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Lion women are champs, men runners-up at inaugural ET Quad.
COMMERCE – The Texas A&M University-Commerce women’s track and field team claimed the top spot in the inaugural East Texas Quad on Friday, while the men’s team took second place by a narrow margin.
The Lions hosted Tarleton, Dallas Baptist, UT Tyler, and LeTourneau in the meet, which is the first of two home meets for the Lions this season.
“It was a great way to start the outdoor season,” said Lion head track and field coach George Pincock. “We were blessed with beautiful weather today, and it was fun to get our feet underneath us at the end of spring break and get prepared for what we hope to be a great outdoor season.”
“We’ve established a solid foundation to move on from. This meet set the pace. You don’t want to sputter along for the first couple of weeks and then just hope everything turns out right in the end. You want to get going at a good pace, see that your training is paying off and build on it.”
The Lion women scored 229.5 points, outpacing Tarleton in second place at 186.83, and claimed 10 individual event wins.
Markaaisha Richardson was part of three event wins, winning the 100-meter hurdles, and running on both the 4×100 and 4×400 meter relay teams.
Minna Svaerd earned a provisional qualifying mark in the women’s pole vault at 3.78 meters (12-4 ¾), which ranks third in the nation by only a centimeter.
Chelsea Cheek earned a provisional qualifying mark, an event win in the women’s high jump at 1.67 meters (5-5 ¾), which ranks fourth nationally.
The Lion men scored 216 points and were edged by Tarleton’s 291 points. The men’s squad claimed the top spot in 11 individual events.
Devon Sanders (100-meter dash, 200-meter dash), Timon Kemboi (800-meter run, 1,500-meter run), and Josh Boateng (shot put, discus) each picked up wins in two individual events.
Sanders also anchored the men’s 4×100 meter relay team of Nichael Whitehead, Dequan Dudley, and Stadrian Taylor that set a provisional qualifying time of 40.70 seconds, which is the top time in Division II so far this season.
Boateng’s discus throw of 56.73 meters (186-1) is an automatic qualifying mark and ranks first nationally. His shot put mark of 17.56 meters (57-7 ¾) is a provisional qualifying mark and ranks fifth in the nation.
Joseph Brown’s discus throw of 55.50 meters (182-1) is a provisional qualifying mark that ranks second nationally. He also earned a provisional qualifying mark an event win in the hammer throw at 57.24 meters (187-9) that ranks fourth nationally.
Other event winners were Dorian Andrews in the men’s 110-meter hurdles, Cameron Macon in the men’s 400-meter hurdles, Trayveon Franklin in the men’s triple jump, Mackenzie Clark in the women’s 100-meter dash. Also, Eboni Coby in the women’s 200-meter dash, Brandi Stalder in the women’s 5,000-meter run, Talia Lujua in the women’s triple jump, and Tamara Susa in the women’s javelin throw.
The Lions’ next action comes next weekend in Austin at the 92nd Clyde Littlefield Texas Relays.
No. 14 Lions knock off WNMU 15-3 to complete series sweep.·
COMMERCE– The No. 14 Texas A&M University-Commerce softball team defeated Western New Mexico 15-3 on Friday afternoon. The Lions scored in every inning, picking up the series sweep.
The Lions move to 25-9 on the season and 13-5 in the Lone Star Conference. The Mustangs fall to 4-21 and 3-12 in conference play.
The Lions return to action on Tuesday with a home doubleheader against Rogers State. The first game of the doubleheader will begin at 4 p.m. at the John Cain Family Softball Field. Tickets to the series are available at WeAreLionsTix.com, by calling (903) 468-8756, by visiting the Lion Sales & Service Box Office in the Field House or by purchase at the gates.
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
– Jodie Hill (Heavener, Okla.) had six RBIs, including a three-run homer. She had three RBI hits on the day.
– Avery Boley (Fort Worth – Nolan Catholic) had a three-run homer and also a sacrifice fly, bring in four runs.
– Kinsie Hebler (Cypress – Cy Fair) and Chealsea Slider (Texarkana – Texas HS) also hit homers.
– Madison Schaefer (Frisco – Independence) also had an RBI and scored a run.
– Bri Sims (Rowlett) scored twice, along with Slider and Boley. Ta’Lyn Moody (Mansfield – Legacy), Vanessa Avina (Haltom City), Vanessa Muro (Oak Hills, Calif.), Ciera Nunez (Amarillo – Randall) and Kimber Neal (Humble – Atascocita) also each scored a run.
– Emily Otto (Richmond – Lamar Consolidated) picked up the win in relief, striking out four and giving up just one hit in 3.1 innings. Hebler started the game, striking out three.
HEAD COACH RICHIE BRUISTER AFTER THE GAME
– On the team’s offense: “I’m proud of our effort. We did a good job. We scored in every inning. We came out looking to see good pitches, and when we did, we put good swings on them. When you do that, good things happen.”
– On the team’s defense: “Emily is steady. You know what you are going to get when she goes out there. It gives confidence to our team when she’s out there. They know she will shut them down and give us an opportunity to get ahead. And the defense played well behind her.”
– On the upcoming series against Rogers State: “We had great crowds for the games this weekend, and we are going to need that again. Rogers is one of the top teams in the Heartland. As far as regional rankings and all that, it is a big series for us. All the support we can get for that to help us win that doubleheader would be great.”
HOW IT HAPPENED
After Hebler struck out two in the top of the first, the Lions jumped out to an early lead in the bottom half as Hebler homered on the second pitch of the afternoon. Schaefer then tripled to bring Sims around. The Lions led 2-0 after one.
WNMU hit a three-run homer in the second to briefly take the lead before the Lions responded in the bottom the inning to take the lead for good. Slider doubled, and a walk from Hebler left two runners on for Hill. She went on to smash a pitch over the fence to give the Lions a 5-3 lead after two complete.
