No. 1 West Texas visits Cameron softball

Like the weeds showing up in yards, this is the time of the year that you can also expect West Texas A&M to be in the running for a national softball title and that is once again the case as the No. 1-ranked Buffs come to Lawton today for a key three-game Lone Star Conference softball series.

With the threat of rain and showers, Cameron asked the LSC to change the schedule and now the teams will play a doubleheader today beginning at 4 p.m. The plan is to then finish the series Saturday at 1 p.m. as the Aggies celebrate senior day.

The Buffs come in on an impressive run, owning a 41-4 overall record including a 33-3 conference record and the No. 1 ranking in NCAA Division II. WT has the top three hitters in the league in Diana Murtha with a .527 batting average with a LCS-high 17 home runs and 61 RBIs, Brittni Rufus with a .449 average and Lauren Granger with a .424 mark.

It is the same with the pitching staff as Ashley Mandell leads the league with a 1.28 ERA and an 8-0 record and Heidi Vortherms has a 1.81 ERA and a 16-3 record.

“One thing about playing in this conference, you learn that there are always tough teams and WT is obviously a great club,” CU Coach Emma Johansen said. “But our team is playing with a great deal of confidence and my team and myself enjoy a challenge. We have an opportunity to go toe-to-toe against the best and see how we stack up. Softball is played pitch-to-pitch, it’s decided on the field.”

One area where Cameron, which is 19-17 in LSC games and 27-19 overall, has been strong has been in the field and it all starts with senior shortstop Taylor Rowley, who is from Valley City, Kan..

“We have played good defense and it starts with our senior shortstop Taylor Rowley,” the coach said. “She brings the energy every day, every game, every pitch. She not only makes those routine plays but she makes the special plays. She’s been our sparkplug all season.”

Rowley also can handle the bat, owning a .363 average with 11 doubles, nine home runs and 32 RBIs.

Alyssa Deanda is having a solid season for the Aggies, hitting at a .344 clip with 34 RBI. Madysen Boutwell owns a .327 average and Kaiden Boren is hitting at a .321 with a team-high 12 home runs and 36 RBIs.

Cameron relies on three pitchers, Jocelyn Bright, Stormee Reed and Tinley Schmidgall, who are all listed among the Top 25 pitchers in the LSC. Bright, a senior from Burkburnett, leads the way with a 3.54 ERA and a 11-6 record; Reed a sophomore from Shawnee owns a 3.60 ERA and a 10-7 mark and Schmidgal, a junior from Yuma, Ariz., has a 3.67 ERA with a 4-4 record.

The great news for the Aggies is their season of work has left them in good position to make the LSC Tournament which will include the top 10 teams. Currently CU is tied for seventh with Texas Woman’s with just two LSC series remaining. The good news is that CU closes the LSC season next week against UT-Permian Basin which is 3-33 in conference and 6-39 overall.

“We are in good shape to make the tournament but another thing we have to do is work hard this week because one of the teams below us—Kingsville—has slipped into the (South Central) regional rankings and if we want to make the NCAA Tournament we need to finish strong,” she said.

The reason to finish in the top six is that those teams get a first-round bye while teams that finish 7th, 8th, 9th and 10th, compete in two play-in games and then will have to meet the top two seeds.