On February 19 at the Whataburger Invitational, A&M-Commerce collected a 5-4 win in eight innings over Creighton. Shelby Hodge (Katy – Cinco Ranch) hit a sacrifice fly to left to bring in the game-winning run. It was the first true walk-off win in a game that lasted seven or more innings since Ayanna Williams (Round Rock – Cedar Ridge) had the game-winning hit against No. 2 Augustana in the season-opener last season.
 
TOUGH COMPETITION TO START
The Lions begin the season with numerous games on their schedule against ranked opponents and teams that competed in the NCAA Tournament last season.


The Lions play twice against Arizona this weekend, who is in the top 20 in every major poll. They still have games remaining against Arkansas and North Texas, who are currently ranked. In the first week of the season, the Lions also played Texas A&M twice, who is now nationally ranked and faced nationally ranked Baylor and Maryland last weekend.
 
PLENTY OF NEW LIONS
A&M-Commerce retains just four players from last season, welcoming 16 new faces to the squad in 2023. The 16 new players are believed to be the most on any roster in Division I this season.
 
ENDED ON A HIGH NOTE
The Lions ended the Division II era by winning the Lone Star Conference Tournament, the program's first conference title, and served as hosts during the NCAA Regional round. It was the third straight postseason that the Lions served as hosts, and it was their fourth consecutive trip to the NCAA Tournament.
 
WHAT'S AHEAD FOR THE LIONS
The Lions' tournament in Reno, Nevada, next weekend has been canceled. A&M-Commerce's next scheduled games are on March 14 at North Texas. It is a doubleheader starting at 4 p.m.

SCOUTING THE COMPETITION
The first opponent of the weekend is Nebraska, who started the season being nationally ranked and went to the NCAA Regionals last season. The Huskers won the Big Ten Tournament last season and finished second overall in the Big Ten during the regular season. Nebraska is seventh in the country with seven shutouts this season and batting 4.3 runs per game.
 
Sarah Hirness is averaging 9.5 strikeouts per seven innings and Courtney Wallace is sixth in the country with six shutouts. Billie Andrews has six home runs with 13 RBIs.
 
Arizona was a Women's College World Series participant last year and is currently ranked No. 18 in the ESPN/USA Softball poll and No. 16 in the NFCA Coaches Poll. The Wildcats have won two in a row coming into this weekend.
 
The Wildcats are eighth in the country in scoring and 21^st in batting average. Arizona's pitching staff holds an ERA of 2.02. Both Sydney Somerndike and Devyn Netz are pitching to ERA's below 2.00. Four batters in the Arizona lineup have over 15 RBIs.
 
CSUN is 5-9 on the season and has lost six in a row coming into this weekend. The Matadors are batting .210 on the season as a team, with Kaylee Escutia leading the team with a batting average of .379. Isabella Alonso is 1-1 in eight appearances in the circle with an ERA of 2.66.
 
The Lions close out the weekend against Weber State, who went to the NCAA Regionals last season after winning the Big Sky Conference. Thus far this season, the Wildcats are 5-9 with losses to Arkansas, Baylor, and Arizona State, who are all nationally ranked.
 
Weber State is scoring 3.8 runs per game with McKell McCuistion batting .478, while Lauren Hoe has four home runs and 16 RBIs on a batting average of .316. The Wildcats have an ERA of 6.38 as a team.