COMMERCE – The Texas A&M University-Commerce softball team resumes Southland Conference play with a weekend series at UIW and host UT Arlington next Monday.
LIONS' WEEKEND SCHEDULE
WHAT'S NEXT FOR THE LIONS
A&M-Commerce continues conference play on the road at Nicholls next weekend.
SLOW START TO CONFERENCE PLAY
The Lions have dropped their first three conference series of the season, falling on the road at A&M-Corpus Christi and at home against Southeastern and Lamar.
STREAK SNAPPED
A&M-Commerce walked-off a 14-6 win in five innings on Tuesday against Arkansas-Pine Bluff to snap a 21-game losing streak. The 14 runs scored tied the season-high for runs and 16 hits are a new season-best.
Charli Anger (Lubbock - Cooper) hit a three-run home run in the first inning, while
Ashley Diaz (Chino, Calif.) ended the night with a two-run walk-off inside the park home run.
PLAYED AGAINST THE NATION'S BEST
On March 6, the Lions played at Oklahoma, who was ranked No. 1 in the coaches rankings entering the game, marking the first time the Lions played a team ranked No. 1 in any sport in the Division I era, surpassing the men's basketball team playing at No. 6 Texas in 2022-23. The Sooners scored five in the first inning and won 9-0 in five. A&M-Commerce's
Tehya Pitts (Denton - Guyer) and
Tatum Wright (Frisco - Centennial) had a hit each.
MEEP MEEP
The Lions have stolen 61 bases thus far this season on 70 attempts. The 61 stolen bases are tied for 18th in NCAA Division I. Pitts has 16 on the season, which is tied for 31st in the country and
Ashlynn Griffith (Cedar Hill) has 12.
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 was 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. All six home runs for the Lions have come at home.
TOUCHING HOME PLATE
Thus far this season, the Lions have scored 82 runs at home, while having scored just 28 last season.
PITTS CATCHES ON FIRE AGAINST SIUE
In the three-game series against the Cougars, Pitts batted 7 for 11 (.636) to lead the Lions.
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 nine games against teams that played in the 2023 NCAA Tournament.
The games against Power Five conference opponents include three-game series against Houston, and No. 20 Arkansas last weekend, 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 in non-conference play, who made the NCAA Tournament last season as did Wichita State and A&M-Commerce hosts 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 COMPETITION
UIW has been one of the suprise teams in the Southland thus far this season. The Cardinals enter the weekend with a conference record of 4-5, having already played the two teams that were ranked at the top of the preseason rankings. UIW is 17-10 on the season, non-conference wins include two over Buffalo and one over UT Arlington. Victoria Altamirano is batting .457 on the season with 25 RBIs and five home runs, while hitting 12 doubles. Britaney Shaw is batting .329 and driven in 14 runs, while Jillian Gutierrez has two home runs and 20 RBIs. Larissa Jacquez is 4-4 in the circle with an ERA of 1.90, having struck out 72.
UT Arlington is 11-20 on the season and plays Southern Utah in a Western Athletic Conference (WAC) series at home this weekend, before coming north to Commerce on Monday. UTA has non-conference wins over ULM, DePaul, A&M-Corpus Christi twice, UTSA, UIW, HCU, and a conference win over Tarleton. Camille Corona is the team leader in batting average at .386, while Lindsey Franklin is batting .360 with 22 RBIs and five home runs. Jessica Adams is pitching to an ERA of 3.04 and is 4-6 with 20 strikeouts.
-TAMUC-
