(LAST WEEK) Midwestern State took two of three in a Lone Star Conference North Division series at East Central. The Mustangs rolled to a wins of 7-4 and 6-2 in the first two games before falling 2-1 in eight innings in the finale.
(NEXT WEEK) The Mustangs open the Lone Star Conference Championships Thursday at noon. With a win this weekend, MSU will face the South's No. 4 seed - either Texas Woman's, Abilene Christian or Tarleton State. Win or lose, Midwestern moves on to a second game later in the day at 2:30 p.m. The winner's bracket final is set for Friday at 3 p.m., while the championship game is set for Saturday at noon with the if game following. All LSC Championship contests are set for the Durant Multi-sport Complex in Durant, Okla.
(NO. 3) Midwestern State retained the No. 3 ranking in the National Fast-pitch Coaches' Association Top 25 for a second consecutive week behind No. 1 Alabama-Huntsville and No. 2 North Georgia. The Mustangs spent the previous two weeks at No. 2 which represented the highest national ranking in program history. MSU has carried a national ranking for each of the last 23 reporting periods dating back to the beginning of the 2010 season residing 18 of those weeks in the Top 10.
(MUSTANGS TOP REGION) Midwestern State has carried top billing in the NCAA Division II South Central Region rankings for each of the last four weeks and leads a heavy dose of six Lone Star Conference squads in the rankings. The Mustangs are trailed by Angelo State, Emporia State, West Texas A&M, Nebraska-Omaha, St. Mary's, Southeastern Oklahoma, Missouri Western, Incarnate Word and East Central. The top eight teams advance to the South Central Regionals beginning at two campus sites on the weekend of May 13-15.
(SHUT IT...) Midwestern State's Brittney Tanner and Kristina Gutierrez have combined to tie a Lone Star Conference record with 22 shutouts this season which was originally set by the 2000 Southeastern Oklahoma State squad. Tanner stifled Central Oklahoma for consecutive blankings on April 16 and 17 to set a new program standard with NCAA II leading 12 shutouts this season. Tanner needs two more to match SOSU's Starla Payne (2000) and Christina Cearley (2003) for the LSC single season mark of 14. Gutierrez stands second in the league and eighth in the nation with 10 shutouts of her own.
(STRIIIIKE THREE!!) Tanner and Gutierrez have also combined for a Lone Star Conference leading 464 strikeouts and are fanning the opposition at an historic rate. The duo has combined for a 9.91 strikeouts per seven inning ratio. That figure is the third highest in NCAA Division II history trailing Coker's 1996 squad (11.33 K/7) and 1999 squad (10.19 K/7).
(TANNER CHASING WILLSON) Tanner is chasing fellow Burkburnett High School alum Brittany Willson in many categories. Tanner needs just two strikeouts to become the school's all-time single season strikeout leader as she will pass Willson's total of 270 set in 2006. Tanner also needs just nine Ks to supplant Willson (678 from 2004-06) as the program's No. 2 strikeout author as Tanner now has 670 strikeouts. Tanner also needs four wins to set a new single season high mark to once again pass Willson, who won 29 games in 2006.
(IT IS HIGH, IT IS FAR, IT IS GONE) Midwestern State set a new program record by smashing four home runs last weekend at East Central. The Mustangs now have 43 homers led by junior Mallory Mooney and freshman Kim Jerrick with nine homers each.
(ALL WE DO IS WIN) Midwestern State have already clinched its fourth 40-win season in school history and can finish the regular season with 46 wins with a sweep of Cameron. The Mustangs would need eight more victories in the postseason to match last season's Lone Star Conference record 54 wins. Ironically, three W's would also give the Mustangs 100 wins over the past two seasons which is twice as many (points) (50) as men's basketball All American Chris Hagan scored at Cameron back on Dec. 13.
(3 MEGAN CHARTIER) Chartier has enjoyed stellar play in Lone Star Conference North Division play as she has posted hitting .536 over 12 starts in right field. The Gatesville native is hitting .403 for the season and is second on the team with 16 stolen bases.
(4 McKENZIE SICKLER) Sickler became the seventh player in program history to blast two homers in a game as she struck for a two-run shot to center field in the fifth then blasted a three-run homer to left field in Game 1 last Friday at East Central. The blasts ended a 45-game homerless streak for Sickler, who led the Mustangs with nine home runs last season.
