ENMU picked ninth in softball poll

RICHARDSON, Texas — To little surprise, last year's Lone Star Conference softball champion and the current No. 2 team in Division II is expected to be this year's LSC champion.

Angelo State is favored to repeat as LSC champs with 29 of the 33 first-place votes cast by LSC coaches, sports information directors and various media representatives. The Rambelles finished with 359 points in the poll.

The Rambelles concluded the 2017 season at 60-7 overall, which is the most wins in program history and matches the record in the Lone Star Conference, with a 26-3 league mark. ASU finished as the NCAA Division II runner-up after winning the South Central Regional title for the fifth time and LSC crown for the seventh time.

Defending tournament champion West Texas A&M finished second in the poll with three first-place nods for 306 points, in front of Texas Woman's, who was tabbed third with 267 points and the remaining top vote. Tarleton State ranked fourth with 257.

Eastern New Mexico University was picked to finish ninth in the poll with 108 points, well ahead of Texas Permian Basin (64) and Western New Mexico (11). Finishing ahead of ENMU were Cameron (250 points) Texas A&M-Commerce (223), Texas A&M-Kingsville (170) and Midwestern State (135).

Commerce's Mariah Jameyson was named LSC Preseason Player of the Year, while the Rambelles' Brandy Marlett was a near unanimous LSC Preseason Pitcher of the Year selection.

Jameyson, a senior catcher from Seattle, played in all 54 games with 53 starts at catcher last season. She ranked third in RBIs (70) and fourth in home runs (20) in Division II. Jameyson led the LSC in slugging percentage (.868) and finished fifth in hits (68) to earn LSC Newcomer of the Year and first-team All-LSC honors in addition to being the first All-American in program history.

Marlett, a senior pitcher from Henderson, Nevada, posted a LSC best 29 wins, which ranked sixth in Division II, with eight shutouts and a 1.36 ERA last season. In addition to the most wins, she led the LSC in opposing batting average (.163), innings pitched (232.1), and strikeouts (306). Marlett had a career-best and ASU single game record 17 strikeouts three times to earn LSC Pitcher of the Year, first-team All-LSC, and All-American recognition.

The 2018 season starts today with 11 LSC teams each playing a 30-game conference schedule — a three-game series against each league opponent with five at home and five on the road.

The top six teams in LSC games will advance to the postseason tournament May 4-5, hosted by the No. 1 seed. The tournament champion will receive the league's automatic qualification into the NCAA postseason.