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Setting the Stage
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No. 5 Midwestern State opens the 2011 NCAA Division II South Central Regional No. 1 Friday afternoon against Texas A&M International.
The Mustangs come into regional play carrying the top seed for the fourth time the program's 8-year history and play host to No. 4 seed Angelo State, No. 5 seed Emporia State (Kan.) and No. 8 seed Texas A&M International.
The winner of the four-team, double elimination tournament advances to face the winner of South Central Regional No. 2 set to be played this weekend in Canyon between No. 2 seed West Texas A&M, No. 3 seed Nebraska-Omaha, No. 6 seed Missouri Western and No. 7 seed St. Mary's (Texas) next week in a three-game series in the NCAA II Super Regional round.
The victor moves on to the NCAA Division II World Series set for May 26-30 for the Moyer Complex in Salem, Va.
The Mustangs (47-10) and Dustdevils (32-27) are set for a first pitch at noon followed by Angelo State and Emporia State at 2:30 p.m.
Play continues with the winner's bracket final set for 11 a.m. followed by elimination games at 1:30 and 4 p.m.
The championship game is slated for Sunday at 1 p.m. with the if necessary game following at 3:30 p.m.
All games will be played at Mustangs Park on the campus of Midwestern State University.
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Where to Find the Games
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Live Stats - Live stats are available courtesy of MSUMustangs.com Link
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Tournament Schedule
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Friday, May 13
Game 1: (1) Midwestern State (47-10) vs. (8) Texas A&M International (32-27), Noon
Game 2: (4) Angelo State (42-12) vs. (5) Emporia State (41-14), 2:30 p.m.
Saturday, May 14
Game 3: Game 1 winner vs. Game 2 winner, 11 a.m.
Game 4: Game 1 loser vs. Game 2 loser, 1:30 p.m.
Game 5: Game 3 loser vs. Game 4 winner, 4 p.m.
Sunday, May 15
Game 6: Game 3 winner vs. Game 5 winner, 1 p.m.
Game 7: Game 6 winner vs. Game 6 loser, 3:30 p.m. (if necessary)
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Midwestern State in the South Central Regional
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The Mustangs are making their seventh appearance in their eighth season of existence in the NCAA Division II South Central Regional.
Midwestern qualified for the tournament in each of their first five seasons (2004-08) before missing the playoffs in 2009. MSU returned to host last season advancing to the Super Regional finals before falling a game shy of their first World Series showing.
The Mustangs are 6-12 all time in regional play, but are 4-0 against the South Central Regional No. 1 field this season claiming two wins over Angelo State and two more of Texas A&M International.
MSU's all-time records against the field in South Central Regional play: 16-2 vs. (2) West Texas A&M, 2-0 vs. (3) Nebraska-Omaha, 12-14 vs. (4) Angelo State, 3-5 vs. (5) Emporia State, 1-0 vs. (6) Missouri Western, 5-5 vs. (7) St. Mary's and 3-0 vs. (8) Texas A&M International.
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MSU Quick Notes
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The Mustangs are making their seventh NCAA Division II postseason appearance and will host the tournament for the third time - 2006, 2010, 2011. MSU was also the top seed in the 2007 tournament at Angelo State.
- Midwestern is 3-3 in first round regional contests, but has won the last three.
- No other team in any division of the NCAA has won more games than Midwestern State since the start of the 2010 season. The Mustangs have claimed 101 outdistancing D2 foes North Georgia (98) and Nebraska-Omaha (95) as the only other teams to top the 95-win plateau entering this postseason. Only four NCAA Division I squads have claimed as many as 95 victories including Michigan (98), Alabama (97), Florida (96) and Georgia Tech (95). Linfield has the most win in Division III over the past two seasons with 83.
- Once again, Midwestern State enters the NCAA Division II postseason ranked No. 5 in the latest National Fast-pitch Coaches' Association Top 25 just the same as 2010. The Mustangs have spent the last 25 reporting periods ranked in the poll including 20 of those weeks ranked in the Top 10.
- Midwestern State's senior pitching combination of Brittney Tanner and Kristina Gutierrez has combined for a Lone Star Conference record 24 shutouts this season. Tanner and Gutierrez have notched 12 shutouts each to rank second in NCAA Division II behind Quincy's Tori Bunzell, who has notched 14 blankings. Tanner and Gutierrez need two more shutouts to match former Southeastern Oklahoma State standouts Starla Payne and Christina Cearley who had 14 shutouts in 2000 and 2003, respectively.
- Senior pitcher Brittney Tanner became the third Midwestern State pitcher to be named Lone Star Conference North Division Pitcher of the Year. The Burkburnett product led the LSC in wins (27), shutouts (12), strikeouts (291) and ERA (1.53). Tanner owns MSU top single season marks with 12 shutouts and 291 strikeouts. She needs just two wins to match former standout pitcher Brittany Willson who won 29 games in 2006.
- Senior pitcher Kristina Gutierrez garnered All-LSC North second-team honors after delivering a breakout campaign in the circle. The Pearland native is tied for second in the nation with teammate Brittney Tanner with 12 shutouts on her way to an impressive 20-4 record. She rated second in the conference with a 1.61 ERA and fanned 225 batters to just 21 walks. She has allowed 2-or-fewer hits in 11 of her 26 starts and struck out 10-or-more on 10 occasions.
