COMMERCE – The 2026 season comes to a close for the East Texas A&M University softball team this weekend at home against McNeese for Senior Weekend.
LIONS' WEEKEND SCHEDULE VS. THE COWGIRLS
GOLF SENIOR DAY
Prior to the second game on Friday, the seniors from the golf team will be honored with a special senior day ceremony.
SOFTBALL SENIOR DAY
Saturday is Senior Day for the softball program. All eight seniors of the program will be honored following the completion of Saturday's game against the Cowgirls.
A NEW ERA OF LION SOFTBALL BEGINS
East Texas A&M is now a full Division I member, achieving full member status a year ahead of schedule, and is eligible to compete in the NCAA Tournament this season.
The Lions also debut their new Nike uniforms, being the only school in the Southland that is outfitted by Nike.
STREAK SNAPPED AGAINST THE ISLANDERS
The Lions took the series finale over A&M-Corpus Christi on March 14 to snap a 20-game losing streak and pick up their first Southland Conference win of the year. With the win, East Texas A&M is now 4-2 against the Islanders over the last two seasons. It was also the first road win of the season and third for the Lions in the Division I era.
CHALLENGED THE BEST OF THE BEST
On March 11, the Lions took on defending national champion and No. 3/3 Texas, falling in five innings. The Lions have now played the defending national champion in each of the past three seasons. The Longhorns are currently ranked in the top five across all major polls.
PAST THE HALF-WAY MARK
East Texas A&M has six wins on the season following the series at A&M-Corpus Christi. The Lions' fifth win of the season came in the ninth game, which is the earliest the Lions have won their fifth game in the Division I era. East Texas A&M is past the half-way mark of equalling to last season's win total of 10 games, which is the most in a season in the Division I era.
LIONS LOVE TURNING TWO
The Lions have turned 17 double plays this season, which is 79th in the country and fourth in the Southland this season. The Lions turned 23 double plays in 52 games last season.
STEAL AT YOUR OWN RISK
As a team, the Lions have caught 26 runners stealing, with
Gracie Alejo (Waco - Connally) leading the way with 16 caught stealing by on the year, which is third in the country, while leading the Southland.
SMALL BALL GETS THE JOB DONE
The Lions have 18 sacrifice bunts on the season, which is 149th in the country and fourth in the conference.
SHE'S SO FAST, SHE'S SO SAFE
KK Cosek (Helendale, Calif.) has recorded three triples thus far this season, which puts her top 50 in the country.
HOME RUN QUEENS OF THE SOUTHLAND
Last season, East Texas A&M hit 38 home runs, which led the Southland Conference.
Tatum Wright (Frisco - Centennial) hit two home runs against HCU to increase her season total to 15, which is 51st in the country, while also being second in the Southland. She is now also fifth all-time in program history for most home runs in a single season.
HELLO NEWCOMERS
This season's rosters features eight newcomers, with five being freshmen and three being transfers. All newcomers have appeared in at least one game this season.
SCOUTING THE COWGIRLS
Winners of the last four conference championships, the Cowgirls have won five in a row coming into the final conference series of the season having a record of 32-18 overall and 15-9 against Southland opponents. The Cowgirls can potentially move up to the second seed for next week's conference tourmament by sweeping the series. McNeese's notable non-conference wins include Ole Miss, South Alabama, Houston (twice), Missouri (twice), Iowa, and Baylor (twice).
Nyjah Fontenot, with a team-best batting average of .371, also has seven home runs and 31 RBIs. Rylee Cloud is batting .340 with six home runs and 38 RBIs. Maddie Taylor leads the team with nine home runs and 41 RBIs. In the circle, Brookelyn Taylor has an ERA of 3.19 to lead the team with 79 strikeouts.
-ETAMU-
