Lions prep for key LSC Central series at DBU

COMMERCE – The A&M-Commerce Lions head to Dallas for a pair of matches this week with DBU, which will hold great importance in the race for LSC Tournament qualification. 

WHO: A&M-Commerce at DBU

WHERE: Dallas | Burg Center

WHEN: 6:00 pm on Tuesday, March 9 and Wednesday, March 10

RECORDS: A&M-Commerce is 2-6 on the season, while DBU is 3-7

TELEVISION/LIVE VIDEO: LSC Digital Network

LIVE STATS: http://statbroadcast.com/events/statmonitr.php?gid=tame 

What’s at stake:

It is the final series of the season for DBU, while A&M-Commerce has four matches to play. The top three of the four teams in the LSC Central Division will qualify for the tournament. UT-Tyler has clinched the top seed in the division, leaving A&M-Commerce, DBU, and Texas Woman’s University to fight for the final two spots.

Team	Record	Matches Left
UT Tyler ^	10-0	2 (TWU)
Texas Woman’s	3-5	4 (@ UTT, @ TAMUC)
DBU	3-7	2 (TAMUC)
A&M-Commerce	2-6	4 (@ DBU, TWU)

If the Lions sweep the series, they will clinch a tournament berth. 

On the Lions:

The 11th-year head coach Craig Case leads A&M-Commerce, who is the winningest coach in program history. His record at A&M-Commerce stands at 186-133. 

The Lions are looking to snap a six-match losing streak, which is the longest since the 2014 season. A&M-Commerce currently ranks 12th in the LSC in hitting percentage (.138) and 14th in opponent hitting percentage (.193). 

Taryn Cast (Peaster) ranks ninth in the LSC in hitting percentage at .281, Celeste Vela (Guadalajara, Mexico) ranks seventh in the league in assists per set at 6.48, and Riley Davidson (Commerce) ranks fifth in the league in digs per set at 4.72. 

Sydney Andersen (Placentia, Calif.) leads the team in kills per set at 2.45, followed by Maiya Dickie (Huntsville) at 2.24, and Cast at 2.14. Cast and Dickie also lead the team in blocks at just under 2/3 of a block per set.  

On the opponent

DBU ranks behind the Lions in hitting percentage in 14th (.125). They are above A&M-Commerce in defense at .173, which is good for eighth in the league. 

Bailey Hebert ranks 10th in the league in kills per set at 2.88, but no Patriots are in the top 20 percent. Alyssa Pevehouse’s 4.64 digs per set are good for seventh in the conference. 

The Patriots are coming off a road series sweep of Texas Woman’s last week with wins in four and five sets. 

In the series history

The Lions swept the series in Commerce to start the season, winning both matches in five sets. 

The Lions and Patriots have met 34 times previously, with A&M-Commerce holding a 26-8 record in the series. The Lions have won eight straight matchups, with the last Patriot win coming in 2014. The Lions are 8-4 all-time against DBU in the Burg Center.

 

McCulloch, the Lions, place fifth in Las Vegas Desert Classic.

LAS VEGAS, Nev. – The Texas A&M University-Commerce men’s golf team started the final round of the Las Vegas Desert Classic on a strong note but tapered off, placing fifth in the final standings. 

The Lions’ 54-hole total score of 866 (+2, 280-284-302) is the 11th-best tournament total in school history. Central Missouri won the event at 847 (-17). 

Nathan McCulloch (Edinburgh, Scotland) was the Lions’ top finisher in fifth place, earning all-tournament honors with a 3-under par 213 (69-68-76). He had three birdies in Tuesday’s final round. It is his first top-five finish of the season, and he has placed in the top 10 of all three events he has played. 

Zach Burch (Lubbock – Cooper) placed 10th at even-par 216 (68-75-73), carding three birdies in the final round. Burch’s third top 10 placement of the season in six tournaments and his eighth career top 10 finish. His 1-over par 73 in the final round was the Lions’ top score of the day 

Tripp Wallace (Wolfforth – Frenship) placed 22nd at 219 (+3, 72-70-77), and Brody Blackmon (Sulphur Springs) finished in 28th at 221 (+5, 73-72-76). Each of those players had three birdies on the day. Joe Wolcik (Cleveland – Tarkington) rounded out the Lion five in 34th at 223 (+7, 71-74-78). 

