TYLER, TEXAS - #6 UT Tyler will welcome a pair of clubs that sit in the top half of the Lone Star Conference standings to Suddenlink Field this weekend in #24 Angelo State and Lubbock Christian.
 
The Patriots have reeled off 12 straight victories to open up play in the 2021 Lone Star Conference schedule, and currently sit in a tie atop the league standings at 12-0 alongside #2 Texas A&M-Commerce. This weekend's pair of doubleheaders on Friday and Sunday for UT Tyler will pit the Patriots against an Angelo State squad on Friday with a league record of 8-4 and a Lubbock Christian squad that has posted a mark of 7-5 in league play.
 
STAYING AMONG THE ELITE
 
UT Tyler stayed put at no. 6 in the latest NFCA Division II Top 25 Coaches Poll this week with an overall record of 18-4 heading into this weekend's set of games. Six Lone Star Conference schools received a top 25 ranking in this week's edition of the poll as Texas A&M-Commerce stayed at no. 2 and West Texas A&M moved up to no. 10 to join UT Tyler in the top 10 of the weekly poll.
 
Texas A&M-Commerce and UT Tyler built a bit of separation between themselves and the rest of the league last week, opening up a three-game lead on the next closest teams in Oklahoma Christian and Texas A&M-Kingsville with a record of 12-0. The two LSC frontrunners aren't scheduled to meet until the final week of the regular season on May 1^st in Commerce, Texas, making for an interesting month of April as the conference standings shake out.
 
The Patriots will not be eligible for the 2021 Lone Star Conference Softball Championship Tournament at season's end, but will have all eyes on their performance in the second half of the season in league play as the university finishes up the Division II transition phase this year.
 
OWNING THE CIRCLE
 
The work that the starting duo of Payton Foster and Erin Hill have put in the circle cannot be overstated enough throughout the 2021 season, but especially in the last few weeks of action for UT Tyler. Foster and Hill combined to toss 26.0 innings of scoreless softball in last week's wins against Texas Woman's and Midwestern State, and have led the UT Tyler pitching staff to the 11^th best team ERA in all of Division II softball.
 
Both Patriots recorded complete games last weekend and have been vital to the team's undefeated start to LSC play in 2021. Foster matched the second-highest individual strikeout total in UT Tyler softball history last week with 11 in the game one win over Midwestern State, while Erin Hill moved her season record to 10-1 on the year, matching the second-highest individual win total on the year in the Lone Star Conference.
 
Foster has posted a 0.91 ERA in her 12 appearances this season, while Hill has recorded a 1.31 ERA herself. Those two figures rank the duo in second and third place in the Lone Star Conference in ERA.
 
A STEP UP IN COMPETITION
 
UT Tyler will be tested over the next two weekends of action beginning with this weekend's meetings as the four opponents over that timeframe have combined for a record of 32-16 in Lone Star Conference play up to this point. Angelo State and Lubbock Christian enter this weekend tied for fifth place and in seventh place alongside next weekend's opponents Texas A&M-Kingsville and Texas A&M International.
 
Angelo State, Lubbock Christian, Texas A&M-Kingsville and Texas A&M International have all been ranked or have received votes in the NFCA Top 25 Poll at some point this season.
 
SCOUTING THE RAMBELLES
 
Angelo State enters this weekend ranked no. 24 in the latest NFCA Top 25 Poll with a record of 16-7. The Rambelles sit in a tie for fifth place with a record of 8-4 in Lone Star Conference play and won all four games last weekend against UT Permian Basin and Western New Mexico.
 
Ashlyn Lerma (.420) and Madison Fernandez (.411) have both posted batting averages north of .400 for the season as the Rambelles have posted a team batting average of .330 for the year, fourth best in the Lone Star Conference. Makayla Corbin and Genesis Armendariz have been the two primary starting pitchers for Angelo State this season and have posted ERA's of 2.30 and 3.16 for the year.
 
SCOUTING THE CHAPS
 
Lubbock Christian enters the weekend winners of six straight and have posted an overall record of 17-8 with a 7-5 mark in Lone Star Conference play. Taylor Franco has been the story of the season for the Chaps, leading the LSC with an ERA of 0.52 in her 13 starts in 2021. She has allowed just six earned runs in 81.1 innings pitched and has struck out 50 along the way.
 
Brooke Makemson leads the Chaps with a .397 average on the year and ranks second on the team with 25 RBI. The Chaps rank third in the LSC with an average of .341 on the year.
 
Sunday's game will pit the top statistical pitching staff in UT Tyler against the second ranked staff statistically in Lubbock Christian.