LEADOFF
Midwestern State competes in the St. Mary's Rattler Invitational this weekend in San Antonio. The Mustangs open with games against Oklahoma Christian and St. Mary's on Friday, the play Western Oregon and Central Oklahoma Saturday before closing tournament play Sunday against Rogers State and St. Mary's.
 

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Midwestern State vs. Oklahoma Christian
Friday, Feb. 21 | 4 p.m.
StMU Softball Stadium | San Antonio, Texas
Records: Midwestern State (8-4); Oklahoma Christian (3-4)
Live Video: RattlerAthletics  
Live Audio: None
Live Stats: RattlerAthletics.com 
 
SCOUTING THE EAGLES
Oklahoma Christian carries a 3-4 mark into the weekend after dropping both ends of its doubleheader Tuesday against No. 2 West Texas A&M. Freshman catcher Niki Davidson (1 HR, 6 RBI) and senior Lauren Pittman (1 2B, 1 HR, 4 RBI) pace OC's attack boasting a .400 average, while senior Kala Ratliff hits .375 with two doubles and four RBIs. Freshman Shea Coats (2-1, 3.92 ERA) leads the Eagles in the circle. Oklahoma Christian hits .301 as a team and averages 3.7 runs per game.
 
ABOUT THE SERIES
Midwestern State and Oklahoma Christian meet for the third time on the diamond Friday afternoon in San Antonio. The teams split a twin bill last week in Wichita Falls with the Eagles taking the first game 10-8 before the Mustangs came back to claim Game 2 by an 11-4 margin.
 

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Midwestern State vs. St. Mary's
Friday, Feb. 21 | 6 p.m.
Sunday, Feb. 23 | Noon
StMU Softball Stadium | San Antonio, Texas
Records: Midwestern State (8-4); St. Mary's (12-3)
Live Video:  Friday   |  Sunday 
Live Audio: None
Live Stats: RattlerAthletics.com  
 
SCOUTING THE RATTLERS
No. 14 St. Mary's rides an eight-game winning streak into weekend play with its last loss coming to No. 2- ranked West Texas A&M in The Desert Stinger on Feb. 7. Junior leadoff hitter Nicole Sardelich ignites the order hitting .380 with seven doubles, a triple while 2-hole hitting senior Katie Nichols is hitting .417 with a pair of doubles and eight stolen bases. Clean-up hitting junior Haley Richter is hitting .347 with five doubles, a homer and a team-best 20 RBIs. Junior Alex Rodriguez leads the Rattlers with three homers while junior Amanda Villa, junior Taylor Vidrine and junior Laura Benavidez each have two long balls each. Senior Emily Brittain leads St. Mary's efforts in the circle with a 9-2 record with a 1.81 ERA while junior Vianna Gutierrez is 1.66 with a 2-1 mark. St. Mary's is hitting .307 as a team while scoring 5.5 runs per game.
 
ABOUT THE SERIES
Midwestern State and St. Mary's meet for the 14th and 15th times on the diamond this weekend in San Antonio. The Mustangs own a slim 7-6 advantage in the series which dates back to the 2005 season. The teams have met four times in NCAA Division II South Central Regional play with MSU holding a 3-1 advantage. However, the teams split a pair of games last season in Denton. Neither team has won a game on the other's home field as the Mustangs have claimed all four games in Wichita Falls while the Rattlers have been victorious in all five games in San Antonio.
 

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Midwestern State vs. Western Oregon
Saturday, Feb. 22 | 10 a.m.
Sunday, Feb. 23 | 10 a.m.
StMU Softball Stadium | San Antonio, Texas
Records: Midwestern State (8-4); Western Oregon (2-7)
Live Video:  Saturday   |  Sunday  
Live Audio: None
Live Stats: RattlerAthletics.com 
 
SCOUTING THE WOLVES
Western Oregon won two of its last three games at the Desert Stinger two weeks ago in Las Vegas after starting the campaign with four consecutive losses. Junior outfielder Amanda Evola is the WOU's top threat at the plate hitting .419 with four doubles, two homers and 10 RBIs, while freshman infielder Kelsie Gardner checks in at .394 with two doubles, two homers and nine RBIs. The Wolves have used six arms in the circle to combine for a 6.30 ERA while allowing a .369 opponent batting average. Western Oregon hits .283 as a team and scores 6.3 runs per game.
 
ABOUT THE SERIES
Midwestern State and Western Oregon meet for the 1st and 2nd time on the diamond this weekend in San Antonio.
 

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Midwestern State vs. Central Oklahoma
Saturday, Feb. 22 | Noon
StMU Softball Stadium | San Antonio, Texas
Records: Midwestern State (8-4); Central Oklahoma (6-5)
Live Video: RattlerAthletics.com   
Live Audio: None
Live Stats: RattlerAthletics.com 
 
SCOUTING THE BRONCHOS
Defending national champion Central Oklahoma rides a three-game winning streak into the St. Mary's Rattler Invitational. Junior outfielder Kaylee Brunson (.462, 9 SBs) and junior first baseman Emily Ditmore (.455, 4 2B) lead a potent Broncho attack which features seven players hitting better than .300 including junior outfielder Devyn Frazier (.363, 1 HR, 5 RBI), sophomore utility Ashton Smith (.355, 1 2B, 1 HR, 8 RBI), sophomore utility Sam Cool (.344, 1 2B, 6 RBI) and sophomore second baseman Ally Dziadula (.333, 4 2B, 1 HR, 9 RBI). UCO is solid in the circle posting a 2.33 team ERA paced by seniors Amanda McClelland (2-2, 2.10 ERA) and Kalynn Schrock (3-3, 2.26 ERA). The Bronchos hit .345 as a team and score 5.6 runs per game.
 
