Softball opens season against Lone Star Conference foes

By FHSU SPORTS INFORMATION

Fort Hays State Softball will begin its 2021 season on Friday and Saturday (Feb. 5-6) in Lubbock, Texas and the Lubbock Sports College Invitational. The Tigers are set to face four schools from the Lone Star Conference, which includes Texas-Permian Basin, West Texas A&M, Lubbock Christian, and Midwestern State. All games in the tournament will feature MIAA vs. Lone Star matchups. See information on the tournament below.

Video and Live Stats Coverage
Live stats are planned to be available for all FHSU games and there will be streaming video of the last three games of the weekend.
Live Stat Links – FHSU vs. UTPB (Friday), FHSU vs. WTAMU (Friday), FHSU vs. LCU (Saturday), FHSU vs. MSU (Saturday)
Live Video (last 3 games of weekend) – https://lonestarconferencenetwork.com/lcu/

Tickets
Tickets are $10 each day for Friday and Saturday. Tickets are available online at www.lcuchaps.com/tickets. The ticket is good for all day at both venues. Masks and social distancing at each venue and capping tickets at 250 each day. The berm seating area at PlainsCapital Park (LCU’s home field and site of FHSU’s last 3 games) is free and there is no capping of attendees on the berm, although social distancing will be encouraged.

Weekend Schedule

Lubbock Sports College Invitational
Friday
Time	at LCU (PlainsCapital Park)	at Lubbock Christian High School
12:00 p.m.	Midwestern State vs. Washburn	Newman vs. West Texas A&M
2:00 p.m.	Washburn vs. Lubbock Christian	Fort Hays State vs. Texas-Permian Basin
4:00 p.m.	Newman vs. Lubbock Christian	Nebraska-Kearney vs. Midwestern State
6:00 p.m.	West Texas A&M vs. Fort Hays State	Texas-Permian Basin vs. Nebraska-Kearney
Saturday
Time	at LCU (PlainsCapital Park)	at Lubbock Christian High School
11:00 a.m.	Texas-Permian Basin vs. Newman	Nebraska-Kearney vs. West Texas A&M
1:00 p.m.	Fort Hays State vs. Lubbock Christian	Newman vs. Midwestern State
3:00 p.m.	Nebraska-Kearney vs. Lubbock Christian	West Texas A&M vs. Washburn
5:00 p.m.	Midwestern State vs. Fort Hays State	Washburn vs. Texas-Permian Basin

Notes

• Fort Hays State returns 14 players from the 2020 team this season and has four newcomers to the squad.
• Michaelanne Nelson, Hailey Chapman, and Megan Jamison combined for a 2.93 ERA, 175 strikeouts, and 14 complete games in 184 innings of action.
• The 11 returners that saw action offensively last season made starts, including seven that made 20 or more starts in the 28 games played.
• Michaelanne Nelson led FHSU pitchers in wins (7), ERA (1.81), complete games (7), shutouts (4), and strikeouts (86) in 2020, while Hailey Chapman led in appearances (19) and innings pitched (85.2).
• On offense in 2020, Katie Adler led the team in batting average (.370), hits (30), and triples (2), Terran Caldwell led in runs (17) and on-base percentage (.439), Kristen Reed led in doubles (7) and RBIs (22), and Elise Capra tied for the team lead in home runs (3). All return to the squad this season.

Notes vs. Opponents

Texas-Permian Basin
Fort Hays State faces UTPB for the second time in history. The Tigers own a 1-0 record against the Falcons with the only previous meeting occurring during the 2009 season at a tournament hosted by Angelo State University in San Angelo, Texas. FHSU won that meeting 9-4. UTPB is picked 12^th out of 16 teams in the Lone Star Conference Preseason Poll.

West Texas A&M
The Tigers face West Texas A&M for the 16^th time in program history. FHSU holds a slim 8-7 lead in the all-time series, though the schools have met only once since 2009. West Texas A&M took the last meeting with FHSU by a score of 9-1 in 2017 as part of a tournament West Texas A&M hosted. Lily Sale was the only current Tiger to play in that contest, going 1-for-2 at the plate. The Buffs were ranked No. 4 in the nation during that meeting. FHSU is 1-1 against WTAMU on neutral fields. WTAMU was picked 7^th out of 16 teams in the Lone Star Conference Preseason Poll.

Lubbock Christian
Fort Hays State meets Lubbock Christian in softball for the first time in history on Saturday. The Chaparrals are ranked No. 19 in the NFCA Preseason Top 25 Poll. The Lone Star conference is loaded with five nationally ranked teams in the preseason national poll. Lubbock Christian is the lowest ranked of the five in the national rankings and was picked 6^th out of 16 teams in the Lone Star Conference Preseason Poll.

Midwestern State
Fort Hays State and Midwestern State meet for the fourth time in history on Saturday. Fort Hays State is 2-1 against the Mustangs, claiming the last two meetings. The Tigers and Mustangs met last year in Edmond, Oklahoma, where the Tigers claimed a 7-3 win. FHSU built a 7-0 lead in that meeting as Elise Capra drove home three with a three-run homer, Katie Adler had a 2-RBI triple, and Kristen Reed had an RBI double. Hailey Chapman threw a complete game and struck out three. Midwestern State was picked 14^th out of 16 teams in the Lone Star Conference Preseason Poll.