Midwestern State vs. Oklahoma Christian
Wednesday, Mar. 30, 2016 | 4/6 p.m.
Mustangs Park | Wichita Falls, Texas
Records: Midwestern State (21-17); Oklahoma Christian (14-19)
Live Stats: Game 1 | Game 2
Live Video: MSUMustangs.tv

WICHITA FALLS, Texas – Following a weekend break from Lone Star Conference play, Midwestern State softball returns to action for a midweek non-conference doubleheader Wednesday against Oklahoma Christian beginning at 4 p.m. at Mustangs Park.

LAST TIME OUT
– Midwestern State recorded its second conference series win back on Mar. 18-19 at Mustangs Park, taking three of four games over rival Tarleton State
– The Mustangs responded from a 4-0 defeat in the series opener by scoring eight runs in the fifth inning to take an 8-5 victory in game two
– Midwestern then swept the TexAnns on day two with 2-1 and 3-1 victories, breaking up a no-hitter for TSU pitcher Haley Freyman in the sixth inning in game one with RBI singles from Erin Knox and Baylee Voigt
 
VINSON MATCHES LSC HOME RUN RECORD
– With her grand slam against Oklahoma Baptist on Mar. 16, senior third baseman Katelyn Vinson tied the Lone Star Conference career home run record with her 62nd homer in game one of a doubleheader against the Lady Bison
– It was Vinson's third career grand slam and first since recording two as a freshman in 2013
– She moved to the top of the leaderboard alongside former West Texas A&M standout Renee Erwin, who set the record as a senior in 2015
 
A LOOK AT THE MUSTANGS
– Midwestern State improved to 21-17 overall and 7-9 in the LSC following the series win over Tarleton State
– The Mustangs sport one of the top offenses in the nation, ranking 13th with 1.08 home runs per game and 23rd with a .330 batting average
– MSU also cracks the top 25 with a .417 on base percentage (18th), .503 slugging percentage (21st) and 6.47 runs per game (23rd)
– Vinson leads the Mustangs at the plate this season with a .444 batting average with a team-best .798 slugging percentage and .563 on base percentage for 10th in Division II
– Vinson also paces Midwestern with 39 RBI, 26 walks and nine home runs
– Senior center fielder Haley Howerton has also put together a stellar senior season with a .432 batting average and a team-best 60 hits and 37 runs scored
– Howerton also leads the Mustangs in stolen bases, going 19-for-22 on the base paths this season
– In the circle, freshman Makenzi Harris sports a team-best 3.83 ERA with a 7-3 mark in 56.2 innings this season
– Junior Erin Knox has also shined in the circle with an MSU-best 8-2 record and 3.99 ERA, fanning a team-high 46 batters in 73.2 innings of work
 
SCOUTING THE LADY EAGLES
– Oklahoma Christian comes in with a 14-19 record on the season and currently sits in third place in the Heartland Conference with a 9-6 mark
– OC has dropped its last eight contests to Lubbock Christian, nationally-ranked St. Mary's and a non-conference doubleheader to Texas A&M-Kingsville
– Junior catcher Niki Davidson leads the Lady Eagles with a .386 average on the season while sporting a team-best .489 slugging percentage and .486 on base clip
– Junior outfielder Haley Squier is batting .368 with a team-high 35 hits, 21 RBI and seven doubles on the year
– Sophomore utility Sheridan Bond is also batting over .300 at .327, leading the Lady Eagles with 31 runs scored, 23 walks, 10 stolen bases and four triples to rank 13th nationally
– Freshman Madison Hagood carries a team-best 3.18 ERA and 9-7 record into Wednesday's doubleheader, striking out 69 batters in 83.2 innings of work on the season
– Tom Heath has led the OC softball program since the inaugural season in 1995, holding a 666-465-1 career record (.589)
 
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 also 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 II in home runs (62) and comes in second in RBI (211) and total bases (450)
– Howerton has also moved to the top of the active leaders, ranking fourth in career hits (248) and fifth in runs scored (172)

VINSON SETS TWO NEW SCHOOL RECORDS
– Making her return to the field after a two-game absence, 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
– 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
 
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 477-245 (.661) 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 hits the road this weekend for a four-game LSC series against Angelo State at Mayer Field in San Angelo
– Friday's action gets underway with a doubleheader at 5 p.m. while first pitch is scheduled for 2 p.m. Saturday