SAN ANGELO, Texas – The ranked Angelo State softball team will open its season this Friday at the St. Mary's College Softball Classic with games against East Central, St. Edward's, Lubbock Christian, St. Mary's and Texas A&M-International in San Antonio.

The Rambelles, ranked No. 4 in the NFCA Division II preseason poll, have 11 letterwinners and six starters returning from a team that went 48-11 and won the program's sixth LSC title. Angelo State advanced to the NCAA Division II South Central Super Regional final a year ago.



Seniors Brittney Davis, Holly Vanden Bossche, Amanda Wilhelm, Kacie Easley, Lauren Smith and April Breshears are expected to lead a team that has eight newcomers (six freshmen, one sophomore, one junior).

Smith will start in the outfield and will look to duplicate her 12 home runs and 16 stolen bases. Davis and Wilhelm will also roam the outfield with Smith throughout the season. Davis scored 19 runs a year ago and Wilhelm had 28 hits with two being home runs.

Vanden Bossche and Breshears will be seen in the infield. Breshears, a first baseman, hit .414 a year ago which was second on the team as a junior and was the LSC Newcomer of the Year. Vanden Bossche will play both first and third and played in 39 games last year.

Easley is a two-time All-American and a four-year starter for the Rambelles. The senior led the team with 127 total bases a year ago. She will be behind the plate at catcher calling pitches for a staff led by Mary Kate McKay.

McKay won 22 games a year ago and limited teams to a 2.83 earned-run average. She threw 180.1 innings and had three saves. Sandra Serna and Kacie Brann will be relied upon to replace Claire Molina's production.

Serna is a transfer from Howard College. While at Howard College she was named all-region and all-conference as a pitcher. Brann was an all-district selection at Aledo last year.
The infield will see a plethora of new faces. Taylor Jensen will see time at shortstop after hitting .316 in 40 games last year.

Freshman Lanie Robinson and sophomore Rachel Moore will cover third and second, respectively. Moore is a transfer from Nicholls State while Robinson was named all-state at O'Connell Prep in Hitchcock, Texas and could see time in the circle.

Carly Peters will be the designated player and play first base occasionally during the season.  Peters had nine homeruns and 28 RBI's a year ago in 45 games.
Ambra Hill and Darian Dunn will be a part of a platoon at second base. Hill could get action at shortstop as well. Hill was a standout being named all-state, district most-valuable player and state most-valuable player at Big Spring and Forsan. Dunn was an all-state softball selection at Wakeland High in Frisco.

Luz'Ce Baca, Morgan Spearman, Maddy McGarity will play in various outfield spots during the season. Spearman will be penciled in at left field with McGarity in right field. Spearman hit .396 and led the team with 16 doubles. McGarity is a freshman from New Braunfels and was a three time all-district selection. Baca will use her speed to chase down balls in the outfield. The junior appeared in 41 games last season.

The Rambelles will also have Amanda Weaver to use in the infield. The freshman is currently playing for the Belle basketball team and will report once the season is over.

East Central went 27-18 a year ago and took a 7-6 win early in the season against Angelo State. Destini Anderson is in her seventh season as the coach of the ECU. The Tigers advanced to the conference tournament a year ago. The Rambelles will face East Central at 12 p.m. on Friday.

St. Edward's and Angelo State got to know each other extremely well last season. The Rambelles beat St. Edward's four times last year including eliminating them from the South Central Regional Tournament in a 5-3 win. The Hilltoppers are coached by Lindsay Gardner in her second season and went 31-21 a year ago. The game is scheduled for 4 p.m. on Friday.

Lubbock Christian comes into the tournament as the No. 2 team in NAIA. Under Darren Hays (3^rd season) the Chaps went 54-8 and advanced to the NAIA National Tournament. This will be the first meeting between the two schools on Saturday at 10 a.m.

St. Mary's is coached by Donna Fields in her 16^th season and went 34-19 last year. The Rambelles took the season series with a 2-1 advantage. The Rattlers lose only one starter from last year's squad. The two teams will face each other at 12 p.m. on Saturday.

The final game of the tournament will be against Texas A&M-International on Sunday at 1:30 p.m. Scott Libby leads the Dustdevils in his fourth season. The Dustdevils with 0-4 against the Rambelles on the way to an 18-37 record overall last year. These two teams will face each other four more times after this initial meeting.