ABILENE – Abilene Christian's softball team makes its second straight postseason appearance this Friday when it faces West Texas A&M in the second of four quarterfinal games during the first round of the
Lone Star Conference Championship.
The game is scheduled to start at 2 p.m. and will be broadcast locally on AM-1280 KSLI. All of the tournament action will also be broadcast online via a free live webcast provided by
foxsportssouthwest.com. The webcast will include both video and audio with viewers needing only a computer with a high-speed DSL or cable modem connection to the Internet.
ACU enters the eight-team, single-elimination championship as the No. 7 seed after finishing its season Saturday with overall and conference records of 28-25 and 12-15. West Texas (41-10, 20-7 LSC) lost its final two games of the season in ceding the regular-season championship to Texas Woman's.
As the top seed, the Pioneers have the honor of playing Friday's final game at 7 p.m. vs. eighth-seeded Cameron, which will be preceded by No. 4 Midwestern State vs. No. 5 Tarleton State. The tournament begins at 11:30 a.m. with No. 3 Angelo State vs. No. 6 Incarnate Word.
The Wildcats put up a good fight during their Senior Day last Saturday vs. No. 17 Midwestern State, but ultimately lost the series and chance to sweep the doubleheader after the Mustangs smacked two late-inning home runs – one which tied the game at 7-7 in the seventh, and the other which won it in the ninth.
But in game one that afternoon vs. the Mustangs, senior
Caitlyn Crain was at her very best in holding the vaunted Mustang offense to a single fourth-inning run, while striking out six in the complete-game effort. Crain's win was her 14th of the year, and she may get some notice for first team all-conference after ranking fifth in the LSC with 130 strikeouts and first with five saves. She also finished the regular season ranked among the LSC's top-five in appearances (37), shutouts (4) complete games (14) and opponents' batting average (.247).
ACU's offense is led by a host of veterans, most notably senior
Keanna Winkfield, who ranks among the national and conference leaders in batting average (.393) and runs (47), and junior
Lyndi Smith, who has clubbed a team-best 10 home runs to go along with 50 RBI and 104 total bases.
Senior
Sara Vaughn and junior
Madison Buckley also have flourished against conference opponents. Vaughn has a .388 batting average with 16 walks and 21 runs in 27 LSC games, while Buckley is hitting .310 with 19 runs, 11 RBI and six extra-base hits.
Corner infielders
Heather Peacock and
Courtney Flanary, last season's LSC Newcomer of the Year, have each battled through injuries to remain in the lineup. Since coming back to the lineup full-time earlier this month, Peacock has three multi-hit games and seven RBI in picking her average back over .300, and Flanary has hit .353 against her last three conference opponents with two home runs and nine RBI.
The Lady Buffs are playing host to this year's tournament, which is one-third of the much larger
Lone Star Conference Championships Spring Festival that also includes baseball and outdoor track and field. An all-festival pass, which includes admission to the baseball and track & field championships, will be $25 for adults and $10 for youth. Single day passes are $15 for adults and $6 for youth. All seats are considered general admission and are on a first-come, first-serve basis.
ACU is 15-15 all-time at the Lone Star Conference Championship and has reached the championship game three times (2006, 2008, 2009) only to be defeated once by Midwestern State and twice by Angelo State. The Wildcats lost 5-1 to the Lady Buffs in last year's first-round game in Denton, Texas.
2013 LONE STAR CONFERENCE SOFTBALL CHAMPIONSHIP TOURNAMENT
Schaeffer Park, Canyon, Texas
Friday, May 3
No. 3 Angelo State vs. No. 6 Incarnate Word, 11:30 a.m.
No. 2 West Texas A&M vs. No. 7 Abilene Christian, 2 p.m.
No. 4 Midwestern State vs. No. 5 Tarleton State, 4:30 p.m.
No. 1 Texas Woman's vs. No. 8 Cameron, 7 p.m.
Saturday, May 4
3-6 winner vs. 2-7 winner, 12 p.m.
4-5 winner vs. 1-8 winner, 2:30 p.m.
Sunday, May 5
Championship, 1 p.m.
