MSU tops WT twice to earn first NCAA Championship berth - LSC Office
Midwestern State picked up two wins over West Texas A&M to clinch the program's first NCAA Championship berth Saturday at the NCAA Division II South Central Super Regionals at Mustangs Park.
After dropping the opening game of the best-of-three series Friday, the Mustangs prevailed in game two 8-2 to force the decisive game. MSU led the final game 3-2 before the offense erupted for eight runs in the seventh frame en route to an 11-2 victory.
In the seventh inning, nine consecutive Mustang hitters reached including solo homers from Courtney Bingham and Kim Jerrick and a grand slam by Mallory Mooney.
MSU took a 3-0 lead in the fourth inning, using three walks along with a RBI single by Amanda Potysman and a two-run Bingham double down the right-field line.
But WT answered in the fifth frame after a Mustangs' miscue to plate two runs on a Meghan Brown run-scoring single to right field and a wild pitch.
MSU (52-12) opens the 2011 NCAA Division II Championship against top-ranked Alabama-Huntsville Thursday night at the Moyer Complex in Salem, Va. First pitch is set for 6:30 p.m (Central Time).
The Lady Buffs memorable season ends at 50-18.
Gutierriez paved the way for Saturday sweep - Nick Gholson, Times Record News
Kristina Gutierrez came out and pitched like it could be her last game.
That's because it could have been.
Yes, the Midwestern State softball team put on an offensive show in a doubleheader sweep of West Texas A&M on Saturday.
You sure can't overlook 19 runs, 26 hits and five home runs.
But MSU wouldn't be headed to Virginia this week without the silent pitching heroics of a girl they simply call "G."
Gutierrez isn't MSU's ace. But with the season on the line, this 22-year-old senior certainly was an ace in the hole for the Mustangs.
In Game 1 of the NCAA South Central Super Region on Friday, the WT sluggers banged three out of the park against ace Brittney Tanner in a 4-1 win that put Midwestern in a do-or-die hole.
Lose Game 2 on Saturday and it's bye, bye season.
It was the biggest game of Gutierrez's life. The big yellow softball and MSU's softball season were in the palm of her right hand.....
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ERRORS DOOM CARDINALS - UIW Baseball
In all sports, mistakes can be costly – but in baseball, errors can lead to more mistakes as teams press to be perfect.
For the Cardinals on Sunday, the 2011 South Central Regional Championship was a classic case of a team putting themselves in an uphill battle that they couldn’t come back from as early mistakes put UIW in a hole that they couldn’t come back from against University of Central Missouri.
The Mules, the No. 2 seed in the regional tournament held at V.J. Keefe Memorial Stadium at St. Mary’s University, won the game, 7-0, and ended the Cardinals’ season.
After Ethan Lutz started the game by striking out the side for Incarnate Word (37-18), Central Missouri scored a run in the top of the second inning after the leadoff batter got on base thanks to a dropped fly ball in the outfield. The runner would later score by stealing home and making it 1-0 in favor of the Mules.
Later errors only piled on the runs for UCM (49-8) and of the seven runs to come home for Central Missouri, not a single one was earned. The Mules’ starting pitcher, Matt Curtis, pitched all nine innings and earned a four-hit shutout victory.
“This was the worst game we played all year,” head coach Danny Heep said, flatly, after everything was said and done. “We couldn’t catch the ball, field the ball, run bunt plays, hit the ball… and we made mental mistakes. We just couldn’t pull it together.”
Storm Postseason Run Comes to an End - SOSU Baseball
Stranded base runners and missed opportunities brought No. 26 Southeastern’s magical postseason run to a premature end, falling to No. 30 Incarnate Word, 5-2, on Saturday afternoon at VJ Keefe Memorial Stadium in San Antonio, Texas.
The Savage Storm finish the year at 35-19 with a Lone Star Conference Championship and the school’s fourth trip to the NCAA Tournament.
Texans dropped by Cardinals 8-4 in South Central region elimination game - TSU Baseball
The Tarleton baseball team battled Incarnate Word in the second round of the NCAA Division II South Central region tournament Friday afternoon and were eliminated by the Cardinals by a score of 8-4.
The Cardinals were the first team to threaten with runners on first and second in the bottom of the first with just one out, but a nice 4-6-3 double play got the Texans out of the inning unscathed.
UIW broke open the game in the second with a pair of RBI singles that gave the Cardinals a 2-0 lead.
Tarleton managed a couple of base runners in the third with singles by Tim Rainey and Andrew Kapple, but were left stranded.
Head coach Bryan Conger talked about the game at the press conference.
