Gerlich's experience as player for Tech's title team assists WT's preparation Krista Gerlich said her experiences as a player on Texas Tech's national championship basketball team in 1993 have helped her as a coach in pursuit of a title.
Her West Texas A&M Lady Buffs are preparing for the NCAA Division II Elite Eight that begins Tuesday at San Antonio.
''I think being a player on a championship team helps give me some credibility where my players are concerned,'' said Gerlich, who as Krista Kirkland, a Spearman graduate, started at guard for the Lady Raiders in 1993. ''I can't help them from a playing standpoint, but I can share some experiences that they might find valuable in other ways. I hope that I've been able to give them an understanding of what it takes to win a national championship. There are so many factors involved.
''You have to be playing well at the right time and you have to have a certain amount of luck. Often times, the best team doesn't always win. Rather, it's the team that plays the best at the national tournament.''
Trio of ASU athletes grab spots at national track meet
When the 2009 NCAA Division II national track meet begins on May 21 at San Angelo's LeGrand Sports Complex with the heptathlon and decathlon, Angelo State University will be well represented.
Three ASU athletes automatically qualified in those two events, and two more provisionally qualified at the ASU Spring Break Multis on Friday at the same site where the national meet will be held in two months.
Latz leads 13-hit ACU attack
Travis Latz drove in four runs, and Cameron Aspaas scattered eight hits over seven innings as the Abilene Christian Wildcats crushed Southeastern Oklahoma State, 11-4, in a Lone Star Conference baseball game Friday night at Crutcher Scott Field.
ACU (24-7 overall, 17-4 LSC) clubbed 13 hits and scored in all but one inning. Ryan Bowen hit a three-run home run off reliever Kevin Justice in the eighth to make it a 9-4 game, and Brad Rutherford pitched a scoreless ninth.
Basepaths blunder proves costly to Buffs
A base-running blunder that would upset coaches at all levels of baseball didn't do the West Texas A&M Buffs any favors Friday afternoon.
Texas A&M-Kingsville pitcher Sam Strickland started a pickoff play that created two outs, squelching a sixth-inning comeback bid and paving the way to an 8-6 win against the West Texas A&M Buffs in the opener of a Lone Star Conference doubleheader before 70 fans at the Amarillo National Bank Dilla Villa.
The nightcap didn't go much better for the Buffs as Kingsville overcame a three-run deficit to sweep WT, 8-5.
"I've been saying it all year," said WT first-year coach Matt Vanderburg, who was upset with the sixth-inning miscue seconds after it happened. "Obviously, we can't make mistakes and expect to win. This is frustrating because I thought we did a good job of staying in it all game."
Partin, Cornelison spark ACU sweep in softball
Kim Partin has done the math. It's far less work -- and more reasonable -- to get 21 ground ball outs than trying to strike out everyone. Let her teammates behind her do all the work.
That's exactly what the Abilene Christian senior did Friday. Partin scattered three hits in a 3-1 victory over Texas A&M-Kingsville for a sweep of the Lone Star Conference South Division softball doubleheader at Wells Field.
"Kim's been real consistent for us all year, getting the ground ball outs, not trying to overpower hitters," ACU coach Chantiel Wilson said. "She's done just a great job these past few weeks for us."
Major test
March Madness is full of upsets and Cinderella stories on the backetball court. West Texas A&M hopes to have its own upset brewing. The Lady Buffs softball team, ranked 23rd in the nation, plays host to No. 1 Angelo State in a three-game Lone Star Conference series beginning with a doubleheader at noon today at the Lady Buff Yard.
"It is a great weekend," WT coach Kevin Blaskowski said. "It is going to be a great matchup. It is a key conference series. ''If we find a way to sweep the series, we can move into a tie with them, but our goal right now is just to try to win the series. That would give ourselves an opportunity to keep moving up in the standings."
ASU softball update
Of note: The Rambelles will look to extend their winning streak to 10 today when they open a three-game series against the Lady Buffs with a doubleheader today. Game is scheduled for 1 p.m. with Game 2 to follow. The third game of the series will be Sunday at 1 p.m. ... ASU is coming off a doubleheader sweep of regional rival St. Mary's on Thursday. Offensively, Sandy James led the 'Belles as she hit a home run in each game. Her second home run was a grand slam and broke open a 6-4 game that ASU went on to win 12-4. Her 17th blast of the season also set a school record, breaking the old mark of 16 set by Christel Neal in 2005. In the two games, James was 3-for-7 with six RBIs and five runs scored. Macy Baker was 4-for-8 with and home run and four RBIs in the two games. ... WTAM is coming off a doubleheader sweep of Texas A&M-International on Thursday. The Lady Buffs have won eight of their past 10 games and are off to their best start in school history. ... ASU is 23-10 all-time against WTAM. The 'Belles won three of the four games the teams played last season. ... The 'Belles will be back in action Wednesday when they host a doubleheader against Incarnate Word.
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