SAN ANGELO - The Angelo State softball team enters its 20th NCAA Tournament appearance of all-time this weekend as they take part in the South Central regional in Canyon.
 
The Rambelles open the week on Thursday at 5 p.m. against Texas A&M-Kingsville in a rematch of last weekend's LSC Tournament championship.
 
LAST TIME OUT
The Rambelles made a magical run through the LSC Tournament in Canyon, defeating Lubbock Christian, UT Tyler, and Texas A&M-Kingsville as ASU claimed its eighth tournament title and its first since 2018.
 
Five Rambelles were named to the all-tournament team - Maddison Ruiz, Abby Brand, Zoey Sifuentes, Tatiana Trotter, and Addy Ewing - with Ewing being named the tournament's Most Outstanding Player.
 
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 1,128 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.
 
RAMBELLES EARN DOZEN LSC AWARDS
The Angelo State softball team walked away with a dozen all-conference awards last week, highlighted by Zoey Sifuentes being named the LSC Freshman of the Year and Kylie Forney earning LSC Newcomer of the Year honors. Sifuentes is the eighth Rambelle to be named the conference's freshman of the year, while Forney is the sixth Rambelle to garner newcomer of the year plaudits. Sifuentes, Forney, Tatiana Trotter, and Addy Ewing were named to the All-LSC First Team. Ashleigh Dendas and Maddison Ruiz were named to the second team, and Ruiz joined Sifuentes on the all-freshman team. Trotter was also named a Golden Glove winner and named to the LSC All-Academic team for the second successive season.
 
TATI NAMED NFCA PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Rambelles' senior center fielder Tatiana Trotter was named the NFCA Division II Player of the Week following her standout performances this past weekend. She hit .600 to close the regular season, as all six of her hits went for extra bases. She launched five home runs, leaving the yard in every game, and drove in nine runs while slugging 2.200. The senior hit her 40th career home run, making her only the fifth Rambelle in program history to do so.
 
SCOUTING TEXAS A&M-KINGSVILLE
Texas A&M-Kingsville is 34-19 on the season and is 7-6 in neutral-site games this season.
 
TAMUK is hitting .307 this season, averaging 6.6 runs per game. Victoria Vargas leads the team with a .366 batting average, with Dakota Martinez following closely behind with a .365 average. Martinez leads the team with ten home runs and 45 RBI.
 
The Javelina pitching staff has a 4.51 ERA and has struck out 217 strikeouts in 358.1 innings. Opponents are hitting .316 against the Hogs. Andrea Martinez is the Javelinas' ace inside the circle with a 15-9 record and a 3.91 ERA. Martinez has struck out 127 batters and holds opponents to a .284 batting average.
 
The Rambelles are 3-2 against the Javelinas this season, with the home team winning both regular-season doubleheaders before ASU defeated the Javelinas 5-3 in the tournament final.

ZOEY 1 O' 1
Rambelles third baseman Zoey Sifuentes has earned four weekly awards this season. 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 leads the conference in doubles (21), second in RBI (74), while ranking fifth in slugging percentage (.821). Sifuentes was named the conference's freshman of the year.
 
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 18 career triples, making her the active Division II leader in that category. Trotter's 18 triples are the most in ASU's program history.
 
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 1,031-373-3 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.