SAN ANGELO – The Angelo State softball team will make their 17^th NCAA postseason appearance this weekend in the South Central Regional hosted by UT Tyler.

After a 38-10 regular season, the Rambelles are the fifth seed in the South Central Region and open the tournament on Thursday against fourth-seeded Lubbock Christian.

Both teams are looking for redemption from last week's LSC tournament, in which they both lost in the quarterfinals. The Rambelles fell 3-0 to eventual tournament champions Texas A&M-Commerce, while the Lady Chaps lost in a 13-inning thriller to Oklahoma Christian.

In their 16 appearances in the NCAA Tournament, the Rambelles are 62-32 overall; they have lost their last four postseason games, the longest slide in program history, with their last win coming against Armstrong State at the 2018 World Series.

The Lady Chaps and the Rambelles have met once previously in the NCAA postseason, with the Rambelles claiming a 4-3 victory back in 2017; this season, the two teams split their doubleheader back on April 30^th. The Rambelles won game one 10-6 before the Lady Chaps forced a split in game two with a 9-4 victory.

The Rambelles are led by LSC Player of the Year Paxton Scheurer, who is hitting .378 with 22 home runs and 70 RBIs this season, as well as fellow first-team all-conference selections Ashlyn Lerma and Genesis Armendariz.

Lerma has walked 35 times and stolen 46 bases and was also named to the Golden Glove team for her outstanding defense at second base, while Armendariz owns a 19-5 record with a 2.40 ERA, striking out 120 batters in 134 innings.
 
SCOUTING THE LADY CHAPS
Lubbock Christian, the fourth seed in the region, is 37-10 on the season and had nine all-LSC selections, headlined by Taylor Franco being named the conference's pitcher of the year. Franco tossed four no-hitters, including one over No. 1 UT Tyler back on March 27^th.

Franco took the loss against the Rambelles on April 30^th, allowing six hits and eight runs (six earned) in 4.1 innings.
 
SCOUTING THE PATRIOTS
UT Tyler, the top seed in the region, is 41-5 overall and has spent most of the season as the nation's top-ranked team. Like the Rambelles, their last game as a part of the LSC tournament was a loss to eventual champions Texas A&M-Commerce.

Head coach Mike Reed was the conference's coach of the year for the second successive season, and Tatum Goff was named the newcomer of the year.

The Patriots and the Rambelles split back on March 25^th, with the Rambelles walking off the Patriots 3-2 in eight innings in game one before the Patriots forced a split with a 7-2 win in game two.

Goff was the pitcher of record for the loss, allowing five hits and three runs in 7.1 innings, striking out nine but walking five Rambelles.

This season marks the first foray into a Division II postseason for the Patriots.
 
SCOUTING THE COUGARS
Colorado Christian is 49-8 on the season and earned the eighth seed in the region by winning the RMAC conference tournament last weekend. They are the lone team from the RMAC in the South Central Regional.

Head coach Larry Hays was the RMAC Coach of the Year, with the Cougars earning eight all-conference honors.

The Cougars and the Rambelles have only met once previously, back in the South Central Regional in 2018. The Rambelles took an 8-2 victory over the Cougars on that occasion.
 
NOTE FOR FANS PLANNING ON ATTENDING: Suddenlink Field on the campus of UT Tyler is a CASH ONLY facility.