No. 21 Lions split the day, take 7-1 win over Central Oklahoma.

EDMOND, Okla. – The No. 21 Texas A&M University-Commerce softball team picked up one win and one loss in their games on Saturday. After falling 5-0 to No. 22 Rogers State earlier in the day, the Lions bounced back to get a 7-1 win over Central Oklahoma later in the day. 

The results bring the Lions to 9-4 on the season. The Lions now enter conference play as they host Texas Woman’s in a doubleheader on Wednesday. The game will begin at 4:00 pm at the John Cain Family Softball Field. 

HEAD COACH RICHIE BRUISTER AFTER THE GAMES

On the game against No. 22 RSU: “Otto did a good job of striking out their hitters. Unfortunately, their pitcher was better than our hitters today. We’ll get to face her again in a couple of weeks, so we have to accept that challenge and make those adjustments and help our pitching out.”

On the game against UCO: “I was excited about how we rebounded against Central Oklahoma. We came out and scored six runs in the first two innings. The bats definitely woke up and responded. And LeBlanc threw great with no walks and ten strikeouts. That’s what we want to see, with the offense scoring seven runs. We had a great game on the defensive side and the offensive side.”

On getting three wins during the tournament: “It was overall a good weekend, going 3-1 against a field where every team had a winning record. I would have loved to win all four, but winning three out of four is a good weekend. That last game builds going into our conference opener next week. We are looking forward to the conference opener on Wednesday.” 

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE (Game 1)

– Emily Otto (Richmond – Lamar) pitched 5.2 innings and had a season-high ten strikeouts. Maya Shelby (Sabinal) pitched the final third of an inning.

– Uxua Modrego (Burlada, Spain), Madison Schaefer (Frisco – Independence), Kinsie Hebler (Cypress – Cy-Fair), and Avery Boley (Fort Worth – Nolan Catholic) each had a hit in the game. 

HOW IT HAPPENED (Game 1)

It was a pitcher’s duel throughout much of the game, as neither team could find success against their opponent’s ace. Otto had four strikeouts over the first two innings to hold RSU at bay. 

The Lions had a pair of runners reach in the fourth inning, with a single from Modrego and a walk. However, they could not get the runs around to break the scoreless tie. 

Otto had another strikeout in the fourth and two more in the fifth as the Lion defense continued to hold strong. However, the Lion bats could not find the open field, as RSU also played stellar defense behind strong pitching. 

RSU broke through in the sixth inning, first with a solo home run, and then with a three-run homer. The Lions trailed 5-0 after the sixth inning, and could not find the runs they needed in the seventh to extend the game. 

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE (Game 2)

– Uxua Modrego (Burlada, Spain) had her best game in a Lion uniform to date, bringing in four RBIs and also scoring a run.

– Madison Schaefer (Frisco – Independence) led the game off with a solo home run, her fifth home run of the season. She had two hits and two RBIs.

– Alyssa LeBlanc (Katy) pitched a complete game and had her second consecutive game with at least ten strikeouts. She also had a hit and an RBI.

– Ta’Lyn Moody (Mansfield – Legacy) had two hits and scored a run, while Jodie Hill (Heavener, Okla.) had one hit and scored two runs.

Chealsea Slider (Texarkana, Ark.), Kinsie Hebler (Cypress – Cy-Fair), and Avery Boley all had hits as well. 

HOW IT HAPPENED (Game 2)

The Lions jumped out on top early, as Schaefer hit a solo home run to give the Lions the lead. After Hebler drew a walk, she then scored on the double from LeBlanc. UCO had a pair of singles and brought a run across in the bottom of the inning, as the Lions led 2-1 after one inning. 

The Lions added to their lead in the second inning, with the bases loaded for Modrego, he hit a double into the gap in left-center, clearing the base paths for three more runs. Schaefer then hit a sacrifice fly to score Modrego. The Lions led 6-1 after two innings. 

Modrego had another RBI in the fourth inning on a sacrifice that scored Hill, who reached on a triple down the right-field line. The Lions led 7-1 after four innings. 

LeBlanc pitched a strong game throughout, routinely getting batters to chase, as she closed the game out strong. The Lion defense continued to make good plays when the ball was put in play, not allowing another run to cross the plate. 

Lion men place third, women fourth at LSC Indoor Championships.

LUBBOCK – The Texas A&M University-Commerce track teams completed their run at the 2020 Lone Star Conference Indoor Track and Field Championships on Saturday, with the men placing third and the women placing fourth. 