Otto came into the game in relief in the second inning, and WNMU had just one hit the rest of the way as it was all Lions. In the third, the Lions scored five more. Two sacrifice flies brought in runs. Hebler also brought in a runner and Hill brought in two on the double. The Lions led 10-3 after three.
The Lions added three more on a home run from Boley in the fourth. Slider, also hit a homer in the inning, and Hill had yet another RBI hit. Otto shut WNMU down in the fifth, and the Lions ended the game in five.
Offensive explosion leads No. 14 Lions to two wins over WNMU.
COMMERCE– The No. 14 Texas A&M University-Commerce softball team defeated Western New Mexico twice on Thursday afternoon. The Lions won the first game 13-3 and the second game 21-1. The Lions hit seven home runs throughout the two games.
The wins bring the Lions to 24-9 on the season and 12-5 in the Lone Star Conference. The Mustangs fall to 4-20 and 3-11 in conference play.
The teams will meet again in the final game of the series on Friday at 1:00 p.m. The game will be played at the John Cain Family Softball Field. Tickets to the game are available at WeAreLionsTix.com, by calling (903) 468-8756, by visiting the Lion Sales & Service Box Office in the Field House or by purchase at the gates.
HEAD COACH RICHIE BRUISTER AFTER THE GAME
– On the offensive production: “They did their job today. We’ve been preaching getting good pitches and hitting them hard. We did that today.”
– On the play of Kimber Neal: “She did a good job with where the pitches were thrown to hit them hard. I was very proud of her today. To have four home runs is an awesome day. It’s very hard to do that. I’m proud of what she did at the plate.”
– On the defensive performance: “It starts in the circle. Otto came in in the second game and closed the door and gave our offense a chance to get back in the ball game. Then Otto had a great start in game two and went out and did her job.”
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE (Game 1)
– Kimber Neal (Humble – Atascocita) had a pair of home runs, driving in four RBIs.
– Vanessa Muro (Oak Hills, Calif.) had a grand slam and an RBI single.
– Kayla Kilcrease (Kerens) had an RBI double and scored twice. Bri Sims (Rowlett) and Avery Boley (Fort Worth – Nolan Catholic) both brought in runs on sacrifice flies.
– Madison Schaefer (Frisco – Independence) had two hits and scored twice. Allie Thompson (Lindale), Jodie Hill (Heavener, Okla.), Vanessa Avina (Haltom City) and Da’Jia Davis (Hillsboro – Midway) joined Sims and Boley in crossing the home plate once.
– Katie Dean (Whitesboro) started the game, striking out three batters. Emily Otto (Richmond – Lamar Consolidated) finished the game, striking out four and earning the win.
HOW IT HAPPENED (Game 1)
Kilcrease walked and scored on an error to give the Lions the lead in the first inning. The Mustangs countered with a pair of home runs in the second inning to take a 3-1 lead after two complete.
It was all Lions from then on as the offense began to click. After a single by Sims and a double by Schaefer, a Muro single and a Boley sacrifice fly brought in two runs to tie the game at three after three complete.
Otto came in in the fourth inning and struck out two batters to strand base runners. The Lions then scored ten runs in the bottom half to seal the win with Neal’s led off with a home run and also hit a three-run homer later in the inning. Vanessa Muro also had a grand slam in the inning. The Lions also had an RBI hit from Kilcrease and a sacrifice fly from Sims. Otto struck out two more in the fifth, and the Lions won in shortened fashion.
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE (Game 2)
– Kimber Neal had two more home runs, including a grand slam, in the second game. She had seven RBIs and scored three times.
– Madison Schaefer had three hits and four RBIs. She also scored twice.
– Bri Sims and Kinsie Hebler (Cypress – Cy Fair) also had homered in the game. Sims had three RBIs in the game and scored twice.
– Kayla Kilcrease scored four runs and had an RBI. Vanessa Muro and Avery Boley also both had an RBI.
– Ciera Nunez (Amarillo – Randall), Jodie Hill, Da’Jia Davis, Avery Markley (Murphy – Plano East), Chealsea Slider (Texarkana – Texas HS) and Allie Thompson also scored runs.
– Emily Otto pitched the first four innings, striking out five to get her 16th win of the season. Alexis Velasquez (Amarillo – River Road) pitched the final inning, recording a strikeout.
HOW IT HAPPENED (Game 2)
The Lions got started right away in game two, scoring four runs in the first without a hit. Two runs scored on a hit-by-pitch and a sacrifice fly accompanied by a WNMU throwing error brought two more runs in.
Hebler hit a solo homer in the second, and Sims had a two-run homer to push the Lion lead to seven. Kilcrease had an RBI single and Schaefer had an RBI double in the third inning, giving the Lions an 11-0 lead entering the fourth inning.
WNMU brought in its lone run in the top of the fourth before the Lions took off again, scoring ten more in the bottom of the fourth. Neal had a three-run home run and a grand slam in the inning. Sims had an RBI double, and Schaefer added an RBI single. Velasquez entered to pitch in the fifth and struck out the final batter to end the game early.
Josh Manck
Associate Athletics Director for Marketing and Communications | Texas A&M University-Commerce
Committed to a “Best In Class” student-athlete experience.
Office: 903.886.5131 | Mobile: 817.487.5136 |
Mailing Address: P.O. Box 3011 | Commerce, TX 75429
Physical Address: 2600 Neal Street | Commerce, TX 75429
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Marcus Jensen
Director of Athletic Communications | Texas A&M University-Commerce
Office: 903.468.3027 | Mobile: 801.624.8529
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Committed to a “Best in Class” student-athlete experience.