LIVE STATS | VIDEO | GAME NOTES

LAREDO, Texas (March 15, 2018) – Following five straight games on the road, Texas A&M International University softball returns to the friendly confines of Dustdevil Field for a three-game series against the Eagles of Oklahoma Christian on March 16-17. The two teams split a doubleheader earlier this month with the Dustdevils picking up their first win in Edmond, Okla. in program history. First pitch for Friday's doubleheader is scheduled for 12 p.m. 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 10-21 on the season and 7-6 in Heartland Conference play following a doubleheader split against St. Edward's in Austin on Tuesday. They have won four of their last five games moving them into third place in the conference standings. Head coach Scott Libby enters the weekend five wins short for 250 for his career.
 
Hitting
Maya Paul continues to lead the Dustdevils in batting average as the freshman has gone 30-for-85 from the plate for an average of .353. She has scored 12 runs with seven doubles driving in nine runs but her best work comes when she reaches bases as she has stolen a team-high 12 bases. That is the most of any Dustdevil since Taylor Vines stole 22 in 2016. Cassie Cannon has been one of the best leadoff hitters in the region as the senior is hitting .324 with nine doubles, one triple and one home run. She leads the team in hits (35), runs (21) and has been dangerous on the base paths in her own right with nine steals. Maddison Schofield has batted in the three spot for the past 23 and is hitting .316 with five doubles and two home runs with a team-high 18 runs batted in. Samantha Edmiston may not have gotten a lot of attention at the beginning of the season after hitting .149 as a junior but the Long Beach, Calif. product is scorching hot right now. She is hitting .412 during her career-high seven game hit streak going 7-for-17 from the plate with two doubles and one home run. She ranks second on the team in RBIs (12) and third in home runs (3) batting in either the eighth or ninth spot.
 
Pitching
Delainy Thompson is coming off her best week of the season having only allowed three runs (one earned) in her last 18.0 innings in the circle. She was at it again on Tuesday holding SEU to four hits and one run (one earned) en route to her fourth victory of the season. She is 4-8 with one save in 14 appearances and 13 starts in her fourth and final year in Laredo where she has allowed 46 runs (34 earned) on 74 hits striking out a team-high 44. Melanie Lint has acclimated well to collegiate softball as the freshman is 4-7 with an ERA of 3.18 in 20 appearances allowing 47 runs (35 earned) striking out 33 in 77.0 innings.
 
A LOOK AT THE EAGLES
The Eagles enter the weekend 14-13 overall and 5-5 conference play after splitting a midweek Heartland Conference matchup against Newman in Wichita, Kan. Head coach Tom Heath will be looking for his team to regain the momentum they had earlier in the season when they won six straight.
 
Hitting
Madison Nordyke has started in all 27 games for the Eagles hitting a team-high .391 from the plate with four doubles and driving in 14 runs. She has reached base 43 times scoring 14 runs and stealing three bases. Bailey Strecker isn't too far behind as the sophomore has gone 23-for-63 from the dish for an average of .365. She ranks third on the team with six doubles with seven RBIs. Bridget White has hit three of OC's six home runs this season while driving in a team-high 16runs. She is also dangerous on the base paths going 4-for-5 on stolen base attempts this season. Kaylie Upton does it all for the Eagles (we will get to her pitching stats in a second) as the Pauls Valley, Okla. product is hitting .356 with three doubles, three triples, one home run and 10 runs batted in. She is one of three Eagles to have a slugging percentage higher than .500.
 
Pitching
Not only can Upton swing the bat, she also takes care of business in the circle registering a record of 8-2 in 16 appearances in 2018. She has an ERA of 4.15 allowing 34 runs (24 earned) on 55 hits in 52.0 innings of work. Madison Hagood's 3-6 record is a little deceiving as the junior ranks first on the team with her 3.99 ERA, 54 strikeouts and five saves. She has allowed 42 runs (30 earned) on 77 hits in 67.2 innings in the circle. Nordyke also sees time as pitcher having made 12 appearances and six starts for a record of 3-5. In her 41.0 innings, she has allowed 24 runs (23 earned) on 43 hits striking out 16.
 
THE SERIES
The Dustdevils trail Oklahoma Christian 8-11 in the all-time series but hold a 6-3 advantage in games played in Laredo. The Dustdevils have won the past two games played in The Gateway City by a score of 2-1. TAMIU won four straight from March 12, 2015 to Feb. 19, 2016.
 
THE LAST MEETING
The two teams split a doubleheader on March 1 in Edmond, Okla. with the Dustdevils winning the first game 5-4 and Eagles winning game two 5-3. Maddison Schofield's RBI in the top of the seventh in game one of the double feature gave the Dustdevils their first win at Tom Heath Field in program history.
 
AROUND THE HEARTLAND
St. Mary's remains the lone undefeated team at 9-0 in Heartland Conference play after Rogers State split a doubleheader against Lubbock Christian this week. The Rattlers and Hillcats are scheduled to start at three-game series on Friday with first place in the conference at stake. The Dustdevils sit third at 7-6 followed by Oklahoma Christian and LCU. St. Edward's sits sixth followed by Newman in seventh.
 
RECORD WATCH
9 – Win one more stolen base, senior Cassie Cannon would become the first Dustdveil in program history to steal 10 or more bases two times.  
 
12 – Maya Paul's 12 steals are the fourth-most in a single season in program history tied with Rochelle Nash's performance in 2011. The freshman just needs two more stolen bases to move into 10^th all-time.
 
83 – Delaniy Thompson will tie Kyndall Reaves' program record of 84 games started in her next start. She is also four appearances away from moving into third in that category.
 
154 – Brandi Giles 154 career starts are tied for the ninth-most in program history and two short of moving up to eighth. Alyssa Acuna ranks sixth all-time in that category, 20 behind Victoria Beltran (2008-11) for fifth.
 
UP NEXT
The Dustdevils will make the return trip to San Antonio for a three-game weekend series against St. Mary's on March 23-24.