“In my mind, the Lone Star Conference is one of the premier track, and field conferences in the nation and this meet proved that this year,” said Lion head track and field coach George Pincock.”There were so many good performances; it’s hard to single them out. I hold myself to a very high standard, and I always want to be competing for first, but I’m very proud of this group and the performances we put together to finish third on the men’s side and fourth on the women’s side. We had great performances in the 60-meter dash and 200-meter dash in both the men’s and women’s. 

“A very special performer was Minna Svaerd, who has been an all-star for us. She set the meet record in the 400 meters and then came back to win the pole vault after anchoring the 4×400 meter relay, which finished second. We saw her do that same thing last year, but she continues to impress and inspire. She won the pole vault barefoot, which is just fantastic. 

“In the throws, coach Tracy’s group in the men’s shot put was fantastic, scoring 25 points. Josh Boateng is among the elite, and there was also a great performance from Steven Sanchez, who set PR’s in both the shot put and the weight throw. And in the jumps. Trayveon Franklin joined the 15-meter club in the triple jump and put himself on the national list, which will be in a great spot as we move towards nationals.” 

Svaerd (Karlstad, Sweden) had an inspiring afternoon with one of the more robust schedules in the entire meet. She started the afternoon by setting the LSC indoor meet record and school record in the 400-meter dash, winning the gold medal at 54.66 seconds. In the latter stages of the meet, she anchored the Lions’ 4×400 meter relay team, which claimed runner-up honors at 3:49.17, while she skipped early bars in the pole vault competition. She rushed over to the pole vault runway and decided competing barefoot would be more comfortable than her spikes. In the last jump of the meet, she cleared 3.65 meters (11-11 ¾) to win her second gold medal of the day. 

The men’s shot put groups scored 25 points, led by a third LSC gold medal from Josh Boateng (St. George’s, Grenada), who won with a toss of 17.11 meters (56-1 ¾). Steven Sanchez (New Braunfels) earned the bronze medal at 16.21 meters (53-2 ¼) for a collegiate-best, followed by Vashon McCarthy (Portmore, Jamaica), Andre Karasch (Barntrup, Germany), and Ryan Amador (Jonesboro, Ark.) in the 5-7 positions. 

The Kenyan duo of Octopias Ndiwa and Timon Kemboi (both of Eldoret, Kenya) stood atop the podium in the men’s 800-meter run. Ndiwa claimed the gold medal at 1:51.82, and Kemboi earned silver at 1:51.85 as the pair crossed the line nearly simultaneously. 

Dorian Andrews (Dallas – Skyline) earned the gold medal in the men’s 60-meter hurdles at 7.94 seconds, while Cameron Macon (Dallas – Carter) placed fourth at 8.20 seconds. 

Freshman Kiara Brown (Dallas – Carter) earned her first collegiate conference championship with a win at 24.31 seconds in the 200-meter dash. She also earned points in the 60-meter dash at 7.68 seconds. 

The Lion men had three placers in the 60-meter dash, led by a silver medal from Malcolm Woods (Sachse) at 6.76 seconds for a collegiate-best time. Lamarion Arnold (Montgomery, Ala.) placed fifth at 6.85 seconds, and Andre Norman (Celina) placed seventh at 6.88 seconds. 

This meet is the Lions’ final indoor meet before the announcement of the NCAA Division II Championships field. The national meet will be in Birmingham, Ala., on March 13-14.

Lions fall 93-72 to No. 3 West Texas A&M on Senior Day.

COMMERCE – The Texas A&M University-Commerce men’s basketball team fell 93-72 to No. 3 West Texas A&M on Saturday afternoon. The Lions kept with the Buffaloes early in the contest but could not hold in the final half to make a push back. 

The loss brings the Lions to 16-10 on the season, and 12-8 in the Lone Star Conference. The Buffaloes improved to 27-1 and 19-1 in conference play. 

The Lions will head on the road for their final two games of the regular season. They will begin by facing Oklahoma Christian on Thursday at 7:30 pm, and A&M-Commerce will then face Arkansas-Fort Smith on Saturday at 4:00 pm. 

HEAD COACH JARET VON ROSENBERG AFTER THE GAME

CLICK HERE for coach von Rosenberg’s postgame comments 

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE

– Deonta Terrell (Chicago, Ill.) led the team with 20 points, while also leading the team with six rebounds.

– Wayne Stewart (Philadelphia, Pa.) also finished in double figures with 10 points and six rebounds.

– Alberto Moreno (Ingenio, Gran Canaria) and Darnell Wright (Chicago, Ill.) both had nine points while Josh Winbush (Lake Charles, La.) had eight points.

– The Lions had a 42-28 advantage in paint points.

– Before the game, the Lions honored their six seniors as part of Senior Day festivities. 

