COMMERCE – The Texas A&M University-Commerce softball team concludes its first Division I season at Lamar this weekend.
LIONS' SCHEDULE AT LAMAR
LAST TIME OUT FOR THE LIONS
The Lions won their second straight series, taking two of three over Northwestern State. A&M-Commerce closed out its home schedule with back-to-back series wins.
A LOOK AT THE SLC STANDINGS
With results around the conference last weekend, the Lions were eliminated from contention for a spot in the Southland Tournament. A&M-Commerce is in last place, being two games back of UIW, but does own the tiebreaker over the Cardinals with three games to play.
SANCHEZ NAMED SLC PITCHER OF THE WEEK
After her dominant week, Sanchez was selected as the SLC Pitcher of the Week on April 24, A&M-Commerce's first this season. She allowed two earned runs in 19 innings pitched, striking out 13, throwing two shutouts against UIW and holding No. 12 Arkansas to two earned runs in five innings pitched.
2023 Southland Softball Players of the Week
| Date |
Hitter of the Week |
Pitcher of the Week |
| Feb. 13 |
Lexi Johnson, Southeastern |
Cera Blanchard, Southeastern |
| Feb. 20 |
Lexi Johnson, Southeastern (2) |
Maggie Darr, Northwestern State |
| Feb. 27 |
Melise Gossen, Nicholls |
Whitney Tate, McNeese |
| Mar. 6 |
Makenzie Chaffin, Northwestern State |
Primrose Aholelei, A&M-Corpus Christi |
| Mar. 13 |
Maria Detillier, Southeastern |
Audrey McNeill, Nicholls |
| Mar. 20 |
Mariana Torres, McNeese |
Katy Janes, HCU |
| Mar. 27 |
Bailey Krolczyk, Southeastern |
KK Ladner, Southeastern |
| Apr. 3 |
Crislyne Moreno, McNeese |
Whitney Tate, McNeese (2) |
| Apr. 10 |
Bailey Krolczyk, Southeastern (2) |
Ashley Vallejo, McNeese |
| Apr. 17 |
Erin Ardoin, McNeese |
Primrose Aholelei, A&M-Corpus Christi (2) |
| Apr. 24 |
Emily Phillips, McNeese |
Julia Sanchez, A&M-Commerce |
| May 1 |
Melise Gossen, Nicholls (2) |
Aaliyah Ruiz, Lamar |
BENNETT ENDS HISTORIC STREAK
Freshman infielder
Kaydee Bennett (Caddo Mills) ended her hitting streak at 14 games after failing to get a hit in the series finale against HCU. Her 14-game hitting streak is the longest in the program since 2018. At Arkansas, she ended her 15-game on base 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 |
|
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. 80 in Division I, which is the toughest schedule 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, Arizona, and Arkansas 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.
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 CARDINALS
Lamar is 17-32 on the season and is a win away from clinching a spot in the SLC Tournament, currently holding a conference record of 9-12. The Cardinals are batting .238 as a team, while hitting 18 home runs and have allowed just 19 home runs this season. Kaylee Ancelot is hitting for the team triple crown with team-best .324 batting average and 35 RBIs. Her six home runs are also tied for the team lead. Sam Bean is batting .319 with six home runs 21 RBIs.
Aaliyah Ruiz is the reigning SLC Pitcher of the Week. She is 10-11 on the season with an earned run average of 3.53 and 72 strikeouts. Karyana Mitchell is 5-11 with an ERA of 4.19.
-TAMUC-