The Lions have two tournaments left on the regular-season schedule, with the next action coming in two weeks when they host the Lion Invitational at Trophy Club CC on March 22-23. 

Rank	Team	Scores			Total	Par
1.	Central Missouri	278	280	289	847	-17
2.	Oklahoma Christian	284	283	294	861	-3
3.	Indianapolis	279	283	300	862	-2
4.	Colorado State-Pueblo	288	283	292	863	-1
5.	A&M-COMMERCE	280	284	302	866	+2
6.	Colorado Mesa	292	283	307	882	+18
7.	Colorado Christian	292	289	303	884	+20
8.	Ft. Lewis	302	282	301	885	+21
	Hillsdale	292	285	308	885	+21
10.	Cameron	292	302	294	888	+24
11.	Colorado-Colorado Springs	288	295	310	893	+29
12.	Colorado School of Mines	292	290	314	896	+32
13.	Regis	292	301	312	905	+41
14.	UT Tyler	300	301	314	915	+51

 

A&M-Commerce	280	284	302	866	+2	5th
Nathan McCulloch	69	68	76	213	-3	5th
Zach Burch	68	75	73	216	E	t-10th
Tripp Wallace	72	70	77	219	+3	t-22nd
Brody Blackmon	73	72	76	221	+5	28th
Joe Wolcik	71	74	78	223	+7	t-34th

 

Lions head to NCAA Tournament with No. 11 national rankings from WBCA Coaches’ Poll.

LILBURN, Ga. – The Texas A&M University-Commerce women’s basketball team is ranked 11th nationally in the WBCA NCAA Division II Coaches’ Poll entering the 2021 NCAA Division II Women’s Basketball Championship. 

The Lions are 13-3 overall with 366 votes after advancing to the Lone Star Conference Championship Game and winning the LSC North Division for the second straight year. 

A&M-Commerce the third seed in this weekend’s South Central Regional and plays unranked and sixth seed Southern Nazarene (12-7) in the regional quarterfinal on Friday at 7:45 pm in Canyon. 

Lubbock Christian is No. 1 in the coaches’ poll and the top seed in the region, while Southwestern Oklahoma State is No. 19 in the coaches’ poll and the second seed in the region. Arkansas Tech is No. 21 in the coaches’ poll and the fourth seed in the region, while fifth-seeded Cameron is unranked.

WBCA NCAA Division II Top 25 Coaches Poll — March 8, 2021

Rank	The school (FPV)	Record	Points	Previous
1	Lubbock Christian (23)	16-0	575	1
2	Drury	20-1	547	3
3	North Georgia	17-1	502	6
4	Hawaii Pacific	13-0	469	4
5	Lander	17-1	468	2
6	Michigan Tech	20-1	447	9
7	Minnesota Duluth	13-1	444	8
8	Charleston (W. Va.)	17-2	383	13
9	Nebraska Kearney	22-3	377	14
10	Fort Hays State	22-3	374	5
11	A&M-COMMERCE	13-3	336	10
12	Valdosta State	17-3	292	7
13	Belmont Abbey	22-2	266	21
14	Carson-Newman	15-3	241	11
15	Daemen	12-2	202	12
16	Tuskegee	12-1	185	19
17	Gannon	13-1	176	20
18	Glenville State	12-3	172	18
19	Southwestern Oklahoma State	17-3	160	16
20	Central Missouri	19-4	155	15
21	Arkansas Tech	14-2	148	17
22	Colorado Mines	17-3	134	24
23	Tusculum	18-3	95	NR
24	Benedict	12-3	81	25
25	Union (Tenn.)	18-5	48	NR

Dropped out: No. 22 West Texas A&M (15-6); No. 23 Grand Valley State (14-5).

Others receiving votes: West Texas A&M (15-6) 45; Grand Valley State (14-5) 30; Truman State (16-4) 30; Barton (12-2) 24; Dominican, NY (12-1) 18; Roberts Wesleyan (10-6) 15; Cedarville (19-5) 6; Emporia State (18-6) 5. Four teams mentioned on only one ballot for a total of 24 combined points.

