Nickname Lions Date founded 2015 | Conference Lone Star Conference Colors Blue, Gold | |
University Texas A&M University–Commerce Head coach Richie Bruister (2nd year) Home stadium John Cain Family Softball Field (Capacity: 800) Location Commerce, Texas, United States | ||
The Texas A&M–Commerce Lions softball team is the intercollegiate softball program representing Texas A&M University–Commerce. The school competes in the Lone Star Conference (LSC) in Division II of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). The A&M–Commerce softball team plays its home games at John Cain Family Softball Field on the university campus in Commerce, Texas. The team has been coached by Richie Bruister since its establishment in 2015.
Contents
History
Softball has been a varsity sport at A&M–Commerce since the 2015 season. The program was first announced in May 2013, making it both the seventh women's sport to be offered by the university and making A&M–Commerce the last school in the LSC to sponsor softball. According to then-athletic director Ryan Ivey, the university's decision to add softball was due to its rising popularity and the growing talent pool of players in Northeast Texas, as well as to help A&M–Commerce meet Title IX requirements.
Since its establishment, the team has been coached by Richie Bruister, previously the head softball coach at Henderson State University and Texas Woman's University. Bruister compiled a record of 183–97 (.654), four LSC Championship appearances, and three NCAA tournament appearances in five years with TWU; he also won both the LSC and National Fastpitch Coaches Association Coach of the Year awards in 2013.
In its inaugural 2015 season, the Lions achieved an overall record of 29–24 (.547), finishing sixth in the regular-season LSC standings and reaching the quarterfinals of the conference tournament before being eliminated. Other achievements during the program's first season included Tyler Oppenheim's recognition as an LSC Player of the Week and the team's average GPA of 3.536, the highest in the conference. Also in 2015, the A&M–Commerce softball team hosted the inaugural Lion Classic, a four-team tournament that included Northeastern State University, Southern Nazarene University, and Tarleton State University.
All-time record
Year-by-year results through the end of the 2015 season
Stadium
The Lions softball team has played at John Cain Family Softball Field since its first game, on February 1, 2015 against St. Edward's University. The stadium seats 800 spectators in both general admission and reserved seating, not including its extra capacity for standing-room-only spectators and those watching the game from the center-field picnic berm. The outfield fence is 190 feet (58 m) from home plate along each foul line and 220 feet (67 m) from the plate at center field. The playing surface is artificial turf, featuring an atypically blue-colored infield and a large A&M–Commerce lion logo in center field. John Cain Family Softball Field also features home and visitor in-ground dugouts, bullpens for both teams, and three batting cages. As of October 2015, the softball program is raising funds to add an indoor batting facility on the grounds of the stadium.