SAN ANGELO – The No. 1 Angelo State softball team capped off its senior weekend with a sweep of Texas A&M-Commerce and with a West Texas A&M loss clinched a share of its first Lone Star Conference Championship since 2012. ASU will host the LSC Tournament Championship at Mayer Field on May 5-6.
The Rambelles improved to 49-4 on the year and 23-4 in the LSC after scoring 13 runs on 15 hits. The Lions (30-18, 14-13 LSC) were held to one run and five hits in the doubleheader. Kenedy Urbany and Brandy Marlett combined to strike out 27 batters with each tying career highs. It is Angelo State's seventh LSC Championship in program history after Texas A&M-Kingsville defeated West Texas A&M 3-2.
"This was huge," Angelo State head softball coach Travis Scott said. "To be able to come out and hold a Texas A&M-Commerce, who is second in the league in batting average, to less than 10 hits and just three runs is big. Kenedy and Brandy were phenomenal and we played solid defense behind them. Offensively, we had good at-bat and we put together some big innings to put them away. To be able to come out get three wins this time of year, I couldn't be happier."
Urbany, Katlyn Herzog, Kelly Johnson and Alexis Evans were honored prior to the game and all four got the start in the first game of the doubleheader.
Urbany started in the circle and pitched a gem. The Helotes native only allowed three hits in her 11th complete game of the year. She tied her career high with 10 strikeouts and walked four in her 17th win of the season.
The run support started in the second inning. Madison Greenwell stroked a double to left center to score Taegan Kirk and Alexis Evans.
Four more runs came across in the third. Courtney Barnhill's RBI single through the right side. Kirk hit a sac fly to right field for the fourth run of the game and Evans singled to left field to increase the lead to 5-0. Danae Bina added the sixth run of the game with a sacrifice fly to center for the 6-0 lead after three innings.
The Lions added a run in the seventh but Urbany put the game away for the 6-1 win.
Marlett followed Urbany's gem with one of her own. The junior struck out 13 of the first 15 batters and tied her career high and ASU single game record with 17 total strike outs. It is the third time this season she has struck out 17 in a game.
The Henderson, Nevada, native was perfect through the first five innings before a leadoff walk in the sixth. She maintained a no-hitter until the seventh inning. She only allowed two hits and recorded her seventh shutout of the season.
The Rambelle offense was quiet until a six-run third inning explosion. The scoring started with a two-out RBI single from Kirk. Evans stepped to the plate with runners on second and third and crushed a ball over the centerfield fence to make it 4-0. It is the senior's seventh home run of the season. Danae Bina followed the home run with a double down the right field line to keep the inning alive. Karina Rocha got the crowd on their feet with a two-run home run that cleared the second fence of Mayer Field to make it 6-0.
Bina brought the final score to 7-0 in the fifth with a sacrifice fly to score pinch runner Johnson from third.
The Rambelles will close out the regular season with a three-game LSC series with Cameron starting on Friday, April 28. One win will clinch the LSC Championship outright.