"We knew we had to go out and compete and if you do that, you can accomplish everything," said Conger. "We came up just short of our goals, but it was still a great season. This was a special group of guys and they bought into what we were trying to do. We were fortunate to have these guys."
Senior Tim Rainey also discussed the team's peformance.
"We came here ready to go and ready to compete," said Rainey. "We put our best team on the field. Just didn't reach our goal. It was a great experience though and it has been great playing with these guys."
Senior Junnior Dishmey was complementary of his teammates as well.
"Having the week off threw us off, but that's no excuse," said Dishmey. "They just controlled the game better. But coming to Tarleton from the Dominican Republic, I really was confident in my teammates and the coaches and the plans they had. They are like my family. We all had a common goal and fell short, but that's baseball."
Tarleton ends the season with a 35-15 record, which still makes the best winning percentage in program history.
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ACU's Newby hopes to defend title at national track meet - Joey Richards, Abilene Reporter News
Paige Newby has mixed feelings about her final collegiate track and field meet. The Abilene Christian University senior is excited about returning to the national meet, but at the same time, well, it's the last time she'll throw the discus.
"It's bittersweet," she said. "I'm excited, because I have one more meet to go. It's nationals, and I made it to nationals. But it's sad, because it is my last collegiate meet. I'm going to miss my entire team — women and men."
ACU coach Roosevelt Lofton said Newby — one of three seniors on the women's team — will be missed, too.
"She's a strong leader, and she'll be missed next year," he said.
Control is key - Nathan Wright, San Angelo Standard Times
Championship meets are nothing new for Angelo State University pole vaulter Kelsey Wilson.
The junior from Rocksprings won the Class 1A title as a senior before moving on to college. She won the 2009 National Junior College Athletic Association indoor and outdoor championships while at South Plains Junior College.
She competed in her first Division II indoor national meet in March, but failed to clear the opening height. Later this week, she will compete for the first time at the Division II outdoor meet in Turlok, Calif. She will be looking to make up for her disappointing showing at the indoor championships.
That trip to Turlok began, however, in a tiny Central Texas town 120 miles south of San Angelo where Wilson began gymnastics, which would eventually lead to pole vaulting.
"Before I was a pole vaulter, I was a gymnast," Wilson said. "That is kind of what started it. I had a guy come up to me and tell me that I had nice shoulders and strength and that he wanted me to pole vault for him. That kind of sparked it for me."
Brian Holik has big hurdle to clear - Quinton Martinez, San Angelo Standard Times
Brian Holik has been at the pinnacle of his sport for quite some time now.
The Angelo State hurdler — and Wall High School product — has been to nationals every year he has been in college.
As a member of both 4x100 and 4x400 relay teams, he has earned All-American status every year.
Before that, he had been to the UIL State Track meet in the 300 hurdles all four years in high school, was a medalist three times and won the event as a junior.
"I've been really blessed to say the least," Holik said. "To make it to nationals as a freshman — not many people get the opportunity to go get that experience. Somehow things have always worked out for me to make it. I haven't always had the best times, but things always seem to work out."
ASU junior heads home for competition - Paul Harris, San Angelo Standard Times
Trevor Rogers is going home.
The Angelo State University junior, who transferred last year from City College of San Francisco, earned a ticket back to his home state by qualifying for the Division II national track and field meet in the long jump and triple jump.
This year's meet will be held Thursday through Saturday on the campus of California State University-Stanislaus, not far from where Rogers grew up.
"I'm loving it," Rogers said. "I've jumped at Cal State-Stanislaus before, and I like it. Home crowd, my mom's going to be there, I'll get a little home cooking, so I plan to perform out there."
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Texans sign Division I guard Shedrick Haynes - TSU Basketball
The Tarleton Texan men’s basketball program has announced its first signing of the offseason with the addition of NCAA Division I recruit Shedrick Haynes.
Haynes, a 6-0, 180-pound guard from Brandenton, Fla., will transfer from Big East Conference school South Florida to play his final season with the Texans in 2011-12.
“Shedrick brings an immediate impact guard to our program,” said Tarleton head coach Lonn Reisman. “He is a multi-threat player. He is a great shooter, but he also has athletic ability to beat a defender and create his own shot or set up others. The thing that stood out most during the recruiting process was how great a young man Shedrick is and how he will become an excellent ambassador for our Tarleton basketball program. It was important to our staff to not only find a player with Shedrick’s ability, but also a guy that will lead vocally and by example. Shedrick has a desire to succeed, and during our meetings it was evident that he will bring a unique energy with him, and he can handle the lofty expectations we have here at Tarleton.”
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