COMMERCE – Texas A&M University-Commerce plays host to 14 softball games this weekend at the John Cain Family Field, including seven home games for the softball program.
LIONS' WEEKEND SCHEDULE
The full schedule for the Lion Invitational can be found
HERE.
PROMOTIONS
All kids can run the bases following the conclusion of Sunday's games.
MEEP MEEP
The Lions have stolen 30 bases thus far this season on 37 attempts. The 30 stolen bases are third in NCAA Division I and the per-game average of 2.73 stolen bases per game ranks 10.
Isabella Arzola (Chino, Calif.) is 8 for 10 in stolen base attempts this season, she is tied for 11
th in the country, while being second in the Southland.
A RARE DOUBLE NO-HITTER
A rarity happened in Denton between A&M-Commerce and Missouri. Both the Lions'
Julia Sanchez (The Kinkaid School) and the Tigers' Cierra Harrison tossed complete games and neither allowed a hit in the game. Missouri took a 1-0 win thanks to a walk, two steals, and a sacrifice fly in the first inning. It is the first double no-hitter in college softball this year.
BACK-TO-BACK JACKS
The Lions just hit one home run at home during the 12 home games in 2023, it took just two innings in the 2024 season to surpass that total.
Charli Anger (Lubbock - Cooper) and
Diamond Sefe (Carson, Calif.) went back-to-back in the season opener against UMass Lowell to put the Lions ahead.
TOUCHING HOME PLATE
Thus far this season, the Lions have scored 46 runs at home, while having scored just 28 last season.
PITTS CATCHES ON FIRE AGAINST SIUE
In the three-game series against the Cougars, freshman
Tehya Pitts (Denton - Guyer) batted 7 for 11 (.636) to lead the Lions. She is now the team-leader in batting average (.444) and has scored 12 runs, which also leads the team. She is slugging .519 on the season and her on-base percentage is .444.
MULLER GETS IT DONE IN THE CIRCLE
Pitching in her first weekend as a Lion,
Maddie Muller (Frisco - Memorial) started three games in the Lion Classic. She pitched to an ERA of 0.86, going 2-0, with 10 strikeouts. She pitched 31 of the team's 73 innings.
TENTH SEASON OF LION SOFTBALL
Last weekend began the 10
th season of Lion Softball. The first season of competition for the program was the 2015 season, and this is the second season for the Lions in NCAA Division I and the Southland Conference.
WELCOME NEWCOMERS
This season, the Lions have 10 newcomers on the 22-player roster. Of the 10 newcomers, freshmen Anger, Arzola,
Jenna Joyce (Royse City), and
Tehya Pitts (Denton – Guyer), made their Lion debuts last week as did transfers: Muller from Arkansas Rich Mountain,
Ashley Diaz (Chino, Calif.) from Mt. SAC,
Lencia Powell (Birdville) from Weatherford College,
Darby Hickey (Plano Senior) from Temple College, and
Stephanie Tapia (Yuma, Ariz.) from Pima Community College.
PLAYING THE BEST OF THE BEST
The Lions play six games against Power Five conference teams and eight games against teams that played in the 2023 NCAA Tournament.
The games against Power Five conference opponents include three-game series against Houston, and a game against Arkansas, both at home, while heading to Oklahoma, the winner of the last three Women's College World Series, and at Texas A&M. A&M-Commerce already played against Missouri, who was ranked No. 15 in the country at the time.
Along with the Power Five conference opponents, the Lions also welcome Omaha this weekend, who made the NCAA Tournament last season and host McNeese during Southland play. The Cowgirls were a Regional Finalist last season.
PRESEASON POLL
In the preseason poll released by the Southland Conference last week, the Lions were picked ninth, after finishing in that exact position in their first season in the conference last year. A&M-Commerce received 17 points.
2024 SOUTHLAND SOFTBALL PRESEASON POLL
| Rank |
Team (First-Place Votes) |
Points |
| 1 |
McNeese (16) |
128 |
| 2 |
Southeastern (2) |
114 |
| 3 |
Nicholls |
97 |
| 4 |
Lamar |
78 |
| 5 |
Texas A&M-Corpus Christi |
72 |
| 6 |
Northwestern State |
63 |
| 7 |
HCU |
49 |
| 8 |
UIW |
30 |
| 9 |
A&M-COMMERCE |
17 |
SCOUTING THE COMPETITION
Omaha is coming off a Summit League Tournament Championship last season and played in the Baton Rouge Regional, finishing third, with two losses to eventual Regional Champion, Louisiana. Thus far this season, the Mavericks are 6-5 on the season, going 4-1 at the season-opening tournament at Northern Iowa, but have lost three in a row, all three coming to Power Five conference teams at Arizona. Sydney Thomason is batting .406 on the season, having hit four of the team's six home runs. Sydney Ross has totaled 10 RBIs thus far this season. In the circle, Kamryn Meyer is pitching to an ERA of 1.98, going 3-2. Sydney Nuismer has gone 3-2 as well, with an ERA of 4.32.
South Dakota is also from the Summit League, marking the third Summit League team the Lions play this season. The Coyotes are 4-6 on the season, but have won four of their last five. The first 12 games of the season for South Dakota came in Georgia at Georgia State and Georgia. Last season, the Coyotes went 24-28, including 11-9 in the Summit and fell to South Dakota State in the conference tournament. Delaney White is batting .300 on the season to lead the team, while leading the team with six RBIs as well. Gabby Moser had four RBIs, while four players have hit a home run each. McKenna Young has six appearances on the season, while leading the team with an ERA of 2.40. Clara Edwards is 2-4 in six starts, having struck out 24 with an ERA of 2.50.
The Lions renew their rivalry with Tarleton on Saturday night. A&M-Commerce and the Texans meet for the 26
th time and fourth time since both teams joined NCAA Division I. The Lions are 15-10 all-time against the Texans and this is the first meeting in Commerce between the two teams since the 2019 NCAA South Central Regional, with the Lions winning 2-0. This season, Tarleton is 6-4, going 4-1 at home last weekend. The Texans have a win over Southland foe, Lamar, as well. Tarleton has played in the National Invitational Softball Championships (NISC) in each of the last two seasons. Kelci Hill is batting .467 and Brady Rowland is hitting .458 for the Texans. Kayla Wallace has hit three of the team's seven home runs. Kendall Daniel is the team leader in ERA at 2.63, while both Alexa Rehmeier and Hannah Blincoe are 2-0 this season.
Abilene Christian and the Lions play for three games this weekend. The Wildcats have gone 4-6 this season thus far, having won four of the last five, including two wins over New Mexico and SLC team, Houston Christian. ACU went 16-36 last season. Kaydee Bennett is batting .500 for the Wildcats, having driven in six runs, which is tied for the team lead and hit one of the team's four home runs. Talia Nielsen is pitching to an ERA of 1.50 in the circle, receiving the winning decision in two of the team's four wins.
-TAMUC-