HOW IT HAPPENED

The teams traded baskets early on as the first two minutes was neck and neck between the two squads. WT then went on a run to push their lead to seven points at the 11-minute mark. The Lions then went on a run, with Winbush putting in a tip-in slam dunk. That started the 7-0 run from the Lions to tie the game at 20 at the eight-minute mark of the half. 

The Lions briefly took the lead on an alley-oop slam dunk from Stewart, giving them a 22-21 lead at the seven-minute mark. The Buffs then finished the half on a 19-3 run to take a 40-25 lead into the half. 

Terrell had seven points for the Lions in the first half, while Stewart added six points. 

The Lions cut the WT lead down to 13 points early in the second half before WT again went on a run to push their lead to 19 points at the 14-minute mark.

 The Lions held serve for the next several minutes but could not cut into the Buff lead. West Texas A&M pushed its lead to as many as 28 late before the Lions had a 9-0 run to cut the lead under 20 points late.

No. 3 Lions fall in final minute 58-55 to West Texas A&M on Senior Day.

COMMERCE – The No. 3 Texas A&M University-Commerce women’s basketball team fell 58-55 to West Texas A&M on Saturday afternoon. Trailing for much of the game, the Lions went on a huge run in the final period only to fall in the last minute of regulation. 

The loss brings the Lions to 25-1 on the season, and 19-1 in the Lone Star Conference. The Lady Buffs improve to 24-5 and 17-3 in conference play. 

The Lions will head on the road for their final two games of the regular season as they face Oklahoma Christian on Thursday at 5:30 pm. A&M-Commerce will then face Arkansas-Fort Smith on Saturday at 2:00 pm. 

HEAD COACH JASON BURTON AFTER THE GAME

CLICK HERE for coach Burton’s postgame comments 

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE

– Alexus Jones (Lewisville – Aledo) had 14 points to co-lead the Lions in scoring. She also had a game-high five assists.

– Dyani Robinson (Cypress – Langham Creek) also had 14 points and also had four rebounds.

– Mykiel Burleson (Pflugerville) also had double-figure scoring with 10 points.

– The Lions struggled from the field throughout the game, shooting just 31 percent, while WT shot 50 percent. The Lions found second chance opportunities with their 24 offensive rebounds in the game.

– The Lions also had a +6 advantage in turnovers in the contest, scoring 24 points off of giveaways.

– The Lions finished the regular season with a record of 12-1 at the Field House. 

HOW IT HAPPENED

The Lions struggled from the field in the early going, missing their first 12 shots. WT hit three of their first four, taking an 11-0 lead midway through the quarter. The Lion offense found its footing late, and its defense caused multiple WT turnovers, allowing the Lions to climb back into the game. Robinson converted two fast-break opportunities as the Lions finished the quarter on a 9-3 run to trail 13-9. 

The Lions cut the WT lead to just two points early in the quarter as the teams battled back and forth. Neither team could go on an early run, as midway through the quarter, WT held a 19-16 lead. The Lions were strong on the offense as they converted on several second-chance opportunities. A three from Burleson tied the game late, and a three-point play from Burleson with three seconds left in half sent the game into halftime tied at 28. 

Burleson led all scorers with 10 points in the first half, while Robinson added eight points and Jones had seven. The Lions shot 10-of-33 from the field but had ten offensive rebounds to give themselves extra chances. 

It was again a slow start to the second half, as WT started the half on a 7-0 run. The Lions broke the streak from the foul line, trailing 35-30 in the middle of the third quarter. Kernal had multiple buckets as the Lions .once again began to find the bottom of the bucket. However, WT continued to convert, taking a 44-40 lead into the final quarter. 

Shooting struggles again plagued the Lions early in the fourth quarter and missed free throws hurt the team in its attempt to mount a comeback in the first minutes. Midway through the quarter, the Lions trailed 51-42. 

However, the Lions did not quit, and fueled by its home crowd, mounted a 13-0 run over the next four minutes to take its first lead of the contest. Glass had four points in the run as the Lion defense again made things tough on the Lady Buffs. The Lions led 55-51 with 90 seconds remaining. However, as the Lady Buffs scored the final seven points of the game to escape with the upset. 

Hebler becomes the all-time home run leader as No. 21 Lions pick up pair of wins in Edmond.

EDMOND, Okla. – The No. 21 Texas A&M University-Commerce softball team picked up a pair of wins on Friday afternoon. The Lions defeated Fort Hays State 8-1 in the early game before knocking Nebraska Kearney 6-3 later in the day. The Lion offense had a total of 18 hits throughout the two games, with eight different players getting at least one hit and seven different players scored runs. 

The wins bring the Lions to 8-3 on the season. A&M-Commerce returns to action on Saturday with another doubleheader. They will face No. 22 Rogers State at Noon on the campus of Oklahoma Christian. They will then face Central Oklahoma in a real road matchup in Edmond at 4:00 pm. 

