Angelo State Rambelles Win First LSC Title Since 2018

CANYON, TX — The Angelo State softball team is coming home from the Panhandle with its first Lone Star Conference Tournament title in eight years.

The Rambelles built a 5-0 lead against Texas A&M-Kingsville in Saturday’s championship game, then hung on despite a late scare for a 5-3 win.

ASU allowed only two runs through the first 19 innings of the LSC Tournament before Kingsville scored once in the sixth inning and twice in the seventh, capped by Audri Castillo’s two-run home run with her team down to its final out

ASU pitcher Addy Ewing finished off the game without any more drama with a groundout against the next batter.

Ewing scattered seven hits and three runs in seven innings of work with six strikeouts and no walks.

ASU’s offense was led by leadoff hitter Karli Manny, who went 4-for-4, and Abby Brand, who went 2-for-4 with three RBIs.

Brand’s two-run single in the first inning gave ASU an early 2-0 lead, and she doubled in another run in the fifth for a 3-0 advantage.

The Belles tacked on two more runs in the fifth to take a 5-0 lead.

ASU claimed the LSC Tournament title at Schaeffer Park in Canyon, the home field of one of its top rivals, West Texas A&M.

The Lady Buffs were the regular-season champs in the LSC, but they were upset Friday by Kingsville, 4-0.

With its eighth LSC Tournament title, ASU earned the conference's automatic bid to next week’s South Central Regional Tournament, though the Belles were already a virtual lock to make the eight-team field.

ASU was No. 3 in the most recent regional rankings, and it may be difficult for the Belles to move up despite this weekend’s championship run. WT sits at No. 2 and swept the Belles in a doubleheader in Canyon on May 2, while No. 1 Colorado Christian’s 53-5 record will make it unlikely for it to fall out of the top spot.

The Belles improved to 46-12, while Kingsville fell to 34-19.

All 64 teams around the country that qualify for regional tournaments will be announced during the NCAA selection show at 9 a.m. Monday.