MIDWESTERN STATE (6-29, 5-15 LSC)
at #22 West Texas A&M (21-12, 10-10 LSC)

Friday, April 8 -- 4 and 6 p.m.
Schaeffer Park (Canyon, Texas)
All-Time Series | WT leads 30-22
 
CANYON, Texas -- Midwestern State squares off with No. 22-ranked West Texas A&M in a Lone Star Conference doubleheader Friday at Schaeffer Park. First pitches are set for 4 and 6 p.m.
 
The games are set for broadcast on the LSC 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."

ABOUT THE MUSTANGS

Midwestern State is 12th in the Lone Star Conference standings with a 5-15 league record...  The Mustangs are in a stretch of facing ranked opponents in 12 out of 14 games beginning with No. 20 Texas A&M-Commerce on March 18 followed by No. 1 UT Tyler on March 20, No. 23 Oklahoma Christian on March 25, No. 14 Angelo State on April 1, No. 17 Lubbock Christian on April 3, and No. 20 West Texas A&M on April 8... MSU is 0-16 when facing teams ranked in the NFCA Division II  Top 25 this season and has lost 22 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 (.251 team batting average), 15th in pitching (6.63 team ERA) and 13th in fielding (.947 fielding percentage)... During Lone Star Conference play, MSU ranks 11th in the league in hitting (.273), 13th in pitching (6.35) and 12th in fielding (.951)... MSU ranks eighth in the LSC and 51st in NCAA Division II averaging 0.83 home runs per game... The Mustangs blasted 27 home runs over their last 25 games after hitting just two homers in their first 10 games of the season... Midwestern State has hit at least one homer in 15 of its last 22 games including a run of seven straight games from March 4-14... Junior Bailey Brenek leads the Mustangs hitting .392 with eight doubles, a triple and four homers while driving in 17 runs... Brenek has a hit in each of her last six games and is batting .563 (9-for-16) during the streak with three homer and three RBIs... Brenek leads the Mustangs with 15 multiple-hit games... Senior Ashley Turner is second on the team with a .365 batting average with 11 doubles, seven homers and 20 RBIs...Turner is eighth in the LSC and 63rd in NCAA Division II with 11 doubles... Turner has reached base in each of her last 11 games... Turner is second on the team with 11 multiple-hit games and accounted for three hits in four games... Sophomore Hanna Hetherington is fourth in the LSC lead and ranks 37th in NCAA Division II with 10 home runs... Hetherington hit nine of her 10 home runs during an 11-game stretch from March 6-20 including two-homer games against Western New Mexico (3/6), St. Mary's (3/12) and St. Edward's (3/14)... Hetherington has two hits in three of her last four games... Freshman Peyton Lee is hitting .370 (17-for-46) with six doubles and has multiple hits four times over the last 16 games... She raised her season batting average from .217 to .318 recording at least one hit in 12 of the 16 games during the stretch... Freshman Mikey Dominguez hit .387 (12-for-31) with a double, a triple, four homers and 10 RBIs during a 10-game stretch from March 4-18... Dominguez posted five two-hit games during the stretch connecting for four home runs... Dominguez is tied for third on the team with eight multiple-hit games including a season-high three-hit performance against Cameron (3/27)...
 
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 LADY BUFFS

West Texas A&M has lost five of its last seven suffering a sweep to No. 22-ranked Oklahoma Christian Sunday at Schaeffer Park... The Lady Buffs are currently eighth in the Lone Star Conference standings with a 10-10 league record... WT ranks sixth in the LSC and 28th in NCAA Division II in scoring averaging 6.58 runs per game... The Lady Buffs rate fifth in the LSC and 23rd in NCAA Division II averaged 1.12 home runs per game, while also ranking seventh in the LSC and 58th nationally with 1.76 stolen bases per game... Sophomore Brittni Rufus leads the Lady Buffs hitting .450 with five doubles, four triples and four homers... Rufus ranks eighth in the LSC and 77th in NCAA Division II with 18 stolen bases... Junior Ruby Salzman hits .427 with eight homers and 31 RBIs... Salzman is 10th in the LSC and 62nd in NCAA Division II with 17 stolen bases... Junior Diana Murtha hits .368 and ranks second in the LSC and seventh in NCAA Division II with 12 homers... Freshman Heidi Vortherms is 9-5 in the circle boasting a 1.74 ERA and 1.10 WHIP... Vortherms' ERA ranks seventh in the LSC and 74th in NCAA Division II...

ABOUT THE SERIES

Midwestern State and West Texas A&M meet for the 53rd and 54th time on the diamond Friday night at Schaeffer Park. The Lady Buffs hold a 30-22 edge in the series which dates back to 2006 and have won the last 20 meetings. Midwestern State's win against WT came 12-11 to force the if game in the 2014 NCAA Division II South Central Regional final in Canyon. The Mustangs are 5-15 all-time against West Texas A&M in Canyon.

UP NEXT

Midwestern State takes on Eastern New Mexico Saturday afternoon in Portales. First pitches are set for 1 and 3 p.m. (Central Time).