COMMERCE – The Texas A&M University-Commerce softball team hosts its first Power Five conference opponent in program history, welcoming Houston a three-game series in Commerce this weekend.
LIONS' WEEKEND SCHEDULE
PROMOTIONS
Saturday's game is Softball Bingo. Win a special prize if all items on the bingo card are hit.
All kids in attendance can run the bases following Sunday's games.
WHAT'S NEXT FOR THE LIONS
A&M-Commerce plays its first true road game of the season next Wednesday at No. 1 Oklahoma.
MEEP MEEP
The Lions have stolen 38 bases thus far this season on 45 attempts. The 38 stolen bases are tied for 10th in NCAA Division I and the per-game average of 2.11 stolen bases per game ranks 27th.
Ashlynn Griffith (Cedar Hill) has nine stolen bases on the year, which is tied for 30th in the country.
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 58 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.
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.
TENTH SEASON OF LION SOFTBALL
This is the 10th 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.
Brooke Hilton (Plano East) made her collegiate debut behind the plate against Omaha.
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 welcomed Omaha last 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, 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 COUGARS
Houston is 12-5 on the season, but has lost four of its last five. Friday's game will just be third true road game for the Cougars this season, who are 0-2 on the road, having lost to LSU. Houston dropped an extra-inning contest to McNeese at home on Wednesday. Last season, the Cougars went 20-30 and play in the Big XII this season. Kennedy Thomas is the team's batting average leader, .477, while Bree Cantu has 25 RBIs and four home runs on the season. The Cougars are top 20 in the country in scoring and batting average. Tamya Waiters has started 10 games and is 2-2 with an ERA of 3.90, while Shelby Smith has 10 appearances and four starts, pitching to an ERA of 4.02 with 14 strikeouts.
-TAMUC-
