SAN ANGELO – The No. 2 Angelo State softball team will open the season at the CMU Invitational being held in Rio Rancho, New Mexico for five games against the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference starting with two on Friday against Adams State at 10 a.m. MST / 11 a.m. CST and No. 8 Colorado Mesa at 12:30 p.m. MST / 1:30 p.m. CST.
The Rambelles return 10 players with starting experience including All-American Brandy Marlett and All-Region selections Courtney Barnhill, Taegan Kirk and Danae Bina. ASU went 60-7 last season and was the NCAA Division II national runner-up. Head coach Travis Scott leads the team in his 15th season at Angelo State.
After Friday's two games, the Rambelles will play New Mexico Highlands on Saturday, Feb. 3 at 12:30 p.m. MST / 1:30 p.m. CST and Metro State at 3 p.m. MST / 4 p.m. CST. They will close out the CMU Invitational against Adams State on Sunday, Feb. 4 at 10 a.m. MST / 11 a.m. CST.
Marlett, the LSC Preseason Pitcher of the Year, went 29-5 last season with a 1.36 earned run average. She set the ASU single season record for strikeouts with 306 and became the career leader in strikeouts early last season. She threw eight shutouts and limited teams to just a .163 batting average. The senior was a NFCA All-American
Joining her in the circle will be senior Morgan Hill. The Salado native went 10-0 and tied the ASU single-season record with six saves. She threw 87.1 innings and struck out 71 batters. Three of her 10 wins came in the NCAA Division II national playoffs. She earned wins against Colorado Mesa, Armstrong State and West Virginia Wesleyan.
Additional help in the circle will include redshirt freshman Megan Hill and freshman Maykayla Corbin. Corbin was an all-district pitcher at Lewisville last season while Hill, sister of Morgan, was an all-district selection in 2014.
The Rambelle offense returns eight players from an offense that hit .303 as a team last season. ASU has added junior college All-American Taylor Fogle, who hit 21 doubles and 15 home runs at Odessa College last season. Additional newcomers include freshman Mylonee Becerra, transfer sophomore Jade Strother and freshman Mykayla Stroud will look to make an impact this season.
The offense has its top average hitter in Courtney Barnhill. She returns after hitting .378 with 11 doubles and 15 home runs as a freshman. She led ASU with 56 RBIs and 53 runs scored. She drew a team-high 40 walks last year and had a .668 slugging clip. The Lubbock native stole 18 bases and was second on the team with 73 hits.
The ASU career leader in triples returns in Madison Greenwell. The senior led ASU with 77 hits last year along with five triples. She scored 44 runs and stole 14 bases on the season. She drew 26 walks and finished with 10 doubles and 29 RBIs.
Bailey Wallace, the ASU single season and career leader in hit by pitches, is back for her junior campaign. She hit .329 last year with 55 hits. She was second on the team in runs with 47 and was hit by a pitch 35 times. The junior stole 10 bases and led the team in sacrifice hits with 20.
Taegan Kirk was the team leader in double with 21 last season. She was third on the team in hits with 61 and also hit seven home runs. The junior scored 42 runs and drove in 48 RBIs.
Danae Bina, an all-region selection, hit .321 and led the team with 32 stolen bases. She recorded 52 hits with nine doubles and scored 42 runs. She only committed five errors defensively at shortstop.
Brooke Mangold had 41 hits with five doubles, one triple and two home runs. She scored 29 times and stole 21 bases.
Amanda Ramage and Karina Rocha split time at third base last season. Ramage has 19 hits with three doubles and two home runs while Rocha finished with 23 hits, two doubles, one triple and six home runs.
Meagan Gordon, Heather Reatherford and Jacqueline Montejano all came off the bench last season. Gordon hit .444 in 19 plate appearances. The sophomore scored eight runs and had eight hits in limited action. Reatherford had 17 plate appearances and had four hits. Montejano scored three runs in 15 game and drew three walks.
