MIDWESTERN STATE SCHEDULE AT WT INVITATIONAL
Friday, Feb. 12
Midwestern State vs. No. 12 St. Mary's (Texas) – 1:45 p.m. (Buffalo Sports Park)
Saturday, Feb. 13
Midwestern State vs. Chadron State (Neb.) – 12:15 p.m. (Schaeffer Park) | Live Stats
Midwestern State vs. Metro State (Colo.) – 4:45 p.m. (Buffalo Sports Park)
Sunday, Feb. 14
Midwestern State vs. Adams State (Colo.) – 10:30 a.m. (Buffalo Sports Park)
Midwestern State vs. Colorado State-Pueblo – 3 p.m. (Buffalo Sports Park)

Tournament Central Page
 

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WICHITA FALLS, Texas – Midwestern State will take on five South Central Region foes this weekend in the 14-team WT Invitational at Buffalo Sports Park and Schaeffer Park in Canyon.

The Mustangs will open up the three-day event Friday at 1:45 p.m. with a matchup against No. 12 St. Mary's (Texas) from the Heartland Conference. MSU follows up with contests against Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference (RMAC) schools, Chadron State (Neb.) and Metro State (Colo.), on Saturday before closing the weekend Sunday against two more RMAC opponents in Adams State (Colo.) and Colorado State-Pueblo.

Live scoring will be available for Midwestern State's game against Chadron State at Schaeffer Park on Saturday at 12:15 p.m. All other contests at Buffalo Sports Park will not be live scored.
 
LAST TIME OUT
– Midwestern State finished 3-3 at the Gulf Coast Invitational last weekend in Gulf Shores, Ala.
– The Mustangs earned wins over Southern Nazarene (Okla.), Lee (Tenn.) and McKendree (Ill.) while falling to Rockhurst (Mo.), North Alabama and No. 1 North Georgia, two coming by one-run margins
– Senior third baseman Katelyn Vinson made her return to the field in the Mustangs' second game of the tournament after missing three games with an injury
– The Southlake native hit .667 (12-of-18) while adding four runs, three walks and an RBI with just one strikeout in five games to earn Lone Star Conference Hitter of the Week
– Junior designated player Baylee Voigt (.353) and freshman right fielder Taylor Mordecai (.300) also had strong performances at the plate on the weekend with Voigt hitting two homers and driving in a team-best six RBI while pushing her hitting streak to six games
– In seven at bats, freshman pitcher/infielder Makenzi Harris recorded five hits with two doubles and one triple for a .714 average and 1.286 slugging percentage
 
A LOOK AT THE MUSTANGS
– After its 3-3 weekend in Alabama, Midwestern State moved to 5-6 on the season following two weeks of play
– Vinson leads the Mustangs at the plate with a .577 batting average in eight appearances on the year
– Voigt and senior center fielder Haley Howerton are each hitting .364 with Voigt recording a team-high 13 RBI and three home runs and Howerton pacing the squad with 16 hits
– Junior pitcher/infielder Erin Knox has also seen success at the plate, matching a team-best nine runs scored while hitting .342 with 10 RBI
– In the circle, redshirt freshman Peyton Helton has seen the most time with 36.1 innings, posting a 4.05 ERA
– Knox and Harris have each earned two wins for the Mustangs this season with ERAs of 5.69 and 6.08, respectively
– Junior Tayler Jerrick currently leads the team with a 3.50 ERA in 12.0 innings of work
 
SCOUTING THE RATTLERS
– St. Mary's will play away from home for the first time this season at the WT Invitational after hosting the St. Mary's NCAA Division II College Classic last week
– The Rattlers were ranked No. 12 in the NFCA preseason poll after a 48-12 season that included a South Central Region Championship and a World Series berth
– STMU is led by junior outfielder Alena Moreno at the plate, hitting .421 with four walks and three runs scored for the Rattlers
– Junior outfielder Olivia Van Hook is batting .412 this season with a double and a triple among her seven hits while leading the team with six RBI
– The Rattlers pitching staff has gotten off to a strong start to the season with a combined 1.08 ERA
– Junior Ashley Mills has not allowed an earned run, fanning 10 batters while allowing six hits and four walks in 11.0 innings of work
– Donna Fields comes in to her 19th season with the St. Mary's softball program with a career mark of 787-316 (.714) and a NCAA Division II National Championship (2002) under her belt
 
