LAREDO, Texas (March 2, 2018) – Texas A&M International finish their four-game Oklahoma road trip on Saturday in Claremore, Okla. with a doubleheader against Heartland Conference leaders Rogers State. The Dustdevils will look to end the Hillcats' 11 game win streak with first pitch is scheduled for 12 p.m. at the Diamond Sports Complex.
 
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 6-16 on the season and 3-1 in Heartland Conference play after splitting a Thursday afternoon doubleheader against Oklahoma Christian in Edmond, Okla. Their 5-4 win in the first game was their first road win of the season and the program's first win at Tom Heath Field ending a six-game streak.
 
Hitting
Cassie Cannon has been the leading force for a Dustdevils squad that is hitting a close to a full point higher than last year. The senior is hitting .416 with eight doubles, one triple and one home run driving in seven runs. Her 32 hits are the second-most in the nation as she also ranked in the top-10 in doubles. With Lindsey Smith sidelined with an injury, Maya Paul and Maddison Schofield have stepped up in her absence. Paul hasn't been fazed by the collegiate competition as the freshman is hitting .368 with five doubles and seven RBIs. Schofield has made an immediate impact in right field as the junior transfer has driven a team-high 15 runs on two doubles and one home run. Four-year starter Alyssa Acuna shouldn't be overlooked as she may only be hitting .274 but has only struck out three times while driving in the second-most runs on the team.  
 
Pitching
Delainy Thompson continues to headline the Dustdevil pitching staff but Melanie Lint and Sara Caterson have both been asked to start important games over the past few weeks. Thompson enters the weekend with a 2-7 record and 3.57 ERA after going four innings giving up four runs (one earned) on five hits against OC on Thursday. She continues to make her way up the record books as he next shutout will give her a school record seven for her career. Lint has handled the pressure of college softball well as she has been used as a reliever and starter during her short career. She picked up her first career win against Newman last week allowing four runs (zero earned) and striking out four in the complete game outing. Caterson got the starting nod on Thursday as the junior went three innings giving up three runs (three earned) and two walks with two strikeouts. Her best performance of the season came at the WTAMU Invitational where she allowed one run over seven innings in a win over UC-Colorado Springs.
 
A LOOK AT THE HILLCATS
In her third season at the helm of Rogers State, Andrea Vaughan has the Hillcats off to a 15-4 start including a 2-0 start in Heartland Conference play for the first time. After opening the season 4-4, the Hillcats have rolled off 11-straight victories including six of those coming at home. Fast starts are nothing new under Vaughn as RSU opened the 2017 campaign 16-3 before finishing 28-24.
 
Hitting
The Hillcat offense is led by Allie McFetridge as the freshman is hitting .436 with three home runs driving in 24 runs. She only has three extra bases hits but her .492 on-base percentage is tops on a team that has scored 129 runs. Katelyn Gamble also reaches base at a high-rate hitting .394 with 13 hits scoring 14 runs. The power of the lineup comes from Merissa Smith and Danelle Day as they both have hit seven home runs this season. Smith has been hot of late hitting a long ball in three of RSU's past five games. She also leads the team in hits (23) and doubles (7). Day is having a great start to her sophomore campaign as she is hitting .345 to go along with five doubles, seven homers driving in a team-high 26 runs. Earlier in the season, she drove in six runs in a win over Washburn.
 
Pitching
Tailee Reding is another freshman that has helped the Hillcats to their impressive start as the Kansas, Okla. product is 6-0 with an ERA of 1.33. She pitched in both games earlier this week going 9.2 innings allowing one run (zero earned) on four hits with five strikeouts. Alex Brake brings leadership to the circle as the senior is 4-1 with an ERA 2.36 in 29.2 innings pitched. She has a team-high 27 strikeouts as she has three games this season with five or more strikeouts. Andrea Morales has started a team-high seven games going 4-3 allowing 17 runs (14 earned) on 41 hits.
 
THE SERIES
The Dustdevils are 11-1 all-time and 6-0 on the road against the Hillcats. TAMIU has won nine straight dating back to March 20, 2015… RSU only win in the series was a 6-2 decision on March 8, 2014 in Laredo… The Dustdevils outscored RSU 14-5 last year in their three-game sweep in Claremore.
 
DUSTDEVILS ENDS LOSING STREAK IN EDMOND, SPLIT DOUBLEHEADER
The Dustdevils ended a six-game road losing streak to Oklahoma Christian in the first game of a doubleheader on Thursday at Tom Heath Field in Edmond, Okla. Maddison Schofield's RBI in the top of the seventh helped the Dustdevils regain a 5-4 that they wouldn't relinquish.
 
Errors came back to haunt TAMIU is the second game as the Eagles jumped out to a 4-1 lead after four innings. The Dustdevils did score two of their own in the top half of the next inningto make it a 4-3 game on a single by Samantha Edmiston. That would be the closes they got as OC added an insurance run in the bottom of the sixth as the Dustdevils were sat down in order in the seventh for a series split.
 
UP NEXT
The Dustdevils return to the friendly confines of Dustdevil Field for a midweek doubleheader against St. Mary's on Tuesday, March 6. First pitch is scheduled for 12 p.m.