LSC Roundup 4-23

LSC Tennis Championship starts Thursday
Midwestern State is the host of the 2009 Lone Star Conference Men's and Women's Tennis championships which begin Thursday morning at three tennis centers - Hamilton Park, Weeks Park and Midwestern State University.

2009 Lone Star Conference Women's Championship Tournament Central

2009 Lone Star Conference Men's Championship Tournament Central


Nathan Wright: ASU baseball team gets momentum for LSC tourney
The Angelo State University baseball team, with a dramatic comeback and a Lone Star Conference tournament berth in hand, will close out the regular season with a three-game series at Texas A&M-Kingsville this weekend.

The Rams are currently in third place in the LSC standings, but ASU is just one game behind Cameron and Abilene Christian. There was a shake-up at the top of the standings over the weekend because Cameron took three of four from the defending conference champions.

A lot riding as ACU, Tarleton meet in baseball
Abilene Christian and Tarleton State will have different goals and yet each will have plenty to play for when the teams meet in a four-game Lone Star Conference series this weekend at Stephenville.

By dropping three of four at Cameron, the Wildcats (37-15, 28-12) fell into a first-place tie with the Aggies. Since Cameron won the season series, the Aggies own the tiebreaker if the teams finish tied. Meanwhile, the Texans (24-25-11, 20-19-1) are currently in fifth place and only the top four teams qualify for the playoffs.

WT turnaround
Four newcomers changed the fortunes of the West Texas A&M softball program, leading the Lady Buffs to their first postseason tournament.

"I don't know if it has sunk in completely yet," WT fourth-year coach Kevin Blaskowski said. "It is huge to put up 34 wins with this team in the fourth year, especially in the Lone Star Conference."

The Lady Buffs received solid offensive contributions from three freshman and a sophomore transfer from Chipola Junior College to turn things around. WT was a combined 51-124 the last three seasons.

"I think the key has been how our newcomers have come in and taken the challenge of trying to take this program to the next level," Blaskowski said. "Without these newcomers it wouldn't have been possible to be where we are right now."

Javelinas baseball cages Jaguars
For the third time this season the Texas A&M-Kingsville baseball team defeated UH-Victoria. On Wednesday night the Javelinas won 7-4 on the road.

The Javelinas (20-31) only scored in one inning during the game, but crossed the plate seven times during the second inning. The Javs took advantage of two Jaguar (28-14) errors to score seven unearned runs. Robert Cox had a double and drove in a run while Thomas Miller cracked a three-run homer to cap off the inning.

Puhl ejected in Jaguars' loss to Javelinas
Terry Puhl didn't make it through the eighth inning, and the University of Houston-Victoria's bid for a win against Texas A&M-Kingsville all but disappeared in the second.

Puhl was ejected for the first time since becoming the head coach of the Jaguars, and his team had its seven-game winning streak end in a 7-4 loss to Texas A&M-Kingsville before their biggest crowd of the season on Wednesday night at Riverside Stadium.

Mustangs sweep RiverHawks
Katie Petersen extended her scoreless streak to 20 innings and drove in three runs at the plate as Midwestern State shutdown Northeastern State 7-0 in Game 2 Wednesday afternoon to finish off a sweep at RiverHawks Park.

From the Bullpen, April 23
The NFL draft is a place where careers begin and end in 10-minute intervals. For some it can also be a place for second chances. For ex-Abilene Christian University running back Bernard Scott, it could be his last chance.

I don’t know him personally, but it seems like the fleet-footed runner has two natural abilities. One is for carrying the pigskin across the goal line. The other is for finding a way to be the center of controversy.

Ex-Wildcats anxiously await call from NFL team
Johnny Knox could be facing a restless night on the eve of the NFL draft Friday night. Even now, with the draft a few days away, the former Abilene Christian receiver is having a hard time waiting for the big day.

"I'm just trying to be patient," he said. "I feel like a little kid all over again. It's like Christmas in April."

ACU coaches' children get bonus of growing up with their coach
The relationships between coach and player have been particularly strong this tennis season at Abilene Christian University.

The Wildcats men's and women's teams are a close-knit group, more so because head coach Hutton Jones Sr.'s son, Hutton Jr., and assistant coach John Walker's daughter, Jaclyn, are on the team. And it's especially strong between the Joneses because Hutton Jr. is a senior.

Jaclyn, who is a sophomore, and Hutton Jr. are Abilene High graduates and their fathers are former ACU tennis players, tying this story more tightly together.