MIDWESTERN STATE (5-20, 4-6 LSC)
vs #1 UT Tyler (23-1, 9-1 LSC)

Sunday, March 20 -- Noon and 2 p.m.
Mustangs Park (Wichita Falls, Texas)
All-Time Series | UTT leads 3-1

WICHITA FALLS, Texas -- Midwestern State faces 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.

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 is tied for 10th in the Lone Star Conference standings with a 4-6 league record... The Mustangs dropped to 1-8 in one-run games after falling to No. 20-ranked Texas A&M-Commerce 1-0 in nine innings on Friday... MSU is 0-8 when facing teams ranked in the NFCA Division II  Top 25 this season and has lost 14 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 (.250 team batting average), 14th in pitching (6.03 team ERA) and 13th in fielding (.935 fielding percentage)... During Lone Star Conference play, MSU ranks ninth in the league in hitting (.290), 10th in pitching (4.74) and fifth in fielding (.965)... MSU ranks eighth in the LSC and 40th in NCAA Division II averaging 0.91 home runs per game... The Mustangs blasted 20 home runs over their last 15 games after hitting just two homers in their first 10 games of the season... Midwestern State has hit at least one homer in nine of its last 12 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 11 games including two-homer games against Western New Mexico (3/6), St. Mary's (3/12) and St. Edward's (3/14)... Senior Ashley Turner is fourth in the LSC and 32nd in NCAA Division II with nine doubles... Turner leads the team hitting .372 with nine doubles, five homers and 17 RBIs... Junior Bailey Brenek is second on them hitting .366 and is 10th in the LSC and 55th 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... Brenek has thrown out three would-be base stealers and picked off two others since moving into the starting catcher role four games ago... Freshman Mikey Dominguez is hitting .313 (10-for-32) with a double, a triple, four home runs and 10 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 then provided MSU's only offense against Texas A&M-Commerce by taking All-America pitcher Emily Otto out of the park in the Game 1 Friday night... Freshman Sabrina Graf is hitting .409 (9-for-22) over the past 10 games with two doubles and five RBIs... Freshman Peyton Lee is hitting .467 (7-for-15) and has hit in four of the last five games since being inserted into the lineup as the starter at third base... 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 PATRIOTS

UT Tyler brings NCAA Division II's top scoring lineup into Wichita Falls as the Patriots average 9.59 runs per game... UT Tyler also leads the nation with a .405 team batting average, .490 on-base and .654 slugging percentage... The Patriots boast nine hitters who have started at least 13 games with a .385 batting average or higher... UT Tyler obviously leads the LSC with a .405 team batting average, is third with a 2.15 team ERA and is second in fielding with a .976 percentage... Senior Ashley Perez leads the Patriots hitting .481 with 12 doubles, five homers and 33 RBIs... Four other Patriots are hitting at least .400 including senior Bayli Simon (.467, 7 2B, 2 HR, 26 RBI), sophomore Courtney Plocheck (.452, 4 2B, 1 HR, 11 RBI), sophomore Michelle Arias (.426, 5 2B, 4 3B, 7 HR, 33 RBI) and sophomore Hanna Fradkin (.414, 1 HR, 5 RBI)... Junior Payton Foster (11-1) has made 12 starts for UTT posting a 2.90 ERA with one shutout... Senior Sarah Gartman (5-0, 1 save) has made four starts and 10 appearances with a 1.03 ERA in 34 innings.... Sophomore Tatum Goff (2-0, 1.08 ERA) and freshman Kaylee Davis (4-0, 1.91 ERA) have made eight appearances each...

ABOUT THE SERIES

Midwestern State and UT Tyler meet for the fifth and sixth time on the diamond Sunday afternoon at Mustangs Park. The Patriots lead the series which dates back to the 2020 season by a 3-1 margin. MSU split a twin bill with No. 2 UT Tyler just before the remainder of the 2020 season was cancelled due to the coronavirus pandemic. The Patriots claimed Game 1 9-2 before the Mustangs rallied for a 7-5 win in Game 2 on Lauren Lindgren's 3-run, go-ahead homer in the bottom of the sixth inning on March 8, 2020. UT Tyler swept the doubleheader last season in Tyler winning 4-1 and 8-0 in five innings.

UP NEXT

Midwestern State hits the road to face Oklahoma Christian in a Lone Star Conference twin bill Friday afternoon at Tom Heath Field in Oklahoma City. First pitches are slated for 3 and 5 p.m.