HEAD COACH RICHIE BRUISTER AFTER THE GAMES

– On Hebler achieving the home run record: “Hard work pays off, it’s that simple. Kinsie is one of the hardest workers we’ve ever had in our program. She certainly deserves and has earned that record with all the time she spends in the cage really working on her swing. She’s developed one of the best swings in the country. I’m extremely proud of her.”

– On the offense: “They’ve been working really hard, and that hard work showed up. They know what our offensive goals are, and they’ve been working really hard. We were excited to play today and get some swings at the ball. The hitters really made them count today. We were getting hits from all across the lineup. That was wonderful to see the work we’ve been putting in translate to the field.”

– On the defense: “LeBlanc was dominant in that first game with those 11 strikeouts. That was exciting to see that. And she had the bats going with her, which is always a great combination. Otto didn’t have her best game, but talking with her, she made some adjustments, and she let the best defense in the country go to work for her. She let the ball get put in play, and the defense was great. We had two double plays, and our players had our pitcher’s back. And then LeBlanc came back in and shut the door there in the final inning.” 

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE (Game 1)

– Kinsie Hebler (Cypress – Cy-Fair) became the school’s all-time home run leader, as she hit a two-run home run in the fifth inning. She also scored twice.

– Madison Schaefer (Frisco – Independence) had a pair of two-run home runs in the game, totaling four RBIs and two runs scored.

– Alyssa LeBlanc (Katy) pitched a complete game, recording a career-high and program-record tying 11 strikeouts. She also had a two-RBI double to put the Lions ahead early. She had two doubles in the game.

– Jodie Hill (Heavener, Okla.) scored four runs and had four stolen bases with a pair of singles. Her four runs scored in the game tied a single-game program record. 

HOW IT HAPPENED (Game 1)

The Lions got things started early, as Hill bunt singled in her first at-bat. After she stole second and Hebler drew a walk, both scored on a hard-hit double from LeBlanc. After aiding her cause, LeBlanc retired the first six batters she faced, recording three strikeouts. 

The Lions added to their lead in the third inning as Hill again reached and stole a base. This time it was Schaefer who had the hit, and this one left the yard, driving in two more runs. LeBlanc pitched another perfect inning, striking out a pair as the Lions led 4-0 after three complete. 

FHSU loaded the bases in the fourth inning with two outs, and a single brought a run across. The Lion defense limited the damage as only one run was scored, with the Lions leading 4-1. 

Hill reached again in the fifth inning, and after stealing, scored on a bomb from Hebler that landed in the left-center field. The home run gave Hebler the record and put the Lions ahead 6-1. Hill scored for the fourth time in the seventh inning as she was brought home on Schaefer’s second home run of the day. 

LeBlanc continued to fool hitters as she struck out two more in the bottom of the seventh to get the complete-game win. 

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE (Game 2)

– Uxua Modrego (Burlada, Spain) had a double and a triple and brought in a run.

– Julie Kennedy (Fort Worth – Boswell) pinch-hit and had a two-RBI single.

– Emily Otto (Richmond – Lamar) pitched six innings, striking out six batters to earn her fifth win of the season.

– Alyssa LeBlanc (Katy) pitched the final stanza, striking out the last batter to earn her second save of the year. She also had an RBI.

– Ta’Lyn Moody (Mansfield – Legacy) and Madison Schaefer (Frisco – Independence) also had a pair of hits each, while Chealsea Slider (Texarkana, Ark.) and Jodie Hill (Heavener, Okla.) also had hits.

– Vanessa Avina (Haltom City), Avery Boley (Fort Worth – Nolan Catholic), and Da’Jia Davis (Hillsboro – Midway) all scored runs. 

HOW IT HAPPENED (Game 2)

UNK scored first, as they had a single and two walks with one out in the top of the first inning. A sacrifice fly scored a run before Otto got the next out via strikeout. Modrego tripled in the bottom of the first but could not come around to score. 

The Lions tied the game in the bottom of the second. Slider and Moody both singled. A double steal plus an errant throw brought Avina around to score, while Moody scored on the double from Modrego. The Lions led 2-1 after two complete. 

The Lions added to their lead late in the third inning. The Lions loaded the bases with no one out before the UNK defense got two outs in a row. Kennedy pinch hit and smacked a shot right up the middle that squirted through, scoring two more runs. The Lions led 4-1 after three. 

The Lions scored another run in the fifth on a single and an error. They added a run in the sixth inning on a LeBlanc single that scored Schaefer. LeBlanc entered to pitch in the seventh inning and earned the save, holding off a late UNK run.