(5 NICKI DUFF) Duff hopes to get restarted at Mustangs Park where she has hit .349 this season including a double, a triple and eight stolen bases. The junior outfielder is hitting .267 for the season with two doubles, four triples and 15 RBIs.
(6 ELENA BENNETT) Bennett became the fifth player in program history post 70 hits when she went 2-for-4 last Thursday at East Central (Okla.). The sophomore center fielder needs nine more safeties to set a new school single season record by overtaking Cheyanne Paschall's mark of 78 hits set in 2007. Bennett has also been successful on a program single-campaign best 34 stolen bases this season.
(7 KALLIE NOBLE) Noble has appeared in nine of the last 11 games as a pinch runner. The freshman from Albany has seen action - primarily as a pinch runner - in 34 games this season.
(9 ALYSON REYNOLDS) Reynolds has proven effective in the clutch as the senior first baseman is hitting .340 (17-of-50) with runners and scoring position and .625 (5-for-8) with a runner on third and less than two outs. Reynolds is third on the team with 11 2-out RBIs. She is hitting .326 with six doubles, a triple and six home runs this season.
(10 MALLORY MOONEY) Mooney launched her 20th career homer as she connected on a pair of solo shots in last week's three-game series at East Central. The junior third baseman stands fourth on MSU's all time list trailing Rachael Jackson (28 from 2004-06), Kristen Stonecipher (26 from 2005-08) and Jessica Rodriguez (22 from 2006-09). Mooney can pass Kristen Stonecipher's mark of 50 RBIs set in 2007 if she drives in four more runs. Mooney hasn't committed an error in her last 22 games and has handled her last 51 chances flawlessly.
(12 CAREY CAMPBELL) Campbell has started 44 games at second base logging a solid .964 fielding percentage. The Albuquerque native has also been productive at the plate hitting .253 with three doubles and three homers with 14 RBIs. Campbell has drawn 19 walks for a .387 on-base percentage.
(14 COURTNEY BINGHAM) Bingham bounced back to go 2-for-3 with her eighth double of the season last Friday in Game 2 at East Central. It was the sophomore from Arlington's first multiple-hit game since returning from a 19-game injury induced layoff nine games ago. Bingham is hitting .392 for the season with eight doubles, five triples and two homers while driving in 33 runs. She is second on the team with 13 two-out RBIs.
(15 AMANDA POTYSMAN) Potysman has hit a career-best seven homers this season while hitting .319 with 27 RBIs. The Grapevine has starred during LSC North Division play hitting .368 with a pair of doubles and two homers with eight RBIs. The versatile senior has started 18 games at shortstop, seven games in right field, six games at second base, six games in left field, four games at designated player and two at first base this season. She has also seen time at catcher during her four years at MSU.
(16 KIM JERRICK) Jerrick matched the frosh record with her ninth home run on April 2 at the Lone Star Conference Crossover against West Texas A&M. The Belle Plaine, Kan. native has proven solid in the clutch hitting .418 (23 of 55) with runners in scoring position and .455 (10 of 22) with a runner on third base with less than two outs. Jerrick set the school single season record with 33rd free pass last Saturday against East Central.
(17 KRISTINA GUTIERREZ) Gutierrez has been absolutely stellar at Mustangs Park this season. The senior from Pearland has posted six shutouts while going 6-2 with a 0.52 ERA in the friendly confines. Gutierrez is 17-2 with a 1.39 ERA this season while allowing 27 earned runs on 90 hits in 136 1/3 innings. She boasts 195 strikeouts to just 18 walks while limiting the opposition to a .185 batting average.
(24 COURTNEY FORD) Ford saw her first game action since Feb. 13 when she pinch-ran and scored a run in MSU 11-1 win over Texas Woman's April 3 in the LSC Crossover in San Angelo. The freshman from Graham has now appeared in eight games while hitting .429 with a pair of RBIs.
(25 BRITTNEY TANNER) The sure Lone Star Conference North Division Pitcher of the Year leads the league with a 26-5 record, a 1.21 ERA and 269 strikeouts this season. Nice numbers for sure, but she's been even better than that at home where she has posted a perfect 11-0 mark with nine shutouts allowing just two earned runs on 33 hits in 69 innings of action. Tanner has also been a terror at the plate during LSC North play hitting .354 with three doubles, two homers and seven RBIs.
