Houston, TX-The Texas Southern Lady Tigers softball team captured its second consecutive SWAC Western Division title on Saturday when they swept Grambling at Memorial Park.
Texas Southern is 14-3 in conference and 23-24 overall, which is the best in its division. Mississippi Valley, in the Eastern Division, is the only SWAC team with a better record (15-2 conference and 22-19 overall).
The Lady Tigers’ success has put the SWAC Champions on the map nationally. The team is ranked 9th among all NCAA Division I softball programs with a .340 batting average. TSU is 4th in triples per game (0.4), 8th in stolen bases per game (2.26), 31st in scoring (5.86) and 43rd in slugging percentage (.260).
Texas Southern has several players who rank among the nation’s best. Monica Castillo (FR, Leander, TX) ranks 20th as the toughest player to strikeout and 46th with a .420 batting average. Yesenia Torres (Jr, Edinburg, TX) holds the most rankings for the Lady Tigers. She’s 43rd in triples (3.0), 52nd with a .418 batting average and 69th for runs batted in per game (0.97). Fitima Alvizo (FR, Sugar Land, TX) ranks 42nd in toughest player to strikeout. Jessica Haynes (SO, Houston, TX) is 43rd in triples (3.0) and JoAnn Herrera (FR, San Benito, TX) ranks 40th in saves (2.0).
The Lady Tigers have one last home series on Tuesday against Houston Baptist University at 4:00pm & 6:00pm at Memorial park. They head to Victoria, TX for a two-day tournament on April 22nd, then they are off to Irondale, AL for the 2011 SWAC Championship Tournament, May 5th-8th.
