SAN ANGELO – Coming off their first conference series win of the season over UT Permian Basin earlier this week, the Angelo State softball team faces a quick turnaround, with their next conference series awaiting them this Saturday and Sunday at Mayer Field in the form of second-ranked UT Tyler. Saturday's doubleheader starts at 1 p.m. and the series finale will take place on Sunday at 1 p.m.
The Rambelles are 10-7 on the season and 2-4 in conference play.
The Rambelle offense is hitting .306 as a unit and leads the conference with 20 home runs this season.
The Rambelles lead the country in stolen bases with 57 on the season and are third nationally with 71 walks drawn at the plate.
Ashlyn Lerma is hitting a team-best .457 at the plate and has a .609 on-base percentage. The senior second baseman also leads the country with 27 stolen bases. Lerma has 115 stolen bases in her ASU career, the second-most in program history.
Paxton Scheurer is tied for the conference lead with seven home runs this season; the third baseman is slugging .782 and has driven in 18 runs.
The Rambelles' top hitter in LSC play to this point has been sophomore
Ashton McMillan. The San Angelo native is 9-for-18 at the plate in conference play with a pair of doubles, a home run, and five RBIs. She went 4-for-4 from the plate in the series finale yesterday versus UT Permian Basin, with four RBIs, both single-game highs for the Rambelles this season.
In the circle, the Rambelles own a 2.99 ERA, striking out 113 batters in 117 innings of work; they have held opposing batters to a .227 batting average.
Cheyenne Floyd has a 2.01 ERA with 27 strikeouts in 24.1 innings of work;
Genesis Armendariz is 6-2 on the season and has 54 strikeouts, and yesterday against the Falcons, she recorded the first complete-game shutout by a Rambelle pitcher this season.
SCOUTING THE PATRIOTS
UT Tyler is 13-1 on the season and 6-0 in conference play; they are the second-ranked team in the country in the most recent NFCA Division II Top 25 poll.
The Patriots are hitting .310 as a team and have an on-base percentage of .417. Their lone loss of the season came on the opening weekend to then-eighth-ranked Central Oklahoma.
They are led offensively by JT Smith. The sophomore is hitting .571 on the season has drawn nine walks, and has been hit by six pitches while not having struck out a single time this season for a .700 on-base percentage.
They own a 2.08 team ERA in the circle and have held opponents to a .219 batting average. LSC Preseason Pitcher of the Year Tatum Goff anchors the Patriots' pitching rotation with an 8-0 record and a 1.27 ERA. She has struck out 46 batters in 49.2 innings this season.
