LIVE STATS | VIDEO | GAME NOTES

LAREDO, Texas (February 15, 2018) – Texas A&M International softball travels to the WTAMU Invitational in Canyon, Texas where they will face off against nationally-ranked West Texas A&M and UC-Colorado Springs. It will mark the final regular season tournament for a Dustdevil team that sits 2-10 heading into the third weekend of competition.
 
Links for live stats and video can be found at GoDustdevils.com under the softball schedule page.
 
A LOOK AT THE DUSTDEVILS
The Dustdevils are 2-10 on the season after going 1-6 at the George McCorkle Challenge in San Angelo, Texas last weekend. TAMIU pushed #2 Angelo State in two of their three games they played including a 6-5 result on Friday where they held a lead heading into the top of the fifth.
 
Cassie Cannon had one of the most impressive offensive performances in recent program history last weekend hitting .462 including a 5-for-5 performance. The senior racked up 12 hits, three doubles, one home driving in two runs while also stealing two bases. She was one of the driving forces in the Dustdevils' 23-12 win over Adams State with her fourth career home run driving in two runs. Lindsey Smith was just as impressive against the Grizzlies falling a triple short of the cycle. The junior transfer leads the team in home runs (3) and RBIs (8.
 
Maya Paul and Melanie Gamboa have played key roles as freshman starting a combined 15 games in the infield. Paul has a four-game hit streak all starting against ASC where she went 3-for-4 from the plate driving in three runs. Gamboa has been equally impressive at second base with a seven-game hit streak earlier in the season including her first career home run in a 2-1 loss to Florida Tech.
 
Delainy Thompson continues to lead the pitching staff with the senior getting the starting nod in five games. The program's leader in complete games is 1-4 on the season with an ERA of 4.15 in 27.0 innings striking out 11. Freshman Melanie Lint has been relied on to make an immediate impact having made seven appearances and four starts. She is still looking for her first win of the season, 0-3, but leads the team in ERA (3.21) and strikeouts (14).  
 
A LOOK AT THE LADY BUFFS
First year head coach Candace Abrams has the Lady Buffs off to a 7-1 start on the season with the lone loss coming at the hands of Western Oregon last weekend in Canyon. WT was ranked 13^th in the National Fastpitch Coaches Association (NFCA) Preseason Coaches Poll and 1^st in the Fastpitch News Power Rankings.
 
WT fields one of the top lineups in the nation as they are hitting .405 with 11 doubles, seven triples and 13 home runs. Kourtney Coveney leads the team in batting average and runs batted as the junior was named the Lone Star Conference Hitter of the Week after going 9-for-12 from the plate with eight runs scored, three home runs for a total of 12 RBIs. Ashley Hardin isn't too far behind hitting .464 with two home runs and six RBIs as the All-American recently hit her 60^th career home run last week. Kylee Moore is another name to look out for as the All-American has hit five home runs through eight games.
 
Kilee Halbert is the ace of the staff for the Lady Buffs as the senior is 4-0 on the season with a 2.74 ERA. The Dalhart, Texas native was named the D2CCA South Central Region Pitcher of the Year as a sophomore in 2016 en route to leading WT to the College World Series. Shayne Starkey has been equally impressive in the circle with a 2-0 record while giving up just one earned run in 13.2 innings of work. Newcomer Stevie McLemore has also seen action for WT with two starts and three appearances.  
 
A LOOK AT THE MOUNTAIN LIONS
UC-Colorado Springs are 4-4 on the season after going 2-3 last weekend at the Dixie State Tournament in St. George, Utah. The Mountain Lions opened the season at home taking two of three from Fort Hays State.
 
Taylor Reidhead brings the power to the UCCS lineup as the junior is hitting .316 with a team-high four home runs and 10 RBIs. She recorded her first multi-home run game of the season with two against Montana State-Billings driving in five runs. Taylor White is hitting a team-high .533 going 8-for-15 form the dish with one double and three RBIs. Rayle Glover is also hitting over .500 as the junior has a team-high 11 hits and four RBIS.
 
UCCS relies on a freshman in the circle as Cami Duffey has started in five games going 4-1 with an ERA of 7.00. The Heath, Texas product struck out a season-high six batters in the Mountain Lions' 6-5 victory over Dominica. Reidhead also contributes in the circle as she has started two games while making another three appearances in 13.2 innings of work.
 
GEORGE & OLA MCCORKLE CHALLENGE REVISITED
It was another up-and-down weekend for the Dustdevils as they picked up their second win of the season at the George & Ola McCorkle Challenge.  After dropping their first two first games by a combined four runs, the nationally ranked Angelo State Rambelles handed TAMIU their first five inning loss of the season in the night cap of the first day.
 
The bats came alive the following morning as the Dustdevils routed Adams State 23-12 with a program-record eight players scoring at least two runs. They dropped a heartbreaker in extra innings against Florida Tech on Saturday afternoon before finishing the final day with a pair of losses.
 
UP NEXT
The Dustdevils have a quick turn around with a double header on Tuesday, Feb. 20, against the Javelinas of Texas A&M-Kingsville at Vernie and Blanche Hubert Field.