SAN ANGELO – The Angelo State softball teams opens their 2022 season this weekend in Conroe, Texas, when they take part in the Arkansas Tech Winter Invitational on Saturday through Monday. A tough schedule of games will see the Rambelles face five opponents over six games, all of whom finished with a .500 or above record in the 2021 season. 

The Rambelles opponents for the weekend are hosts Arkansas Tech (28-18-1 record in 2021), receiving votes Rogers State (34-15-1 record in 2021), Colorado School of Mines (22-15-1 record in 2021), Southeastern Oklahoma (36-11 record in 2021) and 16th-ranked Southern Arkansas (29-10 record in 2021). Arkansas Tech and Southern Arkansas, like the Rambelles last season, made it to the NCAA Regionals last season.  

The Rambelles have winning records against Colorado School of Mines (4-0) and Southeastern Oklahoma (8-1) but have never beaten #16 Southern Arkansas (0-2); the Rambelles have never faced Arkansas Tech and Rogers State, with the Hillcats and the Rambelles set to face off twice this weekend.  

The Rambelle lineup returns three players who started 40 or more games last spring – Madison Fernandez, Mykayla Stroud and Keilei Garcia – as well as the top two hitters for average in Ashlyn Lerma and Ashlynn Box. Lerma, Fernandez, Garcia, and Box were all first-team all-conference selections a season ago.  

Fernandez and Lerma were both also first-team all-region selections. Fernandez hit .350 with a team-high 12 homeruns and 42 RBIs while Lerma recorded a .384 batting average.  

Inside the circle, the Rambelles return three pitchers – Paxton Scheurer, Genesis Armendariz, and Torrey Hogan – from last year's staff. Armendariz led the team with 123.2 innings of work, striking out 89 batters while opponents only hit .241 against the LSC All-Freshman team selection. 

This will be the second time the Rambelles have taken part in the Arkansas Tech Winter Invitational, having last done so in 2020, where they went 3-2.