MIDWESTERN STATE AT GULF COAST INVITATIONAL
Friday, Feb. 5
Midwestern State vs. Southern Nazarene (Okla.) – 12 p.m. (Gulf Shores Sportsplex)
Midwestern State vs. Rockhurst (Mo.) – 2:15 p.m. (Gulf Shores Sportsplex)
Midwestern State vs. Lee (Tenn.) – 4:30 p.m. (Gulf Shores Sportsplex)
Saturday, Feb. 6
Midwestern State vs. North Alabama – 12:15 p.m. (Gulf Shores Sportsplex)
Midwestern State vs. McKendree (Ill.) – 4:45 p.m. (Gulf Shores Sportsplex)
Sunday, Feb. 7
Midwestern State vs. No. 1 North Georgia – 9 a.m. (Gulf Shores Sportsplex) | Live Stats
 

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WICHITA FALLS, Texas – Midwestern State travels to the white, sandy beaches of Alabama this weekend for the 20-team, three-day Gulf Coast Invitational, set to take place across five fields at the Gulf Shores Sportsplex.

The Mustangs will open play Friday with a triple-header against Southern Nazarene (Okla.), Rockhurst (Mo.) and Lee (Tenn.) beginning at noon. Midwestern State will then face North Alabama to begin the day Saturday at 12 p.m. before taking on McKendree (Ill.) at 4:45 p.m. The Mustangs will conclude the tournament Sunday against No. 1 North Georgia with first pitch scheduled for 9 a.m.

LAST TIME OUT
– Midwestern State opened the 2016 season last weekend at the Lady Chaps Invitational in Lubbock, finishing with a 2-3 record
– The Mustangs opened up with an 11-8 win over Western New Mexico and a 5-4 eight-inning victory over Oklahoma Panhandle State on the first day of action
 – The Mustangs came up short to No. 21 Regis and host Lubbock Christian on day two before closing the weekend with an eight-inning loss to Regis on Sunday
– Senior center fielder Haley Howerton and junior utility player Erin Knox were named to the Lady Chaps Invitational All-Tournament Team
– Howerton led the Mustangs offense with a .550 batting average and 11 hits while tallying four multiple-hit games including a 4-for-4 outing in the first game against Regis
– Knox hit .471 during the season-opening tournament with eight hits and a team-high seven runs and two homers while also recording a win in the circle in the season opener against WNMU
– Junior designated hitter Baylee Voigt and junior shortstop Tammy Viliamu also had strong performances at the plate on the weekend for the Mustangs
– Voigt batted .375 in four starts, hitting a team-best two doubles while tying with Viliamu for the team lead with seven RBI
– Voigt went 3-for-4 on two occasions, recording a two-run homer and three RBI in the win over WNMU while tallying four RBI in the second game against Regis
– Viliamu batted .273 on the weekend, having her biggest game against OPSU with a three-run bomb to tie the game up at 3-3 before scoring the winning run in the eighth
 
SCOUTING THE CRIMSON STORM
– Southern Nazarene will open the 2016 season Friday against Midwestern State, coming off a 20-30 campaign in 2015
– The Crimson Storm are the lone team that Midwestern State has previously faced among its six opponents this weekend, beating SNU, 4-3, back on Feb. 11, 2012 at the Texas A&M-Kingsville Invitational
– The Crimson Storm return 14 letterwinners and seven starters including two-time All-Great American Conference First Team selection in senior pitcher Kayla Wyatt and All-GAC Second Team pick in senior outfielder Jill Clemence
– Wyatt led the GAC in strikeouts in each of the last two seasons and ranked second in NCAA Division II last year with 224
– SNU was picked to finish seventh in the GAC after a sixth-place finish in the regular season in 2015, advancing to the conference championships for the first time in program history in its first season of postseason eligibility
– Tere Webber is 295-296 (.499) in her 12th season coaching the Crimson Storm
 
