Midwestern State vs. Texas A&M-Commerce
Friday, Apr. 8, 2016 | 5/7 p.m.
Saturday, Apr. 9, 2016 | 1/3 p.m.
Mustangs Park | Wichita Falls, Texas
Records: Midwestern State (23-21, 8-12 LSC); Texas A&M-Commerce (31-13, 13-11 LSC)
Live Stats: Game 1 | Game 2 | Game 3 | Game 4
Live Video: MSUMustangs.tv (Friday games only)


WICHITA FALLS, Texas – Midwestern State makes its return to Mustangs Park this weekend for a four-game Lone Star Conference series against Texas A&M-Commerce. The series gets underway with a doubleheader Friday at 5 p.m. before wrapping up Saturday at 1 p.m.

LAST TIME OUT
– Midwestern State dropped three of four games to Angelo State last weekend at Mayer Field in San Angelo
– The Mustangs came away with a 10-8 win in the series finale Sunday afternoon, scoring nine runs in the fifth inning to erase a 5-1 deficit
– The nine-run inning was the third for the Mustangs this season, also plating nine runs in a frame in wins over Eastern New Mexico (Feb. 27) and Colorado State-Pueblo (Feb. 14)
– Senior third baseman Katelyn Vinson led the Mustangs on the weekend with a .455 batting average, .909 slugging percentage and .625 on base percentage
– Senior center fielder Haley Howerton also put together a strong weekend at the plate with a .412 clip and a team-best seven hits
– Junior catcher Baylee Voigt recorded a pair of home runs and hit .385 to match Vinson with a team-best five RBI
 
A LOOK AT THE MUSTANGS
– Midwestern State enters the weekend sitting at 23-21 on the season and 8-12 in the LSC for sixth place in the league
– The Mustangs sport one of the top offenses in the nation, ranking 18th with 1.05 home runs per game and 32nd with 6.25 runs per game
– MSU also ranks 25th with a .404 on base percentage, 29th with a .489 slugging percentage and 43rd with a .319 batting average
– Vinson comes in with an LSC-leading .453 batting average and .829 slugging percentage and a team-best .570 on base percentage, ranking fourth in the nation in on base percentage and 17th in slugging percentage
– Vinson also paces Midwestern with 47 RBI, 31 walks and 11 home runs, ranking seventh in the country with .79 walks per game, eighth in RBI and 18th in home runs
– Howerton has put together a stellar senior season with a .414 batting average and a LSC-high 67 hits and team-best 44 runs scored while making starts in all 44 contests this season
– Howerton also leads the Mustangs in stolen bases, going 19-for-23 on the base paths
– Junior pitcher/first baseman Erin Knox is also batting over .400 this season with a .406 clip and a team-high 13 doubles
– In the circle, freshman Makenzi Harris sports a team-best 3.83 ERA with a 7-4 record in 58.2 innings of work
– Knox is 8-5 on the season with a 4.51 ERA and nine complete games in 16 starts and 87.0 innings
– Redshirt freshman Peyton Helton has seen the most action for the Mustangs in the circle, making 24 appearances for 94.1 innings with a 6-8 record and three saves, which ranks 15th nationally
 
SCOUTING THE LIONS
– Texas A&M-Commerce eclipsed the 30-win mark following a pair of wins over Oklahoma Baptist earlier this week
– The Lions come in on a five-game winning streak for a 31-13 overall record and 13-11 mark in the LSC to sit in a tie for fourth in the league standings
– A&M-Commerce ranks second nationally with 3.38 stolen bases per game while coming in sixth with a .433 on base percentage and eighth with 7.31 runs per game
– Freshman infielder Ciera Nunez leads the Lions with a .366 average at the plate this season, recording 45 hits and going 27-of-30 in stolen bases
– Senior outfielder Kylene Hatton is second for the Lions with a .360 average, pacing the squad with 11 doubles 
– Sophomore outfielder Baylea Higgs leads A&M-Commerce with 48 hits, 39 runs scored and 38 stolen bases in 42 attempts
– In the circle, freshman Brittany Woolridge carries a 2.47 ERA with a 10-2 record on the season in 24 appearances and 13 starts for 85.0 innings of work
– Head coach Richie Bruister led Texas A&M-Commerce to a 29-24 record in its inaugural season 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 64 homers coming into the weekend series against Texas A&M-Commerce
 
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 (64) and comes in second in RBI (219) and total bases (468)
– Howerton has also moved to the top of the active leaders list, ranking fourth in career hits (255) and fifth in runs scored (179)
 
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 479-249 (.658) 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 travels to Lawton, Okla., for its final regular season road trip next weekend with a four-game series against Cameron
– The Mustangs begin the series with a doubleheader Friday at 1 p.m. before a twin bill Saturday starting at noon at McMahon Field