SCOUTING THE EAGLES
– Chadron State is 2-2-1 on the season after playing a five-game slate at the Eckerd College Spring Invitational in Florida last weekend
– Senior outfielder Lindsey Karlin batted .286 with four hits to lead the Eagles offensively on the weekend
– Senior pitcher Cierra Cosslett allowed just one earned run in Chadron State's season-opening tournament for a team-best 0.44 ERA in 16 innings of work
– Robert Stack is in his ninth season leading the Eagles with a record of 162-225-2 (.419)
 
SCOUTING THE ROADRUNNERS
– Metro State is 1-3 on the year following a 44-16 season and trip to the NCAA South Central Regional in 2015
– The Roadrunners suffered a pair of losses to UC San Diego and earned a split with Western Oregon to open the season last weekend in California
– Junior pitcher/shortstop Hayley Fields leads Metro with a .533 average at the plate
– Junior pitcher/infielder Cassidy Smith and sophomore infielder Harley Huser each batted .300 last weekend with Smith leading the Roadrunners with two walks and a perfect 5-of-5 in stolen bases
– In the circle, Fields recorded a 3.77 ERA in 13.0 innings, allowing seven earned runs and two walks with eight strikeouts for a 1-1 record
– Head coach Annie Van Wetzinga comes in to her third season at Metro State with a career record of 78-36 (.684)
 
SCOUTING THE GRIZZLIES
– Adams State went 2-4 at the George McCorkle Tournament, hosted by Angelo State, to open the season last weekend
– Junior catcher Marissa Harmon led the Grizzlies with a .429 batting average while junior infielder Paige Reichmuth (.316) and junior outfielder Kalin Johnson (.300) also put together strong performances for ASU
– Johnson recorded three triples among her six hits while leading the Grizzlies with six RBI on the weekend
– Junior Lauren Murphy pitched 21.2 innings in the circle for a 3.55 ERA and 2-1 record after allowing 11 earned runs, 13 hits and 22 walks with 16 strikeouts
– Head coach Dervin Taylor is in his ninth season with the Grizzlies, carrying a record of 210-179 (.540)
 
SCOUTING THE THUNDERWOLVES
– Colorado State-Pueblo went 0-5 to begin the season last weekend at the Dixie State Tournament
– The ThunderWolves faced No. 2 Dixie State, No. 13 Humboldt State (twice) and No. 22 West Texas A&M, suffering three run-rule losses
– Junior infielder Moriah Turney hit a team-high .538 last weekend with two doubles and two runs scored as the Thunderwolves managed just six runs in their first tournament of the season
– In the circle, senior Madison Wolfe pitched 7.0 innings with a 4.00 ERA, giving up four earned runs and three walks while striking out six
– Christie Zinanti enters her third season with the ThunderWolves, holding a 56-44 career mark (.560)
 
THE TIGERT ERA
– Since starting the program 12 years ago, head coach Brady Tigert has led Midwestern State softball to nine NCAA Tournament appearances while compiling a 461-234 (.663) record in his time at MSU
– After a three-year stint at LSC foe Texas A&M-Kingsville, Tigert guided MSU to a 31-16 record in its inaugural season in 2004 where the squad captured the LSC North title and punched a ticket to the NCAA Tournament
– Under Tigert, the Mustangs have claimed two South Central Region Championships (2010, 2011) and advanced all the way to the national semifinals in 2011 before falling to Alabama-Huntsville
– During that two-year span, the Mustangs led all of collegiate softball with 108 wins with back-to-back 54-win campaigns to set a new LSC single-season wins record
– Tigert holds three regional coaching staff of the year honors (2006, 2010-11) and is a five-time LSC Coach of the Year awardee (2004, 2006-07, 2010-11), capturing conference titles in 2006 and 2007
 
MUSTANGS PICKED SEVENTH IN LSC PRESEASON POLL
– Midwestern State was chosen to finish seventh in the Lone Star Conference Preseason Poll, voted on by the league's head coaches, sports information directors and media representatives
– The Mustangs totaled 87 points in the poll behind West Texas A&M (211), Angelo State (173), Tarleton State (161), Texas Woman's (159), Cameron (142) and Texas A&M-Commerce (101). Texas A&M-Kingsville (54) and Eastern New Mexico (37) rounded out the poll in eighth and ninth, respectively
 
LOOKING AHEAD
– Midwestern State will travel to Northeastern State for its final tournament of the 2016 season next weekend with the NSU Softball Festival in Tahlequah, Okla.
– The Mustangs will face Rogers State (Okla.) and Lindenwood (Mo.) on Saturday before taking on Wisconsin-Parkside and William Jewell (Mo.) to wrap up the tournament Sunday