SAN ANGELO - The Angelo State softball team returns home to face UT Dallas in a conference doubleheader this Friday.
 
The Rambelles and the Comets meet for the first time this Friday at 5 p.m.; the game time has been pushed back from the original start time.
 
LAST TIME OUT
The Rambelles went 3-1 last weekend in Oklahoma, taking a doubleheader against Cameron in Lawton by scores of 6-4 in nine innings and 3-1, before splitting their doubleheader against No. 12 Oklahoma Christian, where they dropped game one 9-2 before bouncing back with a 5-4 win in game two.
 
RAMBELLES NOTCH 1,000TH ALL-TIME WIN
The Rambelles' 18-0 win on Friday, February 20th, over Midwestern State was the 1,000th all-time win for the Angelo State softball program since they started competition in the 2002 season. They join St. Edward's, which also recorded its program's 1,000th win on Friday, February 20th, and St. Mary's, which has 1,115 wins, most coming under the guidance of the legendary Donna Fields, who led the Rattlers for 27 seasons, as the only programs in the conference to win more than a thousand games.
 
SCOUTING UT DALLAS
UT Dallas enters this weekend with a 5-11 overall record and a 3-9 conference record. They are 2-2 on the road this season.
 
The Comets are hitting .323 this season, averaging 6.2 runs per game. Four Comets hit above .300, led by Julia Maniscalco's .389 batting average. The sophomore leads the team with a .540 on-base percentage and has driven in ten runs. Rachel Wallace leads the team with two home runs this season.
 
The Comets' pitching staff has a 5.31 ERA and has struck out 72 batters in 102 innings. Opponents are hitting .356 against UTD. Mere Cavazos leads the team with a 5.31 ERA. Allison Koch has struck out 22 batters in 28 innings of work.
 
This is the first-ever matchup between the Rambelles and the Comets, who are in their second season of transition from Division III to Division II.
 
ZOEY 1 O' 1
Rambelles third baseman Zoey Sifuentes has earned four weekly awards this season, the most in the LSC. She has been named the LSC Freshman of the Week three times and the LSC Hitter of the Week once for her play during the Rambelles' trip to Florida. The Kinesiology major is second in the conference in doubles (14), is fourth in slugging percentage (.846) and RBI (37), and seventh in batting average (.434).
 
TROTTER NAMED LSC PRESEASON OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE YEAR
Rambelles senior outfielder Tatiana Trotter was selected as the conference's preseason player of the year, as voted on by the league's coaches, SIDs, and media members. Trotter, an Intelligence and Analysis student from Lubbock, is coming off a season in which she hit .330 with 14 home runs and 47 RBI. She slugged .648 and had a .449 on-base percentage. Trotter also notched seven assists from the outfield en route to being named an LSC Golden Glove winner. The senior was also a third-team Academic All-American selection last season. Trotter has hit 13 career triples, making her the active Division II leader in that category.
 
RAMBELLES PICKED THIRD IN LSC PRESEASON POLL
The Rambelles were picked to repeat their third-place finish in the LSC Preseason poll, as voted on by the league's coaches, SIDs, and media members. The Rambelles received a pair of first-place votes and tallied 753 total points. Two-time defending champions UT Tyler were picked to repeat as conference champions with 849 total points and 39 of 51 first-place votes. West Texas A&M received eight first-place votes and 817 total points. Oklahoma Christian and Lubbock Christian each received a first-place vote to round out the top five. Cameron, Eastern New Mexico, St. Edward's, and St. Mary's round out the top nine in what would fill the spots for the LSC Tournament.
 
25 YEARS OF RAMBELLES SOFTBALL
The Angelo State softball program is playing its 25th season of Division II softball this season. The Rambelles hold a record of 1,013-368-1 dating back to the 2002 season. In that time, the Rambelles have qualified for 19 NCAA Tournaments, won six South Central regional championships, won the 2004 National Championship, and finished as National Runners-Up in 2017.
 
RETURNING STATS
The Rambelles' lineup only returns 364 of their 1,535 at-bats from a season ago, with Tatiana Trotter and Abby Brand the only mainstays returning from last season's lineup. In the circle, Bri Waters is the lone holdover from last season's pitching staff. All in all, 14 new faces will suit up for the Rambelles in 2026.