Midwestern State at Angelo State
Saturday, Apr. 2, 2016 | 3/5 p.m.
Sunday, Apr. 3, 2016 | 1/3 p.m.
Mayer Field | San Angelo, Texas
Records: Midwestern State (22-18, 7-9 LSC); Angelo State (22-15, 10-10 LSC)
Live Stats: Game 1 | Game 2 | Game 3 | Game 4 
Live Video: AngeloSports.com


WICHITA FALLS, Texas – Midwestern State returns to Lone Star Conference play this weekend as the Mustangs make a trip south to San Angelo to take on Angelo State in a four-game series at Mayer Field. Saturday's doubleheader gets underway at 3 p.m. while the teams take the field Sunday at 1 p.m.

LAST TIME OUT
– Midwestern State split a midweek non-conference doubleheader against Oklahoma Christian Wednesday at Mustangs Park, suffering a 4-2 loss in the opener before responding with an 8-4 victory in game two
 
VINSON BECOMES LSC HOME RUN LEADER
– Senior third baseman Katelyn Vinson moved to the top of the Lone Star Conference career home run list Wednesday evening with her two-run shot to left center field in game two vs. Oklahoma Christian
– Vinson inked her 63rd career home run and 10th of the season to surpass former West Texas A&M standout Renee Erwin, who set the record as a senior in 2015
 
A LOOK AT THE MUSTANGS
– Midwestern State enters the weekend sitting at 22-18 on the season and 7-9 in the LSC for sixth place in the league
– The Mustangs sport one of the top offenses in the nation, ranking 16th with 1.05 home runs per game and 25th with 6.4 runs per game
– MSU also cracks the top 25 with a .411 on base percentage (21st) and .496 slugging percentage (24th) while coming in 36th with a .325 batting average as a team
– Vinson leads the Mustangs at the plate this season with a .453 batting average and a team-best .821 slugging percentage and .563 on base percentage for eighth in Division II
– Vinson also paces Midwestern with 42 RBI, 26 walks and 10 home runs, ranking in the top 20 nationally in all three categories
– Junior pitcher/first baseman Erin Knox is hitting .423 on the year with a team-high 12 doubles while adding six home runs
– Senior center fielder Haley Howerton has put together a stellar senior season with a .414 batting average and a team-best 60 hits and 39 runs scored
– Howerton also leads the Mustangs in stolen bases, going 19-for-23 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 
– Knox has also shined in the circle with an 8-3 record and 4.08 ERA in 79.0 inning of work
 
SCOUTING THE RAMBELLES
– Angelo State comes in with a 22-15 overall record and 10-10 mark in the LSC to tie for fourth in the conference standings
– The Rambelles split a conference series with Tarleton State and a non-conference doubleheader with No. 9 St. Mary's last week on the road
– Freshman infielder Bailey Wallace is batting .395 to lead the Rambelles, coming in as the fifth-toughest player to strikeout with just one strikeout in 114 appearances
– Wallace has recorded 45 hits and 34 runs for second on the team while posting a team-best 12 doubles
– Junior pitcher Kenedy Urbany leads the Rambelles with 46 hits, 35 runs scored, 10 doubles and five home runs with a .380 clip
– Junior infielder Alexis Evans, who ranks third for ASU with a .371 average, comes in at 11th nationally with 0.76 walks per game (28 total)
– In the circle, sophomore Brandy Marlett sports a team-best 3.10 ERA, allowing 91 hits, 41 earned run and 45 walks while striking out 83 batters in 92.2 innings of work
– Marlett, the LSC preseason pitcher of the year, is 8-7 on the season in 19 appearances and 13 starts with eight complete games and a pair of saves
– Urbany has also been strong in the circle with a 3.17 ERA and 9-4 record in 19 appearances and 88.1 innings
– Head coach Travis Scott is in his 13th season with the ASU softball program, carrying a record of 551-194-1 (.739)
 
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 in home runs (63) and comes in second in RBI (214) and total bases (458)
– Howerton has also moved to the top of the active leaders list, ranking fifth in career hits (248) and runs scored (174)
 
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 478-246 (.660) 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 Mustangs Park for a four-game slate next Friday and Saturday against Texas A&M-Commerce
– The Mustangs begin the series with a doubleheader Friday at 5 p.m. before a twin bill at 2 p.m. Saturday