AUSTIN, Texas – The Concordia Texas softball team is set to return to the diamond, opening their season with a roster loaded with talent and experience, and begin their 2022 campaign with a doubleheader on the road at St. Thomas on Sunday.
 
The Tornados enter the year with six 2021 All-American Southwest Conference selections and 18 returners in total, bringing back a large part of the team that put together a 22-16 season and earned them the second seed in the ASC West Division a year ago, reaching their first conference tournament since 2018.
 
Now, in 2022, with the foundations of a stellar team, CTX enters the season with their eye on a second straight ASC tournament bid.
 
In the upcoming season, the league returns to its single-division format, where in the conference's Preseason Poll the Tornados were marked to finish fourth with 155 total points and one first-place vote.
 
Along with the preseason poll, Bailey Tisdale, Erica Riley, and Ashley Hallmark represented CTX on the Players to Watch list.
 
Tisdale, who transferred to CTX last year as a sophomore, made an immediate impact in her debut season for the Tornados. She picked up ASC Second Team and NFCA All-West Region honors for her work in the circle, pitching to a 13-8 record and a 2.21 ERA. Tisdale ended the year with 107 strikeouts in 142.2 innings of work, and the hurler tied the Tornados' single game strikeouts record twice, punching out 10 batters in the season opener against Austin College and later in the season at McMurry on April 9.
 
Riley is another transfer coming off her debut season at CTX, earning ASC Second Team honors for her work at the plate as well as her defense in the infield, serving as the Tornados' shortstop in 37 games last year. The sophomore was stellar offensively, batting .372 with a team-high 25 RBIs while slugging .504, and blasted a team-high 12 extra-base hits, including a home run against St. Thomas on March 11.
 
Hallmark will return for her fourth season as a Tornado, coming off an impressive year that saw her earn 2021 ASC Second Team honors. The Burnet, Texas native turned in her best season yet, batting .330 with 22 RBIs and a pair of homeruns while roaming centerfield with a .988 fielding percentage. Hallmark turned in six multi-hit games, highlighted by a 2-for-3 performance with three RBIs and a homer at UT Dallas on March 19.
 
A pair of sophomores, Megan Hooper and Emily Moses, were integral parts of the CTX lineup as first-year players last season, and they will look to build upon strong debut seasons in 2022.
 
Hooper highlighted the Tornados' All-ASC selections last year, taking home an ASC First Team bid as well as the ASC Co-Freshman of the Year award. The outfielder set the table at the top of the CTX lineup, leading the team with a .434 batting average, .496 on-base percentage, 30 runs scored, and 24 stolen bases, which broke the program's single-season record. Hooper also brought power numbers, slugging a team-high .549 with nine extra-base hits and 21 RBIs.
 
Moses put together an excellent freshman season as well, and her efforts were rewarded with an ASC Honorable Mention. Along with a strong defensive showing in the hot corner, the third basemen batted .327 with 17 RBIs and 19 runs scored. Moses was a productive force in the middle of the CTX lineup, flashing her power by slugging .459 with five doubles, a triple, and two homeruns.
 
Cristina Ayala rounds out the Tornados' All-ASC selections, and the junior looks to duplicate her success in the coming season.
 
Ayala is the other half of the Tornados' middle infield duo, playing alongside Riley at second base. The San Antonio Reagan product was excellent at the plate, boasting a .341 batting average while scoring 18 runs and driving in 10 RBIs, and created havoc on the base paths with 14 stolen bases.
 
Concordia Texas will open the season on the road, traveling to Houston to play a noon doubleheader at St. Thomas on Sunday before jumping into conference play the following weekend. To open ASC play, CTX will host Howard Payne for a three-game series on Feb. 11-12. 
 
After a road series at Sul Ross State on Feb. 18-19, the Tornados' will face their biggest early-season test when they travel to Jackson, Miss. for a three-game showdown with Belhaven, last season's ASC East Division Champions, on Feb. 25-26.
 
After the brief stint on the road, CTX will return home to host UT Dallas on March 4-5, followed by a pair of non-conference doubleheaders when the Tornados bring Schreiner to town on March 7 and travel to Trinity on March 12.
 
In April, Concordia Texas will play back-to-back series with two of the top three ASC Preseason Poll teams, facing off with Mary Hardin-Baylor at home on April 8-9 before traveling to face East Texas Baptist on the road on April 14-15.
 
The Tornados will close out the regular season at home against McMurry on April 29-30, and the postseason begins on May 4 as CTX eyes their second straight ASC Tournament appearance.
 
Returning with a wealth of experience and talent, the Tornados will begin their 2022 campaign on Sunday, traveling to Houston for a non-conference doubleheader at St. Thomas beginning at noon