RICHARDSON, Texas – Abilene Christian was picked to finish fourth and received one first-place vote in the 2013 Lone Star Conference preseason poll unveiled by league officials on Wednesday.
The Wildcats placed fifth in the league last season at 14-10, but went 30-18 overall en route to qualifying for its first NCAA D-II South Central Regional Championship in three years. Nine letterwinners are back from last year's team, including the entire pitching staff, plus all-region outfielder
Keanna Winkfield and Lone Star Conference Newcomer of the Year
Courtney Flanary.
A centerfielder, Winkfield will be flanked by returners
Madison Buckley and
Lyndi Smith, while Flanary will likely resume her role as designated player. The Wildcats also bring back the golden glove and steady arm of shortstop
Sara Vaughn.
Heather Peacock, who batted .335 last spring for Ranger College with 47 RBI, 18 doubles and three triples, is the Wildcats' lone offseason transfer. The remaining six newcomers come straight from the Texas High School ranks, giving third-year head coach
Bobby Reeves an all-Lone Star State roster.
ACU's rotation features seniors
Caitlyn Crain and
Shelby Hall and junior
Peyton Mosley. This trio finished first in the conference a year ago with a 2.42 ERA and Mosley was named first team all-conference after recording 11 wins, a 2.59 ERA, three shutouts, and 63 strikeouts. Crain led the Wildcats with 14 wins, 82 strikeouts, and a conference-best 2.13 ERA in her first year at ACU.
The 2012 club also showed improvement on defense as it went from making 79 errors in 2011 to 58 last spring. Only two conference teams made fewer errors than ACU in 2012.
Angelo State received 19 first-place votes and 251 overall points in the poll selected by LSC coaches, sports information directors and various media representatives. The Rambelles, who posted a 48-11 overall record in 2012 and made their eighth NCAA Division II regional appearance, won the league title for the sixth time.
Texas Woman's was ranked second in the poll with five first-place mentions for 220 points. West Texas A&M was third with 181 points to edge ACU by a mere five points.
Incarnate Word, the defending tournament champions, picked up the remaining first-place vote to share fifth place with Midwestern State with 151 points each. Tarleton State (134), Cameron (66), Texas A&M-Kingsville (55) and Eastern New Mexico (45) rounded out the poll.
The 2013 season starts February 1 with LSC teams playing a single round-robin schedule with a three-game series against every other team. Each series shall consist of a doubleheader one day and single 7-inning game the other day.
The overall LSC Champion will be the team(s) with the best winning percentage in regular-season conference games, while the winner of the postseason championship will be recognized as LSC Tournament Champion and receive the league's automatic qualification into NCAA postseason. The single-elimination championship will be played May 3-4-5, in Canyon, Texas as part of the LSC Spring Championships Festival.
Texas Woman's junior Bailey Vrazel was named LSC Preseason Player of the Year. The shortstop from Danbury, Texas, started all 54 games last season for the Pioneers and led the team in batting average (.414), runs (61), walks (31), on-base percentage (.514) and stolen bases (75). For the second consecutive year, Vrazel led all collegiate softball players in steals and broke her own TWU and Lone Star Conference single-season record for stolen bases. She also set a new single-season school records in runs and walks.
Incarnate Word's Briana Sanchez claimed LSC Preseason Pitcher of the Year honors for the second straight year. The senior from San Antonio was named to the all-tournament team for her performance during the Cardinals tournament championship run last season. Sanchez was 17-11 in the circle with a 3.43 earned run average and 196 strikeouts in 202.1 innings last season.
Team (1st-place votes) – Total Points
1.) Angelo State (19) - 251
2.) Texas Woman's (5) - 220
3.) West Texas A&M - 181
4.) Abilene Christian (1) - 176
T5.) Incarnate Word (1) - 151
T5.) Midwestern State - 151
7.) Tarleton State - 134
8.) Cameron - 66
9.) Texas A&M-Kingsville - 55
10.) Eastern New Mexico – 45
Information from LoneStarConference.org was used in this release.
