West Texas A&M's Ruby Salzman was named the Lone Star Conference Preseason Player of the Year as the defending Lone Star Conference Tournament Champion Lady Buffs were selected second in the LSC Preseason Poll announced on Wednesday morning by the league's offices.
The UT Tyler Patriots were chosen to defend the regular-season title after picking up 22 of the possible 43 first-place votes for a total of 654 points to sit atop the poll followed by the Lady Buffs (16-fpv), Angelo State (1-fpv), Oklahoma Christian (3-fpv), and Texas A&M-Commerce to close out the top five selections.
Texas A&M-Kingsville (1-fpv) ranked sixth followed by Lubbock Christian, Texas A&M International, Cameron, St. Mary's, St. Edward's, Midwestern State, Texas Woman's, UT Permian Basin, Eastern New Mexico and Western New Mexico rounding out the poll.
Ruby Salzman earned her first conference recognition of the season after being voted the Preseason Player of the Year for the first time in her career. The All-American from Northridge, Calif. was a key player for the 2021 Lady Buff National Championship squad, leading Division II with 84 hits. Following the national championships, she went on the play and start in all 10 games for Team Israel in the Women's Softball European Championships.
Last season, Salzman led the LSC in batting average (.433), RBI (60), doubles (17), and at-bats (194), and ranked second in slugging percentage (.758), runs scored (58), home runs (12), and stolen bases (29) to earn LSC first-team honors. She also picked up CoSIDA First Team Academic All-American recognition for her efforts in the classroom.
UT Tyler's Payton Foster claimed the Preseason Pitcher of the Year accolades after helping the Patriots to the regular season championship title with a 15-4 record in the circle. Foster allowed just 20 earned runs in 126.2 innings with 106 strikeouts to earn All-American honors.
The LSC Champion will be the team(s) with the best winning percentage of the regular-season conference schedule. The tournament winner will be recognized as the LSC Tournament Champion and receive the league's automatic bid to the NCAA postseason. The 2022 season begins on Tuesday, Feb. 1 with the conference opening weekend set for March 1 with 16 LSC programs playing a single doubleheader series against each league opponent.
WT will lead off the season in Gulf Shores, Ala. where they will face five Division II opponents including National Quarterfinalist Valdosta State. The Lady Buffs will face Delta State on Friday, Feb. 4 in the season opener with the first pitch scheduled for 11:15 a.m. CT.
The UT Tyler Patriots were chosen to defend the regular-season title after picking up 22 of the possible 43 first-place votes for a total of 654 points to sit atop the poll followed by the Lady Buffs (16-fpv), Angelo State (1-fpv), Oklahoma Christian (3-fpv), and Texas A&M-Commerce to close out the top five selections.
Texas A&M-Kingsville (1-fpv) ranked sixth followed by Lubbock Christian, Texas A&M International, Cameron, St. Mary's, St. Edward's, Midwestern State, Texas Woman's, UT Permian Basin, Eastern New Mexico and Western New Mexico rounding out the poll.
Ruby Salzman earned her first conference recognition of the season after being voted the Preseason Player of the Year for the first time in her career. The All-American from Northridge, Calif. was a key player for the 2021 Lady Buff National Championship squad, leading Division II with 84 hits. Following the national championships, she went on the play and start in all 10 games for Team Israel in the Women's Softball European Championships.
Last season, Salzman led the LSC in batting average (.433), RBI (60), doubles (17), and at-bats (194), and ranked second in slugging percentage (.758), runs scored (58), home runs (12), and stolen bases (29) to earn LSC first-team honors. She also picked up CoSIDA First Team Academic All-American recognition for her efforts in the classroom.
UT Tyler's Payton Foster claimed the Preseason Pitcher of the Year accolades after helping the Patriots to the regular season championship title with a 15-4 record in the circle. Foster allowed just 20 earned runs in 126.2 innings with 106 strikeouts to earn All-American honors.
The LSC Champion will be the team(s) with the best winning percentage of the regular-season conference schedule. The tournament winner will be recognized as the LSC Tournament Champion and receive the league's automatic bid to the NCAA postseason. The 2022 season begins on Tuesday, Feb. 1 with the conference opening weekend set for March 1 with 16 LSC programs playing a single doubleheader series against each league opponent.
WT will lead off the season in Gulf Shores, Ala. where they will face five Division II opponents including National Quarterfinalist Valdosta State. The Lady Buffs will face Delta State on Friday, Feb. 4 in the season opener with the first pitch scheduled for 11:15 a.m. CT.
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