SAN ANGELO - The Angelo State softball team opens its postseason schedule this week at the Lone Star Conference tournament in Canyon as they look to win its first LSC Tournament crown since 2018.
 
The third-seeded Rambelles face sixth-seeded Lubbock Christian on Thursday at 11 a.m. The winner will advance to the semifinals, where they will face the winner of UT Tyler and St. Mary's on Friday.
 
The championship game is scheduled for 2 p.m. on Saturday.
 
LAST TIME OUT
The Rambelles struggled in their final weekend of action in the regular season, dropping both games to West Texas A&M before splitting their doubleheader against Eastern New Mexico in Portales.

The Rambelles' lone win, a 13-5 run-rule victory in game one, saw ASU hit seven home runs, with three players hitting two apiece.
 
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 RANKED REGIONALLY
The Rambelles were ranked third in the latest South Central regional rankings, released last week. Colorado Christian and West Texas A&M occupy the top two spots, followed by the Rambelles, Oklahoma Christian, and UT Tyler. Texas A&M-Kingsville, CSU Pueblo, and St. Mary's fill up the final places, while Lubbock Christian and Texas Woman's wrap up the top ten.
 
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 this weekend, making her only the fifth Rambelle in program history to do so.
 
SCOUTING LUBBOCK CHRISTIAN
Lubbock Christian enters the postseason with a 28-22 overall record and a 24-16 record in postseason play. They have won five of their past six games entering the tournament.
 
LCU is hitting .289 this season, averaging 5.2 runs per game. Kadin Vire leads the team with a .409 average, while Ashlinn Hamilton and Bri Chambers-Lee are each hitting .312. Hamilton leads the team with nine home runs and 46 runs driven in.
 
The LCU pitching staff has a 3.60 ERA and has struck out 187 strikeouts in 332.2 innings. Opponents are hitting .267 against the Lady Chaps. Ashlinn Hamilton leads the team with a 2.93 ERA, while Lexi Clark has a 2.94 ERA and leads the team with 11 wins inside the circle.
 
The Rambelles are 19-8 all-time against the Lady Chaps and won all four matchups during the regular season, with two wins coming by 9-3 scorelines, and the other two games being one-run contests.
 
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 (71), while ranking fifth in slugging percentage (.812).
 
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.