Midwestern State at Oklahoma Baptist
Wednesday, Mar. 16, 2016 | 5/7 p.m.
Lady Bison Park | Shawnee, Okla.
Records: Midwestern State (16-16); Oklahoma Baptist (6-13)
Live Stats: OBUBison.com
Live Video: OBUBison.com


WICHITA FALLS, Texas – Midwestern State takes a break from Lone Star Conference play Wednesday for a non-conference doubleheader against Oklahoma Baptist at Lady Bison Park in Shawnee, Okla. First pitch is scheduled for 5 p.m.

LAST TIME OUT
– Midwestern State dropped a Lone Star Conference series to Texas Woman's Monday night as the Pioneers swept the Mustangs on the second day of play to take the season series 3-1
– The Pioneers came away with a 6-4 win in the series opener Sunday before Midwestern rallied for a 7-6 win in game two
– Texas Woman's took an early lead on the Mustangs in game three en route to a 14-8 win before holding off a MSU seventh inning rally in the series finale for an 11-9 win
– Errors doomed the Mustangs throughout the entire series, committing four miscues in all four games to allow the Pioneers to plate 16 unearned runs
– Sophomore catcher Amanda Thomas led the Mustangs at the plate with a .429 average with six hits during the series
– Senior third baseman Katelyn Vinson batted .400 with a team-high .588 on base percentage while junior pitcher/first baseman Erin Knox hit .385 with a pair of homers and a double for a team-best six RBI
 
VINSON SETS TWO NEW SCHOOL RECORDS
– Making her return to the field after a two-game absence, Katelyn Vinson made history in the series opener against Eastern New Mexico on Feb. 26 by becoming the MSU career home run leader
– Vinson inked her 57th career bomb with a three-run shot to break open a 3-3 ballgame in the fifth inning against the Greyhounds
– The Southlake native climbed to the top of the record books just three games after tying Kim Jerrick's previous record-holding mark of 56 set in 2014
– Vinson is closing in on the Lone Star Conference career home run record, needing just one more to tie the record of 62 set by West Texas A&M's Renee Erwin from 2012-15
– In the series finale against the Greyhounds, Vinson moved to the top of the career RBI list as she blasted a three-run home run to push her career total to 200, breaking former teammate Kelley Schaefer's record of 199 set last season
 
A LOOK AT THE MUSTANGS
– Midwestern State dropped to 16-16 overall and 4-8 in the LSC following the series against Texas Woman's
– Vinson leads the Mustangs with a .471 average at the plate this season with a team-best .839 slugging percentage and .565 on base percentage, eighth in NCAA Division II
– Vinson paces MSU with 34 RBI and eight home runs, ranking 12th nationally in RBI and 13th in home runs
– Senior center fielder Haley Howerton has also put together a stellar senior season with a .441 batting average and team-high 52 hits and 33 runs scored
– Howerton has also recorded half of MSU's stolen bases, going 15-for-16 this season
– In the circle, Knox and freshman Makenzi Harris lead the Mustangs with five wins apiece with Knox making a team-high 10 starts for 52.2 innings this season
– Junior Tayler Jerrick carries a team-best 4.38 ERA in 46.1 innings of work
 
SCOUTING THE LADY BISON
– Oklahoma Baptist is 6-13 entering Wednesday's non-conference matchup with the Mustangs
– The Lady Bison sport a 4-10 mark in the Great American Conference but are coming off a 3-0 win over No. 5 Arkansas Tech
– Senior outfielder Shalee Cordell has been the top offensive producer for OBU this season with a .361 batting average, 22 hits, 11 runs and 11 RBI
– Cordell also has a team-best .607 slugging percentage and .451 on base percentage
– In the circle, sophomore Bailee Saye comes in with a 3.44 ERA and 2-2 record this season, allowing 34 hits, 10 earned runs and eight walks while fanning six in 20.1 innings of work
– Junior McKenzie Jones has seen the most action for the Lady Bison, striking out a team-best 31 batters in 46.2 innings
– Jones has given up 60 hits, 25 earned runs and 18 walks for a 3.75 ERA and 2-6 record this season
– Head coach Pam Fink carries a 590-562 (.512) career mark in her 23rd season with the OBU softball program
 
MUSTANGS MAKING THEIR MARK
– Seniors Katelyn Vinson and Haley Howerton have not only posted some big numbers to climb the MSU record books, but the duo have moved to the top of the NCAA Division II active career leaders list in several offensive categories during their final campaigns
– Vinson is the active career leader in NCAA Division in home runs (61) and comes in second in RBI (206) and total bases (444) and fourth in slugging percentage (.839)
– Howerton has also moved to the top of the active leaders, ranking second in career hits (240) and fourth in runs scored (168)
 
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 472-244 (.659) 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 returns to LSC play Friday and Saturday when the Mustangs host a four-game series against Tarleton State at Mustangs Park
– The series gets underway Friday with a doubleheader beginning at 5 p.m. before play wraps up Saturday with a doubleheader starting at 2 p.m.