- Sophomore center fielder Elena Bennett garnered All-LSC North first-team honors for the second straight season after leading the league with a .444 batting average. The Carrollton native became the first player in MSU history to amass 80 hits in a season at the LSC Championships last weekend and now has notched 83 safeties this season. Bennett needs 11 hits to surpass former Angelo State star Alexis Wing (93 hits in 2003) to become the LSC's all-time single season hits leader.
- The 2011 Mustangs have clubbed the most home runs in program history by far this season with 53 which easily surpasses last season's total of 40. Junior third baseman Mallory Mooney leads the way, but needs just one more long ball to take over the single season lead from former standout Rachael Jackson, who also had 12 bombs in 2005. Senior Alyson Reynolds smashed four homers at the LSC Championships has 10 homers, while freshman Kim Jerrick has matched an MSU freshman record with nine homers. Senior Amanda Potysman has eight homers.
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About the Field
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NO. 1 MIDWESTERN STATE The Mustangs (47-10) advanced to the loser's bracket finals in last week's Lone Star Conference Championship's played at the Multi-Sports Complex in Durant, Okla.
MSU claimed wins over Texas Woman's (8-0 in 6 innings), Cameron (10-2 in 5 innings) and Angelo State (8-3), but fell to finalists East Central (9-7) and West Texas A&M (6-3 in 8 innings) both on walk-off home runs.
Alyson Reynolds (.500, 4 HR, 9 RBIs), Mallory Mooney (.412, 2 HR, 8 RBIs) and Kristina Gutierrez (2-2, 3.45 ERA) gained LSC Championship all-tournament honors while Brittney Tanner (.563, 1 HR, 5 RBI) and Elena Bennett (.556, 5 R, 3 SB) delivered stellar performances for the Mustangs.
Midwestern State hit .406 as a team during LSC tournament play.
NO. 4 ANGELO STATE No. 4 seed Angelo State returns to the site of its 2011 South Central Super Regional series win.
Winners of 92 games over the past two seasons, the Rambelles had their string of three Lone Star Conference championship runs snapped at three last weekend in Durant, Okla.
Angelo State posted a 2-2 mark with losses to West Texas A&M and Midwestern State.
The Rambelles lineup features seven .300 hitters led by senior first baseman Kaycee Taylor, how his hitting .361 with 16 doubles, five homers and 30 RBIs. Junior third baseman DeeShanaLynn Tafiti leads the squad with 10 homers and 37 RBIs.
Clarissa Molina is ASU's top option in the circle posting a 22-6 mark with a 2.44 ERA.
Angelo State is 7-6 against the NCAA II South Central Regional field this season.
Angelo State holds a 14-12 advantage in the all-time series which dates back to 2004. The Mustangs have won six of the last nine.
NO. 5 EMPORIA STATE No. 5 seed Emporia State was unable to solve Fort Hays State losing twice to the Tigers last week in the MIAA Tournament in Overland Park, Kan.
The Hornets are led by sophomore catcher Amanda Self who is hitting .404 with eight doubles, five homers and 4 RBIs, while senior infielder Angela Mahan hits .386 with 17 doubles, nine homers and 30 RBIs.
The Hornets boast a tandem of solid pitching options in sophomore Karley Schmelzer (18-6, 1.11 ERA) and junior Jennifer Heerey (12-5, 2.31 ERA).
Emporia State holds a 5-3 advantage in the all-time series which dates back to 2004. The Mustangs won the last meeting by a score of 2-0 in Joplin, Mo.
NO. 8 TEXAS A&M INTERNATIONAL No. 8 seed Texas A&M International enters the NCAA Division II South Central Regional on a roll.
The Dustdevils (32-27) have won nine of their last 10 games after sweeping through the Heartland Conference postseason tournament to earn their first league title and automatic qualification into the NCAA Division II postseason.
Texas A&M International is paced by the one-two combination of Victoria Beltran and Samantha Garcia.
Beltran paces the Dustdevils hitting .386 with 11 doubles, 12 home runs and 42 RBIs and is also TAMIU's top option in the circle posting a 14-10 mark with a 3.08 ERA.
Garcia is a power/speed threat hitting .325 with nine doubles, 11 homers and 29 RBIs while stealing 13 bases.
Freshman Adriana Gonzalez is hitting .339 with 12 doubles, six homers and 18 stolen bases to give TAMIU another threat.
The Dustdevils built a strong mark with a 17-3 record against the Heartland Conference, but has struggled to a 10-18 record against Lone Star Conference teams and are 2-6 against the MIAA.
TAMIU is 0-11 against teams qualifying for postseason play which includes marks of 0-3 against Angelo State, 0-2 against Midwestern State, 0-2 against Nebraska-Omaha, 0-2 against West Texas A&M and 0-2 against Emporia State.
Midwestern State holds a 3-0 advantage in the all-time series which dates back to 2008. The Mustangs have outscored the Dustdevils 23-3.
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