RUSSELLVILLE, Ark. - Following the red hot conclusion to their 2021 season that resulted with another GAC Conference Tournament Championship in hand and a trip to the NCAA Central Region Softball Championship, the Arkansas Tech Golden Sun softball team is ready to take the field once again for the 2022 season. The Golden Suns head to Conroe, Texas to host the 2022 Arkansas Tech Winter Invitational which will begin on Saturday, February 5 and will wrap up its final games on Monday, February 7.

Arkansas Tech will face six different teams during the three-day tournament going head-to-head with some of the most competitive teams across all of NCAA Division II softball. The team will play a double-header against two of the participating teams each day. 

The Golden Suns will open the tournament against St. Mary's on Saturday with first pitch slated for 3 p.m. while the second game of the day against #22 Texas A&M Commerce is set to go for 5 p.m. Saturday evening. To begin the second day of action, Arkansas Tech will face #2 Augustana at noon on Sunday with Texas Woman's University to follow at 2 p.m. that afternoon. The Golden Suns will open the final day against #18 Angelo State with first pitch scheduled for 11 a.m. on Monday morning while the final game of the tournament against #1 UT-Tyler will begin at 1 p.m. that afternoon.

During the 2021 season, the Golden Suns earned a 28-18-1 overall record with a 21-9 record among Great American Conference opponents. Tech also notched a stellar 9-2 home record losing only a single home series while the rest were sweeps. The Golden Suns closed the season out on a hot streak winning 17 of their last 21 games and five of their last seven series matchups. To conclude the 2021 season, Tech won their third straight Great American Conference Tournament Championship and competed in the NCAA Central Region Tournament Championships.

This season, the Golden Suns retain five-strong pitchers alongside seven big bats from their 2021 lineup.

Highlighted among the returning arms is Second Team All-GAC starting pitcher, Shannon Lasey. Last season, Lasey led the team with nine wins on the season and finished the regular season in the top-12 in ERA, opposing batting average, batters struck out and, wins. She also tossed a no-hitter against Henderson State last season and pitched six complete games, leading the team with 83.0 innings pitched. Another strong-arm returning on the mound for the Golden Suns is All-GAC honorable mention Maddy Prough who led the GAC with six saves in  the regular season and appeared in the top-12 in opposing batting average, batters struck out, wins and appearances. Prough led the Golden Suns' pitching staff with 79 strikeouts.

Highlighted on the hitting side are three 2021 GAC All-Conference members who are back for another season at the plate, including the return of First Team All-GAC member Makenzie Addis who led the GAC with 11 home runs during the 2021 season. She also finished in the top-10 of the conference in slugging percentage, runs scored, RBIs, and total bases. Addis finished the regular season with a .286 (34-for-119) batting average alongside seven doubles and a triple to go with her 11 bombs.

Second Team All-GAC Member Tymber Riley is another strong returning bat for the Golden Suns. Riley finished the season in the top-10 of the conference in runs scored, doubles, walks and led the conference in hit by pitches. She also posted a .274 (34-for-124) batting average with 10 doubles and five home runs. Closing out the highlighted returners to the plate is Second Team All-GAC member Caitlyn Wells. She led the conference in doubles with 13 and finished top-7 in the GAC in batting average, on-base percentage, hits and RBIs. Wells led the Golden Suns hitting .390 (48-for-123) with three home runs and 33 RBIs.

Leading the Golden Suns in her tenth season at the helm is head coach Kristina McSweeney. As the all-time winningest coach in Arkansas Tech softball history, McSweeney has amassed a 317-167-1 record in her ten seasons with the Golden Suns. She has won three Great American Conference Tournaments in 2018, 2019 and 2021 with a regular-season championship in 2016 with a 34-6 record. She has also led the team to four 40-win seasons in her time as head coach.
 

SCOUTING ST. MARY'S

The Rattlers enter the season, ranked No. 10 in the Lone Star Conference, after a 21-23 overall record and an even 15-15 among conference games in 2021.

The Rattlers see the return of ten from their lineup last season. Leading the returners will be second baseman Jayme Johns who ended the season with a .394 batting average and led the team in hits with 50. Victoria Aldridge did some damage last season as she put up a .383 batting average. Closing out the list of notable returners is Abigale Carney who led the team in home runs and RBI's with 11 and 39 respectively. 
 

