WICHITA FALLS, Texas -- Midwestern State opens Lone Star Conference play this week with doubleheaders against St. Mary's and St. Edward's. The Rattlers visit Mustangs Park on Friday with action beginning at 1 p.m. The Hilltoppers face the Mustangs on Sunday with the twin bill scheduled to begin at noon.

Midwestern State is 3-6 to start the season but is coming off a 5-2 win over Southwestern Oklahoma in the final game of the Mustang Round Up on Sunday afternoon.

Sydney Linn has a seven-game hitting streak and has three multi-hit games this season. The sophomore from Wichita Falls, Texas, leads the team with a .455 batting average (10-for-22) and an on-base percentage of .538.

Senior shortstop Camile Nunez has at least one hit in eight of her nine games for the Mustangs and is hitting .379 (11-for-29). Nunez leads the team with a .586 slugging percentage and 17 total bases. The California native has a team-leading six RBIs and has scored four runs.

Jaycee Yezak is hitting .333 and is tied with Nunez for the team lead with six RBIs. Yezak had three RBIs in the 13-8 loss to Missouri Western with an RBI double and a two-run single. The freshman third baseman from Rosebud, Texas, was 3-for-11 during the Mustang Round Up.

Jessika Roberts had at least one hit in all four games during the Mustang Round Up and finished the event with four runs scored and two RBIs. Roberts leads the team with six stolen bases and has only been caught stealing once.

The Mustangs are third in the conference with 22 stolen bases and second in the league with 2.4 steals per game.

Sophomore pitcher Addison Lindemann has made four starts and leads the team with 21 2/3 innings in the circle. The right-hander from Holliday, Texas, is 1-3 with a 3.88 ERA and leads the Mustangs with 15 strikeouts.

Zoe Isom is 1-1 and has only allowed 11 hits over 13 innings and has a 2.15 ERA with one complete game. The senior from Midlothian, Texas, held Southwest Baptist to three hits with only one walk, and she struck out three through seven innings in a 7-0 victory at Mustangs Park on Saturday.

Kayleigh Bowers, a sophomore from Phoenix, Arizona, pitched a complete game in a 5-2 win over Southwestern Oklahoma and improved her record to 1-2. Bowers allowed two runs and scattered six hits while issuing just two walks in the victory.
 

St. Mary's

St. Mary's leads the all-time series with the Mustangs, 20-7, and the Rattlers have won their last 15 encounters with MSU.

The Rattlers swept the Mustangs in San Antonio last season after winning the first game, 7-6, in 10 innings, the Rattlers rolled to a 9-1 victory in the nightcap. In the series finale, St. Mary's prevailed, 5-1.

St. Mary's is 5-4 all-time when visiting MSU and has a five-game winning streak at Mustangs Park. outscoring the Mustangs in those games, 30-9.

The Rattlers are 5-6 to start the season but won four of five games in the South Central Regional Crossover in San Antonio last week.

Gabriela Banda, Raegan Tennill and Abigail Dela Rosa are all ranked among the top 35 in RBIs among NCAA Division II hitters. St. Mary's is 13th in the country with 61 RBIs. Banda has 14, Tennill has 12 and Dela Rosa has 11.

Dela Rosa leads the team with a .474 batting average (18-of-38) and has scored 15 runs for the Rattlers.

Lauren Gonzales is hitting .368 (14-of-38) and has scored 12 runs, while Tennill is hitting .333 (11-of-33) and has scored 10 runs for St. Mary's, which has scored 62 total runs and is averaging 5.64 runs per game.

Madeline Bloom, a senior from California, is 3-0 with four appearances in the circle, including two starts. Bloom has allowed 15 hits over 19 1/3 innings and is holding opponents to a .205 batting average. Bloom has a 1.09 ERA for the Rattlers.

Emily Ayala is 2-0 with a 3.50 ERA, allowing 11 hits through 12 innings, and opponents are hitting .234 against the junior from San Antonio.

St. Edward's

Midwestern State leads the all-time series with St. Edward's, 16-15, but has lost the last four meetings with the Hilltoppers, who swept a three-game series in Austin last season.

The Mustangs are 7-2 when hosting St. Edward's and won a three-game series with the Hilltoppers in April of 2023. St. Edward's salvaged a game in the series with a 2-1 victory in the series finale.

St. Edward's enters this week with a 6-4 record after splitting a doubleheader with Colorado Christian and taking two of three games from MSU-Denver last weekend at Diane Daniels Field in Austin.

The Hilltoppers visit No. 11-ranked West Texas A&M on Friday before facing the Mustangs.

Katie Dillon leads the offense with a .500 batting average (16-of-32), and she has scored a team-leading seven runs with three RBIs for the Hilltoppers.

Megan Morris leads the team with seven RBIs, and Ella Hutzler has hit two home runs for St. Edward's.

The Hilltoppers have a discerning eye at the plate and have worked 35 walks, which is third-most in the LSC and 17th in the nation among NCAA Division II programs.

Lisette Urquidez has thrown 22 2/3 innings in five appearances for St. Edward's and she is 2-1 with a 2.47 ERA. Urquidez has only allowed 18 hits with nine strikeouts and seven walks. Opponents are hitting .217 against the senior from Tucson, Arizona, who transferred from Eastern New Mexico.

Midwestern State is on the road next week to play doubleheaders at Oklahoma Christian on Friday, and at Cameron on Sunday.