SCOUTING THE HAWKS
– Rockhurst will also open the 2016 season against Midwestern State Friday afternoon
– The Hawks went 28-22 last season, tying the school record for most wins in a season
– Rockhurst was picked eighth in the 16-team Great Lakes Valley Conference after a 16-14 league record and eighth seed in the GLVC Tournament in 2015
– The Hawks return All-GLVC selections in junior pitcher Bridgette Sappington and sophomore outfielder Madison Wagner
– Sappington ranked fifth in the league last season with a 1.87 ERA while compiling a record of 22-13
– Wagner tied for the conference lead with six triples and ranked second with 36 stolen bases while leading the Hawks with a .360 average at the plate
– Galen Struve has guided Rockhurst to a 213-285 record (.428) since starting the program in 2005
 
SCOUTING THE LADY FLAMES
– Lee began the season last weekend with a doubleheader split against Bellarmine at home
– The Lady Flames put together a 36-19 season and finished fourth in the Gulf South Conference in its final transition year to NCAA Division II in 2015
– Lee was picked fifth in the GSC Preseason Poll with senior shortstop Amanda Lynn and senior first baseman Lexie Dean being named to the all-preseason team
– Lynn hit .352 in the leadoff spot and stole 32 bases to set the school's all-time career stolen bases record in 2015
– Dean led the Flames with a .417 batting average and .480 on base percentage
– Head coach Emily Russell has amassed a career mark of 519-210 (.712) in 13 seasons at Lee
 
SCOUTING THE LIONS
– North Alabama opened the season last weekend with the Gulf South/Peach Belt Showdown in Columbus, Ga., going 4-0 including a 12-2 win over No. 1 North Georgia
– The Lions received 27 votes in the NFCA preseason poll released last week following a 34-18 season that included an appearance in the NCAA South Regional Championship  
– UNA held opponents to five runs in its season-opening tournament as the Lions pitching trio of junior Raven Cole, junior Hillary Carpenter and freshman Hannah Bodenhorn finished the weekend with a 1.18 ERA, fanning 20 batters and allowing just two extra base hits
– Senior first baseman Brooklynn Clark led the Lions at the plate with a .571 average with four doubles and a home run among her eight hits on the weekend
– The Lions were picked fourth in the Gulf South Conference Preseason Poll behind Valdosta State (Ga.), Alabama-Huntsville and Shorter (Ga.)
– Head coach Ashley Cozart is 76-32 (.704) in two seasons at North Alabama
 
SCOUTING THE BEARCATS
– McKendree opens the 2016 season this weekend following a 15-33 record in 2015
– Head coach Ashley Fleming enters her first season with a Bearcats team that returns 11 players from a season ago
– The Bearcats were picked to finish 14th in the Great Lakes Valley Conference Preseason Poll
– Junior infielder Hanna Branch returns as the top hitter for McKendree, batting .304 for fourth on the squad last season while matching a team-best three home runs
– In the circle, sophomore hurler Brooke Gajewski made 21 appearances and 15 starts with a 4-9 record and 6.48 ERA in 76.2 innings last season
 
SCOUTING THE NIGHTHAWKS
– North Georgia is coming off a 2015 national championship, the first in school history, after a 54-8 record
– The Nighthawks were a unanimous No. 1 pick in the NFCA preseason poll, capturing all 16 first-place votes
– UNG struggled on opening weekend, dropping four contests at the Gulf South/Peach Belt Showdown
– The Nighthawks fell to North Alabama, who is receiving votes in the NFCA Preseason Poll, Delta State, No. 18 Alabama-Huntsville and No. 6 Valdosta State
– Senior pitcher Courtney Poole was named the 2015 NFCA and Daktronics National Player of the Year after finishing the year with an impressive 0.98 ERA and 366 strikeouts during her 47-win campaign
– Poole did not see any action last weekend as the UNG freshmen pitching duo of Macy Watkins and Brianna Michaud struggled in their first collegiate action, allowing 39 hits, 42 runs and 30 walks in 22.2 innings
– Freshman outfielder Kelly Kahlert led the Nighthawks last weekend at the plate with a .500 batting average
– Head coach Mike Davenport is 654-196 (.769) in 15 seasons at North Georgia
 
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 458-231 (.665) 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 head back to west Texas next week for the West Texas A&M Invitational at the Buffalo Sports Park and Schaeffer Park in Canyon
– The Mustangs will face No. 12 St. Mary's (Texas), Chadron State (Neb.), Metro State (Colo.), Adams State (Colo.) and Colorado State-Pueblo in the three-day tournament