STEPHENVILLE – The Tarleton TexAnn softball team will host two non-conference opponents on Thursday and Friday, Feb. 25-26 at the TexAnn Softball Complex. Tarleton will host Incarnate Word at 1 p.m. in a doubleheader that is slated to start at 1 p.m. on Thursday, Feb. 25 before hosting two games against St. Mary's on Friday, Feb. 26.
The TexAnns enter the weekend 5-4 on the season and have had eight games cancelled or postponed due to the winter weather. Tarleton is coming off a two-game split with St. Edward's last Wednesday in the home opener. The TexAnns fell 5-0 in the first game, but Tarleton won 11-1 over the Hilltoppers in the nightcap.
The TexAnns are led by April Gonzalez with a .409 batting average while Rebecca Wessels (.407), Julie Norris (.367), Morgan Collier (.364), Tami Sutton (.333), Arianna Rodriguez (.321) and Amy Gabbert (.318) are all hitting above the .500 mark as the TexAnns are hitting .322 as a squad. Norris and Wessels lead the team with 11 hits apiece while Brittany Terry leads the squad with seven runs batted in thanks in part to a grand a slam she hit against SEU last week. Wessels also leads the team in runs scored with seven. The opponents have an earned run average of 3.68 against the TexAnns.
Norris leads the team in pitching with a 1.13 ERA. She is 4-2 and has pitched 39.2 innings of action with just five earned runs and five walks while striking out 32. Opponents are hitting .188 off the TexAnns. Katie Smith is second in pitching with a 1-2 record and a 4.74 ERA in 19.0 innings of work. S he has allowed seven walks and struck out 11 batters. The TexAnns have a combined ERA of 2.30 and opponents are hitting .222.
Incarnate Word is 5-6 overall after taking two games from Texas A&M-Kingsville on Feb. 17 in San Antonio.
The Cardinals are led by Alex Carraman with a .414 batting average and hits while Chelsea Muskopf and Lea Padilla are each hitting .346. UIW has a team batting average of .262 while opponents' ERA is 3.45.
Briana Sanchez is 4- with a 3.83 ERA to lead the team in the circle. She has pitched 38.1 innings and has 14 walks and 59 strikeouts. Opponents are hitting .222 off the pitcher. Padilla is second with a 1-3 record and a 6.76 ERA. She has pitched in 19.2 innings and has 11 walks and eight strikeouts. The team has a combined ERA of 5.83 and opponents are hitting .309.
Tarleton is 16-12 all-time against the Cardinals. The TexAnns too the only game between the two teams last season (5-4) in the St. Mary' Classic in San Antonio to open the 2009 campaign.
St. Mary's is 12-3 on the season and is coming off a 2-3 weekend at the Abilene Christian tournament.
Christian Rodriguez leads the team with a .462 batting average and 18 hits while Sarah Perez (.435), Katie Nichols (.348) and Lia Provence (.324) are all hitting above the .300-mark. Perez leads the team with 19 RBI while Nichols and Lauren Miller top the squad with 10 runs scored. The Lady Rattlers are hitting .271 as a team to an opponents' ERA of 4.50.
In the circle, Taryn Munoz leads the team with a 2.10 ERA and a 7-1 record. She has pitched 56.2 innings and struck out 50 while walking 14. Heather Haas is second with a 4-1 record and a 2.58 ERA. The team has a total ERA of 2.96 while opponents are hitting .258 against the Lady Rattlers.
The TexAnns lead the all-time series over St. Mary's, 21-18. Tarleton swept all four games last season.
Fans can watch Live Stats on TarletonSports.com.
