Patrick Johnston/MSU Athletics

Senior pitcher Brittney Tanner is 4-0 this season.

Softball 2/10/2011 10:22:00 PM MSU Sports Information

Hot Mustangs roll into Texas A&M-Kingsville Invitational

Setting the Stage

No. 23 Midwestern State heads south for its second tournament of the 2011 season from Friday-Sunday at the Texas A&M-Kingsville Invitational.

The Mustangs play two games each day beginning with Texas A&M International and Southeastern Oklahoma Friday at 11 a.m. and 3 p.m., respectively.

MSU then faces Texas A&M International and Texas A&M-Kingsville Saturday at 1 and 3 p.m. before closing the tournament against Southern Arkansas and Texas A&M-Kingsville Sunday at 9 a.m. and 1 p.m., respectively.

All Games will be played at Hubert Field on the Texas A&M-Kingsville campus.

Where to Find the Game

Live Stats - Each game of the Texas A&M-Kingsville Invitational is available on live stats courtesy of JavelinaAthletics.com. Link

Mustangs Noteables

ALL WE DO IS WIN, WIN, WIN Midwestern State set the Lone Star Conference standard for wins in a season in 2010 with 54 victories coming up a win shy of an NCAA Division II World Series appearance. The Mustangs are off and running in 2011 with the best start in program history after going 6-0 at the Grand Canyon Invitational last weekend in Arizona.

A VERY GRAND OPENING The Mustangs outscored the opposition 38-16 while claiming two wins each over No. 16 Grand Canyon and Cal State-Monterey which was also receiving votes in the NFCA Division II Preseason Poll. Midwestern hit on all cylinders. Six different players connected home run. The Mustangs committed just two fielding errors in six games. And seniors Brittney Tanner and Kristina Gutierrez combined for 58 strikeouts and walked just a single batter in 42 innings.

CAMPBELL, BINGHAM CELEBRATE FIRSTS Sophomores Carey Campbell and Courtney Bingham connected on their first collegiate home runs at the GCU Invitational last weekend and both enjoyed stellar starts to the 2011 season. Campbell, an Albuquerque, N.M. native, hit .444 (8-for-18) with a double, a homer and drove in four runs while scoring five runs as she collected hits in each of MSU's six games. Bingham, from Arlington, hit .421 (8-for-19) with a double, a home and drove in five runs while scoring four runs.

MOONEY, GUTIERREZ HIT 100 Junior Mallory Mooney collected her 100th career hit with a single against Cal State-Monterey Bay on Feb. 5. The third baseman joined Campbell as the only two MSU players to let out hits in each of the Mustangs' six games at the GCU Invitational as she hit .350 with two doubles, a homer and seven RBIs. Senior Kristina Gutierrez fanned her 100th career batter at MSU with her 11th strikeout against Cal State-Monterey Bay on Feb. 5 at the GCU Invitational. The Pearland native delivered 11 strikeouts against Western New Mexico and had 12 against CSU-MB as she won her first two starts of the 2011 campaign.

TANNER IN THE ZONE Brittney Tanner proved she was up to the Lone Star Conference North Division Preseason Pitcher of the Year billing. The senior from Burkburnett earned four wins while posting a flawless 33-to-0 strikeout-to-walk ratio. She recorded 12 strikeouts against Western New Mexico on Feb. 6 after fanning 10 Cal State-Monterey Bay Otters on Feb. 4.

A-REY LICKS LOPES Senior designated player Alyson Reynolds slugged hits in three of the six games at the GCU Invitational, but collected multiple hits in each of the three. She was particularly devastating to the host Antelopes of Grand Canyon as she went 2-for-3 with a homer and two RBIs on Saturday before drilling three hits with a double and an RBI on Sunday. The multiple-hit games powered Reynolds to a .438 average for the weekend.

PATIENCE, PATIENCE Five different Midwestern State players drew at least four walks at the GCU Invitational as the Mustangs piled up 32 bases on balls. Freshman catcher Kim Jerrick led the way with five free passes which included four against Cal State-Monterey Bay on Saturday. Alyson Reynolds, Courtney Bingham, McKenzie Sickler and Amanda Potysman each drew four free passes.

