CANYON, Texas – The West Texas A&M softball team hits the road to face the Dustdevils of Texas A&M International for a three-game series starting on Saturday at Dustdevil Field in Laredo, Texas. The Lady Buffs (38-4, 30-3 LSC) and Dustdevils (14-29, 11-22) square off at 12 and 2 p.m. on Saturday with the series finale scheduled for Sunday at 12 p.m.
GAME COVERAGE
A live stream will be available for the game provided by the Texas A&M International athletic communications department through the Lone Star Conference Digital Network. Fans can buy a yearly pass for $140 that grants access to all broadcasts for the LSC including previous years or a $30 monthly subscription. Live stats will also be provided for fans to stay up to date.
A LOOK AT THE #1 LADY BUFFS
WT finished its six-game home stand with a series sweep of St. Edward's on Wednesday. The Lady Buffs and Hilltoppers played two games on Monday with WT pulling out a 5-2 victory in game one before cruising to a 9-1 win in six innings. The Lady Buffs then capped off the series with a thrilling 2-0 hold of St. Edward's. WT enters its series with Texas A&M International with an overall record of 38-4 and a 30-3 mark in Lone Star Conference play.
The Lady Buffs feature a potent lineup that ranks inside the top 30 for Division II in almost every offensive category including top 10 standings in batting average, doubles, hits, home runs, runs, scoring, slugging percentage, and walks. WT's on-base percentage leads the country while its .979 fielding percentage ranks third in Division II.
Senior
Diana Murtha ranks inside the top 10 of Division II hitters in doubles (18), RBIs (56), and total bases (123). Murtha's .550 batting average, .673 on base percentage, and 1.230 slugging percentage lead the nation.
Lauren Granger follows Murtha with a .457 batting average and 1.372 OPS and a .835 slugging percentage. Granger's 17 doubles rank ninth in the nation while
Brittni Rufus' 63 hits and six triples rank 10
th and seventh, respectively.
In addition to a high-octane offense, the Lady Buff pitching staff has been dominant so far this season. As a team, WT holds a 2.00 ERA in 259 innings with 241 strikeouts. The Lady Buffs' ERA ranks 19
th in Division II while the strikeout total also ranks 30
th.
Head Coach
Michael Mook is in his fifth season at WT, registering a 174-49 (.780) record in that time. For his career, Mook holds 328-110 record in nine seasons for an overall winning percentage of .749.
SCOUTING TEXAS A&M INTERNATIONAL
Texas A&M International hosts the Lady Buffs after falling to Angelo State in San Angelo. The Dustdevils and Rambelles split the doubleheader with Angelo State winning the first game 9-1 in six innings before Texas A&M International won the second game, 2-0. In the series finale, Angelo State took the series with an 8-0 victory in five innings. The Dustdevils enter the series with a 15-28 overall record and 12-21 mark in Lone Star Conference action.
Victoria Gonzalez leads the Dustdevils offense as the redshirt junior holds a .333 batting average with a .961 OPS, .593 slugging average, and .368 on-base percentage. The San Juan, Texas native paces TAMIU with 45 hits, five doubles, and 10 home runs. Kennedy Griego follows with a .321 average, .777 OPS, and a .409 slugging percentage. Dillon leads the team with seven doubles and three hit-by-pitch.
As a pitching staff, Texas A&M International hold a 4.24 ERA in 290.2 innings of work. During that time, opponents are hitting .292 while hitting 57 doubles, 11 triples, and 43 home runs while striking out 106 times. Kylie Goad leads the staff with a 3.90 ERA on 15 appearances with 14 starts, holding a 7-5 record. Carla Arellano has appeared in 16 of the Dustdevils' 43 games with 15 starts. Arellano is 2-11 in the circle with a 5.31 ERA to go along with 27 strikeouts and 27 walks.
Scott Libby is in his 16th season as the head coach of the Texas A&M International program and 16
th overall. Libby holds an 339-489 (.409) record for his career with a matching record at the helm of the Dustdevils.
THE SERIES
WT leads the all-time series with Texas A&M International 19-4 but 1-3 in Laredo. The Lady Buffs are 6-1 against the Dustdevils under
Michael Mook. In 2023, WT swept Texas A&M International in Canyon. The Lady Buffs took game one 7-1 before shutting out the Dustdevils 7-0 in game two. Game three saw WT secure the sweep with an 8-0 victory in five innings.
W, 8-0 (5) – Canyon, 2023
W, 7-0 – Canyon, 2023
W, 7-1 – Canyon, 2023
W, 10-4 – Canyon, 2022
W, 6-1 – Canyon, 2022
NFCA RANKINGS
The top eight of the poll remained the same with WT receiving all 16 first-place votes. North Georgia (384), Tampa (366), Rogers State (351), and Indianapolis (339) make up the top five while UT Tyler (320), Colorado Christian (303), Central Oklahoma (280), Pittsburg State (264), and Wingate (254) round out the top 10.
The South Central region boasts four teams in the top 25 with WT leading the way at No. 1. UT Tyler (6
th), Colorado Christian (7
th), and Angelo State (21
st) also received spots in the poll.
LSC PRESEASON POLL
Defending Lone Star Conference and South Central Region champion UT Tyler topped the poll, totaling 591 points with 25 first-place votes. WT followed with 11 first-place votes and a total of 576 points. Oklahoma Christian (519, 3 fpv), Lubbock Christian (500), and Cameron (412) finished out the top five. Texas A&M-Kingsville (386, 2 fpv), Angelo State (383), St. Mary's (353), St. Edward's (288), and Texas Woman's (254) occupied the sixth through 10th spots. Eastern New Mexico (216), Texas A&M International (175), Midwestern State (127), Western New Mexico (72), and UT Permian Basin (68) finished out the poll.
UP NEXT
WT finishes its regular-season road slate against Cameron in Lawton, Okla. on April 19-20. The Lady Buffs and Aggies play a single game at 6 p.m. on Friday before wrapping up the series with a 1 p.m. doubleheader on Saturday.