 

Lions qualify for NCAA Division II Women’s Basketball Championship for the third straight season.

INDIANAPOLIS – For the third straight season, the Texas A&M University-Commerce women’s basketball team has qualified for the NCAA Division II Women’s Basketball Championship, as announced by the NCAA on Sunday night. 

The Lions (13-3) are the third seed in the South Central Region, comprised of the Lone Star and Great American Conferences this season. A&M-Commerce will face off against sixth-seeded Southern Nazarene University on Friday at 7:45 pm in its opening round. Tickets for the tournament will go on sale at 10:00 am Wednesday HERE. 

West Texas A&M University will host this year’s regional tournament at the First United Bank Center in Canyon on March 12-13-15. The top six teams in the LSC and GAC qualified, with the top two seeds earning byes to the regional semifinal. 

Lubbock Christian is the top seed, and Southwestern Oklahoma State is the second seed. Arkansas Tech is the fourth seed, followed by Cameron as the fifth seed. 

The Lions are the LSC North Division Champions for the second consecutive season and advanced to the LSC Tournament Championship Game before falling to Lubbock Christian on Saturday. 

The fourth time in program history, the Lions have qualified for the NCAA Championship, and third year in succession under head coach Jason Burton. The regional quarterfinal at Colorado Mesa knocked the 2019 Lions out. The 2020 Lions prepared for a regional quarterfinal against Eastern New Mexico when the COVID-19 pandemic canceled the tournament. The 2007 Lions went 3-1 in the NCAA Tournament, winning the regional and advancing to the Elite Eight under Hall of Fame coach Denny Downing. 

Game times for the regional tournament will be released early in the week. The Lion Sports Network will carry all NCAA Championship games live on 88.9 KETR-FM in Commerce and online at www.KETR.org.

 

Lions shoot low in opening day in Vegas, sit in third place after 36 holes.

LAS VEGAS, Nev. – The Texas A&M University-Commerce men’s golf team is in third place after 36 holes of action at the Las Vegas Desert Classic on Sunday, sitting within striking distance championship in a loaded event. 

The Lions shot 12-under par 564 (280-284) in the opening two rounds of the tournament, held at Royal Links – a course of links-style replica holes. Central Missouri leads at 558, and Indianapolis is in second at 562. 

The first round 280 is the program’s third-best concerning par and fifth-best round by raw score. The second round 284 is the ninth-best with a par and 15th-best raw score, 

Nathan McCulloch (Edinburgh, Scotland) is in fourth place at 7-under par 137 (69-68) with four birdies in the first round, three birdies in the second round, and an eagle on No. 18 in the second round, which is a replica of “Long,” the 14th hole at St. Andrews. 

Tripp Wallace (Wolfforth – Frenship) is in 12th place at 2-under 142 (72-70). He had three birdies in each round and eagled the ninth, a replica of No. 5 at Muirfield in the opening round. 

Zach Burch (Lubbock – Cooper) is in 18th place at 1-under par 143 (68-75). He had four birdies and 14 pars in the first round and had four birdies in the second round. 

Brody Blackmon (Sulphur Springs) and Joe Wolcik (Cleveland – Tarkington) tied for 28th place at 1-over par 145. Blackmon had four birdies in each round, and Wolcik had five birdies in each round. 

The tournament concludes with 18 holes of action on Monday morning.

Rank	Team	Scores		Total	Par
1.	Central Missouri	278	280	558	-18
2.	Indianapolis	279	283	562	-14
3.	A&M-COMMERCE	280	284	564	-12
4.	Oklahoma Christian	284	283	567	-9
5.	Colorado State-Pueblo	288	283	571	-5
6.	Colorado Mesa	292	283	575	-1
7.	Hillsdale	292	285	577	+1
8.	Colorado Christian	292	289	581	+5
9.	Colorado School of Mines	292	290	582	+6
10.	Colorado-Colorado Springs	288	295	583	+7
11.	Ft. Lewis	302	282	584	+8
12.	Regis	292	301	593	+17
13.	Cameron	292	302	594	+18
14.	UT Tyler	300	301	601	+25

 

A&M-Commerce	280	284	564	-12	3rd
Nathan McCulloch	69	68	137	-7	4th
Tripp Wallace	72	70	142	-2	t-12th
Zach Burch	68	75	143	-1	t-18th
Brody Blackmon	73	72	145	+1	t-28th
Joe Wolcik	71	74	145	+1	t-28th

 

The No. 5 Lions take down No. 17 West Texas A&M twice with a double shutout sweep.

