COMMERCE – Texas A&M University-Commerce softball team is back in action on Tuesday and Wednesday when it faces Houston Christian for a midweek Southland Conference series in Houston.
 
LIONS' SCHEDULE VS. HOUSTON CHRISTIAN

Date	Time	Coverage
Tuesday, April 11	4 p.m.	ESPN+ • Live Stats
Tuesday, April 11	6 p.m.	ESPN+ • Live Stats
Wednesday, April 12	Noon	ESPN+ • Live Stats

 
LAST TIME OUT FOR THE LIONS
A&M-Commerce fell in all three games at home against Texas A&M-Corpus Christi last weekend.
 
WHAT'S AHEAD FOR THE LIONS
The Lions are off from conference play this weekend and head to No. 9/8 Arkansas for a doubleheader on April 18.
 
KAYDEE IS ON FIRE!
Freshman infielder Kaydee Bennett (Caddo Mills) is on a 12-game hitting streak, having recorded a hit in each conference game thus far this season. She joins Southeastern's Bailey Krolczyk, who also has had a hit in every conference game as well.
 
Nationally among true freshmen, Bennett is behind Northern Iowa's Alexis Pupillo, who is on a 15-game hitting streak.
 
A HISTORIC COMEBACK AGAINST THE WILDCATS
The Lions recorded a five-run seventh inning comeback against Weber State this season to win 8-7. According to our research, that is the second-best comeback in the seventh inning this season among Division I programs. 
 
TOP COMEBACKS IN DIVISION I IN 2023

Date	Team	Opponent	Deficit starting 7th	Final Score	Notes
March 4	Texas Tech	Rutgers	5-0 (5)	6-5
March 5	A&M-Commerce	Weber State	7-3 (4)	8-7
March 8	SIUE	Saint Louis	5-1 (4)	6-5	SIUE trailed 5-0 entering sixth
March 4	Seton Hall	North Dakota	5-1 (4)	6-5
March 8	Maryland Eastern Shore	Holy Cross	7-4 (3)	8-7

 
SPEED THRILLS
Bennett has stolen 12 bases this season, which ranks her ninth in the conference. Ashlynn Griffith (Cedar Hill) is 8 for 8 in steal attempts, being tied for 17^th. As a team, the Lions are 37 for 44, which ranks them fifth.  
 
BATS COME ALIVE IN THE DESERT
After being shut out in the first two games of the Hillenbrand Invitational, the Lions scored eight against No. 18/16 Arizona, including a grand slam by Camile Nunez (Madera, Calif.) to highlight a six-run fourth inning. The Lions followed it up with a 17-12 win over CSUN and came back to win 8-7 over Weber State.
 
LIONS LOVE WALK-OFFS
Three of the five wins for the Lions thus far this season have been in walk-off fashion. Last month, Shelby Hodge (Katy – Cinco Ranch) hit a walk-off sacrifice fly to beat Creighton in extra innings, while America Rubio (El Paso – Montwood) had the walk-off grounder against Weber State. In the conference opener, Avery Zeigler (Southlake Carroll) hit a walk-off one-run single in the eighth for the Lions' first win at home.
 
NUNEZ HITS IT FAR
Nunez hit the program's 34^th grand slam against Arizona on March 4. It was also her first home run of the season for the junior transfer from Vernon College. The Lions have had at least one grand slam in all but one season in program history.
 
FIRST SOUTHLAND ACTION
This season is the first in the Southland Conference for the Lions, who walked it off in eight over Nicholls in their first ever Southland game. A&M-Commerce was picked to finish seventh among nine teams in the preseason poll. At the end of the season, the top seven teams in the SLC will qualify for the conference tournament.
 
SLC PRESEASON POLL

Place	School	1st	Pts
1	McNeese	16	128
2	Southeastern	2	113
3	Northwestern State		91
4	A&M-Corpus Christi		85
5	HCU		58
6	Lamar		49
7	A&M-COMMERCE		47
8	UIW		45
9	Nicholls		32

 
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. Hodge 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.
 
PLAYING THE BEST OF THE BEST
A&M-Commerce's strength of schedules ranks No. 54 in Division I and second in the Southland.
 
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.

Thus far this season, the Lions have played Maryland, Baylor, and Arizona, who were nationally ranked at the time the Lions played them, while Texas A&M, Nebraska, Minnesota, and North Texas have all appeared in national polls at some point this season. A&M-Commerce still has two games on the schedule against Arkansas, who is nationally ranked in every major poll.
 
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.
 
SCOUTING THE HUSKIES
Houston Christian is 15-20 on the season and it is coming off a 19-8 win in five innings over UTSA last week. The Huskies have not played since April 4 and are 4-5 in Southland play.
 
The Huskies are fourth in the conference in batting average, .274, and stolen 42 bases on the season. AB Garcia is the conference leader with a batting average of .434 and Haylie Savage is fourth with 33 RBIs.
 
Katy Jones, who has one Southland Pitcher of the Week honor this season, is 11^th in the conference in earned run average. She is 5-8 on the season and recorded 45 strikeouts. Four HCU pitchers have recorded five or more starts this season in the circle.