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NCAA II Super Regional (May 20-21, 2011)

Softball MSU Sports Information

Game Day: No. 5 Mustangs set for Super Regional, West Texas A&M

Setting the Stage
No. 5 Midwestern State and No. 12 West Texas A&M tangle in the NCAA Division II South Central Super Regional Friday and Saturday at Mustangs Park.
 
The winner will represent the region in the 2011 College World Series set for next week at the Moyer Complex in Salem, Va.
 
The Mustangs (50-11) rolled through South Central Regional #1 last weekend in Wichita Falls by claiming wins over Texas A&M International and Emporia State before defeating Angelo State to win the regional for the second straight season.
 
West Texas A&M (49-16) dropped its opening game of the tournament to St. Mary's (Texas) before rattling off four straight homes wins over Missouri Western, St. Mary's and two times over Nebraska-Omaha.
 
The first game of the best-of-3 series begins Friday afternoon at 5 p.m. and concludes with two possible games Saturday beginning at 2.

Where to Find the Games
  •  Live Stats - Live stats are available courtesy of MSUMustangs.com  Link

Tournament Schedule
Friday, May 20
Game 1: (1) Midwestern State (50-11) vs. (2) West Texas A&M (49-16), 5 p.m.
 
Saturday, May 21
Game 2: Midwestern State vs. West Texas A&M, 2 p.m.
Game 3: Midwestern State vs. West Texas A&M, 4:30 p.m. (if necessary)

Midwestern State in the South Central Regional
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 9-13 all time in regional play.
 
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, 13-15 vs. (4) Angelo State, 4-5 vs. (5) Emporia State, 1-0 vs. (6) Missouri Western, 5-5 vs. (7) St. Mary's and 4-0 vs. (8) Texas A&M International.

MSU Quick Notes
  • The Mustangs are making their seventh NCAA Division II postseason appearance and are hosting the tournament for a third time - 2006, 2010, 2011. MSU was also the top seed in the 2007 tournament at Angelo State.
  • Midwestern State is 1-2 in the NCAA Division II Super Regional round extending Angelo State to a third and deciding game last season.
  • 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 104 wins outdistancing D2 foes North Georgia (101) and Nebraska-Omaha (97) as the only other teams to top the 95-win plateau entering the Super Regional round. Michigan tops D1 in victories over the past two seasons with 100, while Linfield leads D3 with 87.
  • Midwestern State enters the NCAA Division II postseason ranked No. 5 in the final regular season NFCA D2 Top 25. 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 senior pitcher Brittney Tanner, junior third baseman Mallory Mooney and sophomore center fielder Elena Bennett each earned All-South Central first-team by Daktronics and the National Fast-pitch Coaches' Association. Tanner was named Daktronics regional pitcher of the year.
  • Midwestern State's senior pitching combination of Brittney Tanner and Kristina Gutierrez has combined for a Lone Star Conference record 25 shutouts this season. Tanner ranks second in the nation with 13 shutouts while Gutierrez has notched 12. Tanner is just one behind Quincy's Tori Bunzell, who finished with 14 blankings. Tanner needs one more shutout 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 (29), shutouts (13), strikeouts (319) and ERA (1.46). Tanner owns MSU top single season marks with wins, strikeouts and shutouts.
  • 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 21-4 record. She rated second in the conference with a 1.57 ERA and fanned 232 batters to just 24 walks. She has allowed 2-or-fewer hits in 11 of her 28 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 .437 batting average. The Carrollton native became the first player in MSU history to amass 80 hits in a season and now has notched 87 safeties this season. Bennett needs seven 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 56 which easily surpasses last season's total of 40. Junior third baseman Mallory Mooney leads the way with a school record 13 homers. Senior first baseman Alyson Reynolds, who smashed four homers at the LSC Championships, and freshman Kim Jerrick, whose three-run homer keyed MSU's regional win over Angelo State, have 10 homers each. Senior Amanda Potysman also mashed her ninth home run of the season last weekend in the South Central Regionals.

About the Lady Buffs
Midwestern State and West Texas A&M have split two meetings this season with the Mustangs claiming a 2-0 win on April 2 at the LSC Crossover in San Angelo and the Lady Buffs taking a 6-3 decision on May 6 at the LSC Championship in Durant, Okla.
 
Mustangs 2, Lady Buffs 0 (4/2/11)
 
Brittney Tanner weaved a two-hit shutout to lead No. 3 MSU to a 2-0 win over No. 15 West Texas A&M at the LSC Crossover.
 
The Mustangs plated an unearned run on an Elena Bennett infield single in the fifth before Kim Jerrick crushed her ninth homer of the season in the sixth inning to account for all of the scoring in the contest.
 
Lady Buffs 6, Mustangs 3 (5/6/11)
 
Kaitlyn Witte's three-run homer on an 0-2 pitch with two outs in the bottom of the eighth inning lifted No. 17 West Texas A&M to a 6-3 in over No. 3 Midwestern State at the LSC Championship.
 
The homer spoiled a three run comeback for MSU as Mallory Mooney connected on a 2-run homer in the sith and Alyson Reynolds connected on a game-tying solo shot in the seventh.
 
Midwestern State holds a 16-2 advantage in the all-time series which dates back to 2006. MSU is 7-0 against WT in Wichita Falls.
  
-- MSUMustangs.com --
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Players Mentioned

Elena Bennett

#6 Elena Bennett

OF
5' 8"
Sophomore
L/R
Kristina Gutierrez

#17 Kristina Gutierrez

P
5' 5"
Senior
R/R
Kim Jerrick

#16 Kim Jerrick

C
5' 10"
Freshman
R/R
Mallory Mooney

#10 Mallory Mooney

3B
5' 8"
Junior
R/R
Amanda Potysman

#15 Amanda Potysman

UT
5' 5"
Senior
R/R
Alyson Reynolds

#9 Alyson Reynolds

1B
5' 6"
Senior
R/R
Brittney Tanner

#25 Brittney Tanner

P
5' 7"
Senior
R/R

Players Mentioned

Elena Bennett

#6 Elena Bennett

5' 8"
Sophomore
L/R
OF
Kristina Gutierrez

#17 Kristina Gutierrez

5' 5"
Senior
R/R
P
Kim Jerrick

#16 Kim Jerrick

5' 10"
Freshman
R/R
C
Mallory Mooney

#10 Mallory Mooney

5' 8"
Junior
R/R
3B
Amanda Potysman

#15 Amanda Potysman

5' 5"
Senior
R/R
UT
Alyson Reynolds

#9 Alyson Reynolds

5' 6"
Senior
R/R
1B
Brittney Tanner

#25 Brittney Tanner

5' 7"
Senior
R/R
P