MIDWESTERN STATE (5-18, 4-4 LSC)
vs #20 Texas A&M-Commerce (21-5, 7-1 LSC)

Friday, March 18 -- 4 and 6 p.m.
Mustangs Park (Wichita Falls, Texas)
All-Time Series | TAMUC leads 15-4

WICHITA FALLS, Texas -- Midwestern State squares off against No. 20 Texas A&M-Commerce in a Lone Star Conference doubleheader Friday night at Mustangs Park. First pitches are set for 4 and 6 p.m.

The games are set for broadcast on the Lone Star Conference Digital Network at MSUMustangs.com/streaming.

All video streams on the LSC Digital Network are also available on Over-The-Top (OTT) apps on Apple TV, Amazon Fire TV, Android TV and Roku by searching "LSC Digital Network."

GOING TO THE GAME? All fans at Mustangs Park must purchase tickets online, then present the QR code to can at the gate for admittance. No walk-up sales are available. Purchase your tickets at www.msumustangs.com/tickets.

ABOUT THE MUSTANGS

Midwestern State dropped both ends of its non-conference doubleheader to fall to 5-18 on the season... The Mustangs are tied for sixth in the Lone Star Conference standings with a 4-4 record... MSU is 0-6 when facing teams ranked in the NFCA Division II  Top 25 this season and has lost 12 straight against ranked opponents dating back to a 7-5 win over No. 2-ranked UT Tyler on March 8, 2020 in its last game before the remainder of the 2020 campaign was called due to the coronavirus pandemic... The Mustangs rank 14th in the LSC in hitting (.260 team batting average), 15th in pitching (6.47 team ERA) and 13th in fielding (.946 fielding percentage)... MSU ranks eighth in the LSC and 41st in NCAA Division II averaging 0.91 home runs per game... The Mustangs blasted 19 home runs over their last 13 games after hitting just two homers in their first 10 games of the season... Midwestern State has hit at least one homer in eight of its last 10 games including a run of seven straight games from March 4-14... Sophomore Hanna Hetherington is tied for the LSC lead and ranks seventh in NCAA Division II with nine home runs... Hetherington hit eight of her nine home runs over her past nine games including two-homer games against Western New Mexico (3/6), St. Mary's (3/12) and St. Edward's (3/14)... Hetherington is hitting .345 (10-for-29) and slugging 1.207 with a double, eight homers and 15 RBIs over her last nine games to raise her season average to .288... Junior Bailey Brenek leads MSU with a .394 batting and is ninth in the LSC and 47th in NCAA Division II with eight doubles to go along with a triple and a homer while driving in 14 runs... Brenek leads the Mustangs with 11 multiple-hit games this season... Senior Ashley Turner is fourth in the LSC and 28th in NCAA Division II with nine doubles... Turner is hitting .380 with nine doubles, five homers and 17 RBIs... Freshman Sabrina Graf is hitting .417 (10-for-24) over the past 10 games with two doubles and five RBIs... Freshman Mikey Dominguez is hitting .355 (11-for-31) with a double, a triple and nine RBIs over the past 10 games... Dominguez crushed a three-run homer to pull the Mustangs to within 6-5 in the bottom of the seventh inning Tuesday against Embry-Riddle... Freshman Peyton Lee went 3-for-6 in Tuesday's doubleheader split against Embry-Riddle going 3-for-3 in Game 1... Lee notched a save Monday against St. Edward's in her first pitching appearance of the season allowing one hit and one walk in 1 1/3 innings... 

HEAD COACH BRITTANIE TALLEY is in her first season at the helm of the Midwestern State program. Talley amassed a 129-75 record (.632) over the past five seasons at Vernon College including a 42-12 run while leading Chaps to the 2021 NJCAA regional tournament. That came on the heels of a 21-1 start in 2020 before the season was cut short by the pandemic. Prior to Vernon College, Talley played a role in a successful three-year run at Alabama State helping the Lady Hornets to a Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC) title and a trip to the NCAA Division I regionals in 2016. She competed professionally for the Skovde Saints winning the Swedish championship as the league's pitcher of the year in 2011. She enjoyed a standout collegiate career at Jackson State where she earned second-team All-SWAC honors earning 27 career wins while posting seven shutouts. She also hit .320 in 172 career at bats.

ABOUT THE LIONS

Texas A&M-Commerce erupted for 21 runs in Game 2 Wednesday night to earn a doubleheader split against Embry-Riddle at John Cain Family Field... The Lions fell 6-5 in Game 1 before rolling to a 21-3 win in the nightcap.... Texas A&M-Commerce is in a four-way tie atop the Lone Star Conference standings with UT Tyler, Lubbock Christian and St. Mary's with a 7-1 league record... The Lions rank fifth in the league with a .343 team batting average, are fifth with a 2.56 team ERA and are fifth with a .967 team fielding percentage... Senior Sabrina Anguiano is the NFCA National Hitter of the Week going 10-for-11 with home runs in sweeps of Western New Mexico and UT Permian Basin last week... Anguiano rides a 10-game hitting streak into the weekend hitting .633 (19-for-30) during the stretch with four homers and 11 RBIs... Anguiano leads the Lions with a .484 batting average with five doubles, five homers and 20 RBIs... Sophomore Ayanna Williams and Uxua Modrego lead Texas A&M-Commerce with six home runs each... Freshman Leo Terry (18 stolen bases), sophomore Samantha Dutton (13 stolen bases) and sophomore Alina Jasso (12 stolen bases) spearhead an aggressive Lion offense which has accounted for 90 stolen bases this season... Texas A&M-Commerce leads the LSC and ranks 11th in NCAA Division II with 2.92 stolen bases per game... Sophomore Alyssa LeBlanc is 7-2 in the circle with a 2.13 ERA and 0.91 WHIP... LeBlanc has registered 71 strikeouts in 56 innings over 11 appearances and nine starts... Senior Emily Otto is 10-2 with a 2.21 ERA and 1.13 WHIP over 13 starts... Otto leads the Lions with 87 strikeouts in 76 innings...

ABOUT THE SERIES

Midwestern State and Texas A&M-Commerce meet for the 20th and 21st time on the diamond Friday night at Mustangs Park. The Lions lead the series which dates back to the 2015 season by a 15-4 margin. Texas A&M-Commerce has won the last seven and 12 of the last 13 games against the Mustangs. MSU's last win was a 5-4 victory on March 9, 2018 in Wichita Falls. Midwestern State is 3-4 against the Lions at Mustangs Park.

UP NEXT

Midwestern State hosts No. 1-ranked UT Tyler in a Lone Star Conference doubleheader Sunday afternoon at Mustangs Park. First pitches are set for noon and 2 p.m.