Midwestern State vs. Texas A&M-Kingsville
Friday, Apr. 22, 2016 | 4/6 p.m.
Saturday, Apr. 23, 2016 | 1/3 p.m.
Mustangs Park | Wichita Falls, Texas
Records: Midwestern State (26-26, 11-17 LSC); Texas A&M-Kingsville (21-30, 10-18 LSC)
Live Stats: Game 1 | Game 2 | Game 3 | Game 4
Live Video: MSUMustangs.tv


WICHITA FALLS, Texas – Midwestern State will look to clinch the final spot for the Lone Star Conference Tournament when the Mustangs play host to Texas A&M-Kingsville in a four-game series this weekend at Mustangs Park. Action begins Friday with a doubleheader at 4 p.m. before a pair of games Saturday beginning at 1 p.m.

The Mustangs will also honor the careers of three seniors who will play their final games at Mustangs Park in Haley Howerton, Katelyn Vinson and Chelsey Wall.

The Mustangs and Javelinas along with Tarleton State are all in contention for the sixth and final seed for next weekend's LSC Tournament. MSU sits one game ahead of TAMUK and two games in front of TSU at 11-17, needing just two wins this weekend to clinch the final tournament spot.

VINSON NAMED NFCA PLAYER OF THE YEAR TOP 25 FINALIST
– Senior third baseman Katelyn Vinson was named a top 25 finalist for the 2016 Schutt Sports/NFCA Division II National Player of the Year award on Apr. 20
– Vinson is one of three players in the South Central Region to appear on the list, joining West Texas A&M senior catcher Lacey Taylor and Colorado Mesa senior shortstop Makayla Kovac
– The field will be narrowed down to 10 finalists on May 6 and three finalists on May 12 before the national player of the year is announced May 17
 
LAST TIME OUT
– Midwestern State suffered three losses in a four-game road series to Cameron last weekend in Lawton, Okla.
– The Mustangs earned a 4-2 win in the series opener before Cameron recorded a pair of walk-off wins in games two and three including a 1-0 eight-inning victory Saturday
– The Aggies closed out the series with a 9-0 run rule over the Mustangs in five innings
– Freshman Makenzi Harris led the Mustangs at the plate with a .455 average, registering one double and a home run among her five hits on the weekend
 
A LOOK AT THE MUSTANGS
– Midwestern State enters the weekend sitting at 26-26 on the season and 11-17 in the LSC for sixth place in the league
– The Mustangs come in ranked 14th nationally with 1.0 home per game while ranking 30th with a .398 on base percentage, 36th with a .477 slugging percentage and 47th with 5.9 runs per game
– Vinson leads the Mustangs with a .445 batting average, .768 slugging percentage and .558 on base percentage, ranking seventh in the nation in on base percentage
– Vinson also paces Midwestern with 49 RBI, 40 walks and 12 home runs, ranking fifth in the country with .85 walks per game, 22nd in RBI and 33rd in home runs
– Junior pitcher/first baseman Erin Knox has posted a .391 average this season with a team-high 14 doubles while adding 10 homers and 44 RBI to her stat line
– Senior center fielder Haley Howerton has also shined at the plate with a .388 batting average and a team-best 73 hits and 46 runs scored while making starts in all 52 contests this season
– Howerton also leads the Mustangs in stolen bases, going 20-for-24 on the base paths
– In the circle, freshman Makenzi Harris sports a team-best 4.33 ERA and 8-6 record in 77.2 innings of work
– Redshirt freshman Peyton Helton carries a 4.53 ERA, seeing the most action for the Mustangs in the circle with 29 appearances and 117.1 innings
– Helton has won four of her last five games for an 8-9 record with three saves, which ranks 25th nationally
 
SCOUTING THE JAVELINAS
– Texas A&M-Kingsville is 21-30 on the season with a 10-18 mark in the LSC for seventh place
– Freshman catcher Roxy Chapa paces the Javelinas with 55 hits, 52 RBI, 16 doubles and 10 home runs with a .335 batting average this season
– Sophomore infielder Rachael Longoria is hitting a team-best .338 while sophomore outfielder Haley Boyett has recorded a team-high 41 runs and 20 stolen bases
– In the circle, senior Karri Smith sports a 4.46 ERA and 6-11 record with 10 complete games in 119.1 innings of work
– Junior Carlie Clark leads the Javelinas in wins on the season with a 9-10 mark, coming in with a 5.23 ERA behind a team-best 75 strikeouts in 92.1 innings
– Head coach Betsy Dean posted a 17-27-1 record in her first season at Texas A&M-Kingsville in 2015
 
VINSON BECOMES LSC HOME RUN LEADER
– Katelyn Vinson moved to the top of the Lone Star Conference career home run list Mar. 30 with her two-run shot to left center in game two of a doubleheader vs. Oklahoma Christian at Mustangs Park
– 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
– Vinson continues to extend the LSC record, having recorded 65 homers coming into the weekend
 
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 (65) and comes in second in RBI (221) and total bases (477)
– Howerton has also moved to the top of the active leaders, ranking third in career at bats (725) and sixth in hits (260) and runs scored (181)
– In the MSU record books, Vinson has already set career records in home runs, RBI and total bases while sitting atop the career list in batting average (.417) and slugging percentage (.822) and second in on base percentage (.501)
– Howerton could set a pair of school records this weekend, needing just 11 at bats to match Kristen Stonecipher's career record of 736 and nine hits to tie her record of 270 set in 2008
– Howerton already sits second in the record books in runs scored and stolen bases (75)
 
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 482-254 (.655) 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
– With two wins over the Javelinas, Midwestern State will qualify for the Lone Star Conference Tournament, Apr. 29-30, hosted by No. 1 seed West Texas A&M at Schaeffer Park in Canyon