Aggies face a tough field at the South Central Regional

2017 NCAA DIVISION II SOUTH CENTRAL SOFTBALL REGIONAL
May 11-13 at Mayer Field in San Angelo, Texas
Tournament Central Page

LAWTON, Okla. – For the third time in the past five seasons, the Cameron University softball team will head to the NCAA Division II South Central Regional Tournament. They will take on No. 11 Colorado Mesa at 3:30 p.m. on Thursday, May 11 in San Angelo, Texas.

The South Central #1 Regional will be hosted by the top seed in the region, No. 1 Angelo State. It includes the Aggies, who are the five seed, Colorado Mesa, the four seed, and Lubbock Christian, the eighth seed. Cameron will face CMU in the opening round of the tournament, while ASU will face the Lady Chaps.

(5) Cameron (33-18; 20-8 LSC)
Cameron enters the NCAA Tournament with a 33-18 overall record. They are coming off of a tough end to the Lone Star Conference Tournament as they fell in the semifinal to No. 4 West Texas A&M 7-6. CU entered the LSC Tournament as the three seed after going 20-8 in league play. Statistically, they have a team batting average of .293 with 276 total runs scored and 46 homers. In the circle, the Black and Gold has a team ERA of 3.88 with 151 strikeouts and an opponents' batting average of .314. Additionally, the Aggies broke a CU record with 81 stolen bases this season.

Individually, Brenna Busby and Breezy McComas were just recently named to the NFCA South Central All-Region First Team, while Paige Daino was named to the second team. Busby, just a freshman, led CU with a .365 batting average during the regular season, totaling 57 hits, 11 homeruns, and 42 RBI. She is coming off of a stellar performance at the LSC Tournament.

McComas hit .352 with 41 runs scored, 10 homers, and 33 RBI, while Daino hit .313 with 12 long balls and 41 RBI. Each surpassed the CU career homer mark this season as McComas now has 45 for her career and Daino has 44.

Cameron is led in the circle by All-LSC second team performer Bethany Hines, who put up a 25-7 record with an ERA of 3.27 during the season. Her 25 victories broke the CU single-season wins mark, which was at 23 previously. Hines also totaled 124 strikeouts in 211.2 innings pitched, while opposing batters hit .290 off of her.

(4) Colorado Mesa (46-6; 35-4 RMAC)
No. 11 Mesa enters the regional as the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference regular season and tournament champions. They are batting a DII best .385 as a team with 429 runs scored and 69 combined homeruns. CMU also has a team ERA of 2.81 with a combined 281 punch outs and an opponent's batting average of .235. They have gone 89-98 on the base paths and have a team fielding percentage of .975.

The Mavericks' top hitter is Brooke Hodgson, who leads the team with a .451 batting average, 74 runs scored, 19 homers, and 72 RBI. McKenzie Surface leads the team with a 26-4 record, while posting a 2.01 ERA with 174 strikeouts.

(1) Angelo State (52-5; 26-3 LSC)
The top-ranked Rambelles were the regular season LSC Champions and the first team in the whole country to reach 50 wins, but they lost out in the conference championship finals to No. 4 West Texas A&M. ASU has a batting average of .316 with 368 runs scored and 57 homers. Their pitching staff is one of the best in the nation, as they have a combined 1.43 ERA and 408 strikeouts while the opposition is batting just .185 against them.

Freshman, Courtney Barnhill leads ASU in just about every offensive category, batting .389 with 48 runs scored, 12 homers and 48 RBI. In the circle, Brandy Marlett is 27-4 with an ERA of 1.26 and 274 strikeouts in 194 innings pitched, while Kennedy Urbany is 18-1 with a 1.14 ERA in 117 innings.

(8) Lubbock Christian (39-17; 14-7 Heartland)
The Lady Chaps are coming off of a Heartland Conference Championship as they beat No. 20 St. Mary's twice to take home the hardware. They are hitting .326 as a team with 332 runs scored and 42 homers. LCU has a team ERA of 2.43 with a combined 261 strikeouts and an opponents' batting average of .247.

Sydney Beuthien leads LCU at the plate, batting .379 with 50 runs scored, 18 long balls, and 57 RBI. Their staff ace is Katera Eltsosie, who is 21-5 with a 1.93 ERA and 124 strikeouts in 152 innings of work.

The South Central Regional is a double elimination tournament that will last from Thursday, May 11 through Saturday, May 13. The winner of the matchup between Cameron and Colorado Mesa will go on to play the winner of the ASU/LCU game at 1 p.m. on Friday, May 12, while the loser will place in the first losers bracket contest at 3:30 p.m. on Friday.

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Players Mentioned

#18 Paige Daino: DP; 5' 10"; Senior; R/R

#24 Breezy McComas: OF; 5' 7"; Senior; R/R

#1 Brenna Busby: INF; 5' 8"; Freshman; R/R

#8 Bethany Hines: P; 5' 4"; Freshman; L/R

Players Mentioned

#18 Paige Daino
: 5' 10"; Senior; R/R
: DP

#24 Breezy McComas
: 5' 7"; Senior; R/R
: OF

#1 Brenna Busby
: 5' 8"; Freshman; R/R
: INF

#8 Bethany Hines
: 5' 4"; Freshman; L/R
: P