Getting those two out of three wins secured that the Lady Buffs will now host the LSC Tournament this coming weekend.
WTAMU won a very competitive ball game 7-6 in Friday’s opener, took game two 6-3 to open Saturday before falling in the final game 10-7.
The Lady Buffs head into the postseason as the league’s No. 1-seed boasting an overall record of 45-6 after finishing conference play 36-5.
Game 1
In a game that went back and forth on Friday, the Lady Buffs took a late lead and were able to hold on to beat the Rambelles 7-6.
Down 6-5 entering the bottom of the sixth, Emilee Boyer lined a ball into the gap that scored Brittni Rufus tying the game, 6-6. The Lady Buffs then regained the lead for good as Gabriella Valforte drove home Amarillo High graduate Tatem Pendergraft on a fielder’s choice for the 7-6 advantage.
Boyer was 2-for-4 at the plate with an RBI and tossed a complete game in the circle allowing four earned runs with five strikeouts. Boyer is now 20-1 on the year.
Games 2-3
WTAMU was able to claim the series against ASU with a 6-3 win to open up Saturday afternoon.
Lauren Granger provided the pop with a two-run home run and pitcher Heidi Vortherms (15-4) threw a complete game racking up seven strikeouts.
Despite the loss in game three, Valforte was 3-for-4 with a homer and three RBIs.
LSC Tournament
The 10-team bracket for the 2024 Lone Star Conference Softball Tournament is set following completion of the conference season.
The 27th edition of the conference tournament is scheduled Thursday through Saturday and hosted at Schaeffer Park in Canyon.
West Texas A&M and UT Tyler tied for the regular-season title with WT earning the No. 1 seed by virtue of their 3-0 record against UTT during the league season.
Play begins in the single-elimination tournament with four games on Thursday. First round action features No. 7 Texas Woman’s vs. No. 10 Eastern New Mexico at 11 a.m. and No. 8 Texas A&M-Kingsville vs. No. 9 Cameron at 1:30 p.m. Quarterfnals start Thursday afternoon as the No. 7/9 winner plays No. 2 UT Tyler at 4 p.m. followed by the No. 8/9 versus No. 1 West Texas A&M at 6:30 p.m.
Quarterfinals continue Friday as No. 3 Angelo State faces No. 6 Lubbock Christian at 11 a.m. and No. 4 Oklahoma Christian goes against No. 5 St. Mary’s at 1:30 p.m.
The four quarterfinal game winners advance to Friday afternoon semifinal games at 4 p.m. and 6:30 p.m. The LSC Tournament championship game is scheduled Saturday at 2 p.m. The winner of the tournament earns the LSC automatic qualifying berth to the Division II Softball Championship.
2024 LSC Tournament
Thursday-Saturday
at Schaeffer Park, Canyon
Thursday’s first round and quarterfinal games
No. 7 Texas Woman’s (25-28) vs. No. 10 Eastern New Mexico (25-25), 11 a.m.
No. 8 Texas A&M-Kingsville (29-21) vs. (9) Cameron (30-22), 1:30 p.m.
No. 2 UT Tyler (46-7) vs. TWU-ENMU, 4 p.m.
No. 1 West Texas A&M (45-6) vs. TAMK-Cameron winner, 6:30 p.m.
Friday quarterfinal and semifinal games
No. 3 Angelo State (37-15) vs. No.6 Lubbock Christian (25-21), 11 a.m.
No. 4 Oklahoma Christian (32-20) vs. No. 5 St. Mary’s (31-23), 1:30 p.m.
ASU-LCU vs. UT Tyler, TWU, ENMU winner, 4 p.m.
OCU-SMU vs. WTAMU, TAMK, Cameron winner, 6:30 p.m.
Saturday’s championship
2 p.m.