ABOUT THE SERIES
Midwestern State and Central Oklahoma meet for the 46th time on the diamond this weekend in San Antonio. The Mustangs own a slim 24-21 edge in the series which dates back to the 2004 season. MSU claimed two out of the three games between the teams last season including a twin-bill sweep of the eventual national champions (15-6, 4-1) on March 26, 2013 in Wichita Falls. UCO has won four the seven meetings between the teams at a neutral site.
 

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MSU TEAM NOTES
- Midwestern State tops the Lone Star Conference in scoring (9.1 runs per game) and home runs per game (2.0 per game).
- Seven different Mustangs have already hit at least two homers this season -- also best in the LSC. West Texas A&M has six players with multiple homers while Angelo State and Cameron have four.
- Eleven different players have cleared the fence for the Mustangs this season through 12 games.
- The Mustangs have accounted for at least one home run in 11 of 12 games this season and delivered multiple homers in seven consecutive games from Feb. 1-14.
- MSU has mashed out 10-or-more hits in eight of 12 games this season.
 
MSU PLAYER NOTES
- Sophomore outfielder Haley Howerton rides a career-best nine-game hitting streak into weekend play. Howerton is hitting .548 (17-of-31) during the streak with five doubles, a triple and five RBIs to go along with eight RBIs during the stretch. She has accounted for 2-or-more hits in five of the eight games.
- Freshman Claire Hopkins has scored a run in each of her eight appearances this season as a pinch runner.
- Freshman outfielder Jennifer Quintero delivered her career first multiple-hit game by going 3-for-3 with a triple and an RBI against Northeastern State on Feb. 15.
- Freshman Erin Knox has allowed two earned runs on nine hits with six strikeouts and no walks in 10 innings over her last two starts -- both wins.
- Freshman outfielder Taylor Bermudes has appeared in two games as a pinch hitter this season.
- Redshirt-freshman Demi Thompson has appeared in 10 games in the outfield this season. She is 2-for-5 (.400) at the plate including a two-hit game at West Florida on Feb. 2.
- Freshman first baseman Krisha Hamm slugged her first collegiate homer - a two-run shot - against Oklahoma Christian on Feb. 13.
- Freshman Baylee Voigt slugged homers in three consecutive games on Feb. 13-14. She is 3-for-6 (.500) as pinch hitter with a homer and two RBIs this season.
- Sophomore Chelsey Wall matched a career-high with seven RBIs on a grand slam and a 3-run double against Northeastern State on Feb. 16. She hit .500 (12-for-24) with two doubles, a homer and eight RBIs during an eight-game hitting streak from Feb. 3-16. Wall has accounted for multiple hits in a team-high six games this season.
-  Senior catcher Kim Jerrick hit .458 (11-for-24) with two doubles, two homers and seven RBIs in MSU's seven-game home stand last week.
- Sophomore pitcher Kat Batey allowed one hit in four innings of scoreless relief to earn a win Saturday against Northeastern State. She lowered her ERA to 4.71.
- Sophomore Katlyn Holmes delivered her best performance of the season Sunday against Rogers State allowing two runs on five hits with seven strikeouts in a 7-inning complete game victory.
- Sophomore second baseman Shelby Carter collected her first homer of the season and drove in four runs against Oklahoma Christian on Feb. 13.
- Junior shortstop Katy Vandewater matched a school record by going 5-for-5 with a double, homer and two RBIs against Southern Arkansas on Feb. 3. She is 4-for-8 (.500) during a current three-game hitting streak with a homer and an RBI.
- Sophomore outfielder Katelyn Vinson drove in runs in seven consecutive games from Feb. 3-16 and leads the Mustangs with 16 RBIs.
- Junior first baseman Katelyn Potts crushed her first homer as a Mustang at West Florida on Feb. 2.
- Junior third baseman Kelley Schaefer has driven in runs in each of her 10 starts this season. She is hitting .455 (5-for-11) with four RBIs on her current four-game hitting streak.
 
MILESTONES
- Senior catcher Kim Jerrick will become the school's all-team leader in runs scored with her next tally. She is currently tied with former teammate Courtney Bingham with 175.
- Kim Jerrick needs three hits to move past Jessica Rodriguez (215 hits/2006-09) and into fifth place on MSU's all-time hits list.
- Sophomore outfielder Katelyn Vinson needs eight RBIs to past Amanda Potysman (90 RBIs/2008-11) to move into 10th-place on the school's all-time RBI list.
- Kim Jerrick needs eight total bases to move past Courtney Bingham (396 total bases/2009-13) and Kristen Stonecipher (396 total bases/2005-08) to become MSU's all-time leader in total bases.
 
MSU UNDER BRADY TIGERT
Brady Tigert is in his 11th season at the helm at Midwestern State and is the program's lone head coach since it was resurrected in 2004. The Mustangs have averaged just over 40 wins a year under Tigert, who boasts a 409-184 (.690b  ) record which includes NCAA Division II postseason trips in eight of 10 seasons. MSU finished as national semifinalists in 2011, claimed two regional titles (2010, 2011) and two Lone Star Conference championships (2006, 2007).