COMMERCE – The No. 5 Texas A&M University-Commerce softball team used stellar defense, exceptional pitching, and clutch offense to earn a shutout sweep of No. 17 West Texas A&M on Sunday, winning 2-0 and 1-0. 

The Lions move to 10-4 overall and 4-0 in the Lone Star Conference with the sweep. The Lady Buffs are now 12-4 overall and 0-4 in league play. The Lions have now won five straight games by shutout and have gone 33.1 innings since allowing an opponent to score – both are program records. 

A&M-Commerce hits the road next week for the first time since the first week of March in 2020, playing at Western New Mexico on Friday and UT Permian Basin on Sunday.

HEAD COACH RICHIE BRUISTER AFTER THE GAMES 

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE (Game 1)

– Emily Otto (Lamar Consolidated) pitched a complete game shutout to move to 2-2 on the season. She allowed seven hits with three strikeouts and three walks.

– Uxua Modrego (Burlada, Spain), Avery Boley (Fort Worth – Nolan Catholic), and Samantha Dutton (Tulsa, Okla.) each had two hits. Boley drove in Modrego with each of her hits.

HOW IT HAPPENED (Game 1)

The Lady Buffs were the first team to threaten after a leadoff double in the second by Gabriella Valforte. She moved into scoring position on a walk, and a bunt single had the chance to load the bases, but Valforte aggressively went for home, where Modrego threw her out. 

The Lions stranded runners in the second scoring position but converted on a chance in the third, when Modrego led off with an infield single, then stole second. Boley’s single to center scored Modrego and put the Lions up 1-0. 

In the fifth, Modrego again showed leadoff prowess with a triple to center. Boley singled up the middle to make it 2-0 in the hosts’ favor. 

Otto evaded the Lady Buffs’ best opportunity in the sixth after allowing a leadoff double. A flyout advanced the runner to third, and a walk put runners on the corners, but the long-time Lion great induced an infield popout and a swinging strikeout to end the frame. She allowed one hit in the seventh but could get the tying run out twice to earn the win.

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE (Game 2)

– Alyssa LeBlanc (Katy) picked up her nation-leading eighth win in the circle, allowing only four hits while striking out six and walking one to move to 8-2 on the season.

– Cally Pausewang (Bastrop) drove in the game’s only run in the sixth inning. 

HOW IT HAPPENED (Game 2)

Both teams had opportunities to score throughout the game, but strong pitching and defense shut them down. The Lions stranded a runner in scoring position in the first two innings, and LeBlanc worked out of a jam in the third with a pair of popouts after WT loaded the bases with one out. 

Mackenzie Dugi (St. Hedwig – East Central) led off the third with a bunt single, followed by a hard-hit Modrego single, but a pair of strikeouts left that pairing stuck in scoring position. 

The Lady Buffs’ aggressive strategy snuffed out their opportunity in the sixth. After Ruby Salzman singled and moved to second on a sacrifice bunt, Alyx Cordell had a soft-hit ball toward LeBlanc, who tagged her out on the basepath. Salzman rounded third and tagged out after a nice throw home by LeBlanc. 

LeBlanc walked to lead off the bottom of the sixth and was pinch-run for by Mairady Dempsey (Lavaca, Ark.). A hit batter and a sacrifice bunt moved the runners into scoring position with one out when Pausewang was called on to pinch-hit. With everyone in the stadium expecting the senior to attempt to hit the ball to the outfield for the sacrifice fly, she laid down a squeeze bunt with two strikes, and Dempsey slid home for the 1-0 lead. 

LeBlanc struck out the first two Lady Buffs in the top of the seventh, and Ta’Lyn Moody (Mansfield – Legacy) stretched to make a hit-robbing grab in right field to give the Lions another shutout win.