SCOUTING TAMU-COMMERCE

The Lions enter the season, ranked No. 22 in the National Fastpitch Coaches Association. They were also picked fifth in the Lone Star Conference pre-season poll. TAMU-Commerce was 33-18 overall and posted the fourth-best conference record in the LSC at 21-9 during the 2021 season. Prior to this weekend's tournament, TAMU-Commerce split a double-header against Augustana that was played on Tuesday, February 1.

The Lions return the top five batting average hitters from last season as well as both starting pitchers. The hitters are led by Madison Schaefer who hit .408 with a team-high 11 homers and was second-best on the team in RBI's with 32 on the season. Alyssa LeBlanc led the Lions in RBI's with 37 during the 2021 season. LeBlanc also led the pitching staff for the Lions with the team-high in ERA, innings pitched and strikeouts .

SCOUTING AUGUSTANA

The Vikings enter the season, ranked No. 2 in the National Fastpitch Coaches Association, which marks the third straight year that AU enters in the top-3 of the national ranking to start the season. They were also picked to win the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference in the pre-season poll. Augustana picked up the most wins in Division II going 49-8 overall and posted the best conference record in the NSIC at 28-2 during the 2021 season.

The Vikings return all players from last season except for one. The hitters are led by NSIC Preseason Player of the Year Mary Pardo who posted a .330 batting average and ranked third in the nation last year in home runs hitting 20. Pardo was also 16th in DII with in triples posting five during the 2021 season. Ashley Mickschl leads the Vikings pitching staff after she led NCAA Division II with 27 wins last season. She also put up a 1.83 ERA, with 191 innings pitched and struck out 141.

SCOUTING TEXAS WOMAN'S 

The Pioneers enter the season picked to finish 13th in the Lone Star Conference pre-season poll. Texas Woman's was 7-26 overall and posted a 6-22 conference record in the LSC during the 2021 season.

Returning for the Pioneers this season to lead the hitters is senior Paige Tamayo who owned the best batting average on the team last season at .365. Tamayo aslo held the team-high in home runs with six on the season. Kelsie Briggs will lead the Pioneers on the mound following her 37 strikeouts from the 2021 season.

SCOUTING ANGELO STATE

The Rambelles enter the season, ranked No. 18 in the National Fastpitch Coaches Association. They were also picked third in the Lone Star Conference pre-season poll. Angelo State was 33-14 overall and posted the third-best conference record in the LSC at 26-4 during the 2021 season.

The Rambelles return five-strong bats and three strong pitchers from their 2021 lineup. Madison Fernandez will lead the Angelo State hitters following her .350 batting average, team-high 12 home runs and 42 RBI's during the 2021 season. Following Fernandez will be Ashlyn Lerma who owned the team-best batting average at .384 last season and Ashlynn Box who averaged .368 from the plate and tied with Fernandez for the most RBI's on the team last season with 42. Leading the Rambelles on the mound will be Genesis Armendariz who pitched 123.2 innings, striking out 89 total batters and holding opponents hitting to .241 on the season.

SCOUTING UT-TYLER

The Patriots enter the season, ranked No. 1 in the National Fastpitch Coaches Association. They were also picked as the favorite to win the Lone Star Conference in the pre-season after being crowned the 2021 Lone Star Conference Regular Season Champions. UT-Tyler owned a 33-7 overall record and posted the best conference record in the LSC at 27-3 during the 2021 season.

The Patriots return a pair of All-American selections from the 2021 season in catcher Ashley Perez and pitcher Payton Foster, alongside a loaded roster from last year. Perez will lead the Patriot hitting after securing the team-high batting average of .407 during the 2021 season. Perez also led the team in doubles with 17 and posted 30 total RBI's last year. Haleigh Swinney will be another powerful bat for UT-Tyler after putting up a .400 batting average and 10 doubles in 2021. Foster will lead the pitching staff for the Patriots following a season where she posted a 1.11 ERA, 126.2 innings of work and 106 total strikeouts. The sophomore pitcher also held the bats of opposing teams to a .186 average. Erin Hill will follow Foster as a strong option on the mound as she owned a 1.15 ERA, 110.0 innings pitched and struck out 101 during the 2021 season.