By Jared Fields, Sports Writer

The softball team split its weekend series against defending national champion Angelo State to earn its first conference playoff berth since 2001. The Wildcats will play Southeastern Oklahoma, 7 p.m. on Thursday at the Southwest Park Softball Complex in Irving. The winner will then play Central Oklahoma on Friday.

After the series against Angelo State, head coach Chantiel Wilson said she feels confident heading into the Lone Star Conference Tournament.

“If we play how we are capable of playing, we can beat anyone on any given day,” Wilson said.

In the first game of the series Friday, the Wildcats gave up a seven-run fourth inning and lost 11-7.

Jennifer Leal took the loss for the Wildcats, but four unearned runs made the difference in the game.

In the nightcap, the women made up for the previous game and won 10-6. Valerie Malkinson and Jessica Johnson each had a three-run home run to lead the Wildcat offense. In Saturday’s doubleheader, ACU won the first game 7-2 and lost the second 8-3.

In the first game, Leal threw a complete game allowing six hits, two runs and one unearned run. Jade Wilson helped her team’s cause from the plate, belting a three-run home run in the fifth inning to break a 2-2 tie.

The win put the Wildcats in a position to win the LSC South Division, if they won the last game. Despite the loss, Wilson thinks the series was an accomplishment.

“The fact we were in a position to win the South Division right up to the final conference game of the season is a success,” Wilson said.

In the final game, Daisy Barcena hit a two-run home run in the second inning, but Angelo State had too much in the final game.

The teammates are looking forward to the conference tournament this weekend.

Wilson knows that her veterans and new players are both excited and confident.

“This is what the team set as a goal and worked throughout the year to achieve,” Wilson said.