FIELDING AT A HIGH LEVEL Outside of the circle, Midwestern State fielders handled each of its 143 chances flawlessly at the GCU Invitational last weekend as the Mustangs posted an impressive .987 team fielding percentage.

THE STANDARD AT THE HOT CORNER It's been 36 games since junior third baseman Mallory Mooney committed her last fielding error at Missouri Southern on March 6, 2010. The Mesquite native has handled each of her 94 chances since flawlessly and can match her career errorless streak with a clean game against Texas A&M International on Friday. Mooney recorded 37 consecutive error-free games from March 3, 2008 to Feb. 19, 2010 while handling 119 chances without a miscue. Mooney owns a phenomenal .990 fielding percentage in her first 100 games at MSU and has committed just three errors in 293 chances.

About the Field

Texas A&M International (3-3) split four games at the St. Mary's Collegiate Classic last weekend claiming wins over Eastern New Mexico and Abilene Christian with losses coming to Angelo State and Incarnate Word. The Dustdevils are a trio of .400 hitters at the plate including senior outfielder Samantha Garcia (.440, 2 2Bs, 1 HR, 4 RBI), senior DP Clarissa Salinas (.421, 2 2B, 1 HR, 7 RBI) and senior DP Victoria Beltran (.409, 4 2Bs, 4 RBI). Freshman Kyndall Reaves is TAMIU's top option in the circle posting a 1-1 mark while allowing four earned runs on 12 hits while strikeout out 14 and walking four in 15 innings.

Southeastern Oklahoma opens the 2011 campaign this weekend at the Texas A&M-Kingsville Invitational. The Savage Storm posted a 26-26 mark last season and were 10-10 in the LSC North Division. Senior outfielders Jeana Keyes (.341, 14 2Bs, 22 RBI) and Cassy Tice (.318, 7 2B, 4 HR, 23 RBI) are SOSU's top returners.

Texas A&M-Kingsville (3-3) bounced back to win its final two games at the St. Mary's Collegiate Classic last weekend. The Javelinas took losses to Texas-Permian Basin and St. Edward's before defeating Eastern New Mexico and Cameron. Lindsey Brown headlines the Hoggies both at the plate and in the circle. The junior pitcher/first baseman is hitting .474 with three doubles, a homer and five RBIs and has fared nearly as well when toeing the rubber. Brown is 2-1 with a 2.13 ERA while allowing seven earned runs on 22 hits in 23 innings. She boasts 15 strikeouts and has walked 13 in 23 innings of work.

Southern Arkansas kicks off its 2011 season this weekend at the Texas A&M-Kingsville Invitational. The Muleriders struggled to a 10-33 mark in 2010 which included a 6-20 record in the Gulf South Conference.

-- MSUMustangs.com --

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Players Mentioned

#14 Courtney Bingham: OF; 5' 9"; Sophomore; L/L

#12 Carey Campbell: IF; 5' 5"; Sophomore; R/R

#17 Kristina Gutierrez: P; 5' 5"; Senior; R/R

#16 Kim Jerrick: C; 5' 10"; Freshman; R/R

#10 Mallory Mooney: 3B; 5' 8"; Junior; R/R

#15 Amanda Potysman: UT; 5' 5"; Senior; R/R

#9 Alyson Reynolds: 1B; 5' 6"; Senior; R/R

#4 McKenzie Sickler: IF; 5' 5"; Senior; R/R

#25 Brittney Tanner: P; 5' 7"; Senior; R/R

Players Mentioned

#14 Courtney Bingham
: 5' 9"; Sophomore; L/L
: OF

#12 Carey Campbell
: 5' 5"; Sophomore; R/R
: IF

#17 Kristina Gutierrez
: 5' 5"; Senior; R/R
: P

#16 Kim Jerrick
: 5' 10"; Freshman; R/R
: C

#10 Mallory Mooney
: 5' 8"; Junior; R/R
: 3B

#15 Amanda Potysman
: 5' 5"; Senior; R/R
: UT

#9 Alyson Reynolds
: 5' 6"; Senior; R/R
: 1B

#4 McKenzie Sickler
: 5' 5"; Senior; R/R
: IF

#25 Brittney Tanner
: 5' 7"; Senior; R/R
: P