SAN ANTONIO – The Tarleton TexAnn softball team will return to action in a road doubleheader on Tuesday, March 23 at St. Mary's. The first game of the two non-conference contests is scheduled to start at 3 p.m. in San Antonio.
The TexAnns took two games from the Lady Rattlers in Stephenville on Feb. 26, winning game one 4-3 in eight innings before taking game two, 7-4.
Tarleton is coming off a split at Central Oklahoma last Friday, and the TexAnns are 11-13 on the season.
Victoria Kelly leads the team with a .390 batting average while Julie Norris is second with a .378 average. Norris leads the team with 31 hits and 15 runs scored while Arianna Rodriguez (.347) leads the team with 19 runs batted in. April Gonzalez (.339) and Rebecca Wessels (.338) are also hitting above the .300-mark. Tarleton is hitting .305 as a team and opponents have a team earned run average of 3.98 against the TexAnns.
Tarleton is 9-4 when scoring first this season and is 8-2 when holding opponents to two or less runs. The TexAnns have scored 21 runs in the first inning and are averaging 3.96 runs per game this season.
Norris leads the team in the circle with a 2.81 ERA. She is 7-7 and has pitched in 99.1 innings while walking 22 and striking out 69. Opponents are hitting .216 off the senior. Katie Smith is second in pitching with a 4-6 record and a 5.46 ERA. She has pitched in 57.2 innings with 12 walks and 32 strikeouts. Brandie Simmons has pitched 1.2 innings this season. The staff has a combined ERA of 3.74 and opponents are hitting .255 off the TexAnns.
The Lady Rattlers have won six of their last seven and are 22-9 overall. After losing both games to the TexAnns, St. Mary's split with Abilene Christian and lost both to Angelo State.
Lauren Miller leads the Lady Rattlers with a .388 batting average, 40 hits, 11 doubles, 22 RBI and is tied atop the leaders with 21 runs scored. Alyssa Alfaro (.350) also has 21 runs scored while Christina Rodriguez (.363), Katie Nichols (.344), Lia Provence (.323) and Sarah Perez (.323) are all hitting above .300. St. Mary's is hitting .305 as a team to an opponents' ERA of 4.43.
Taryn Munoz leads the squad in the circle with 119.2 innings pitched and a 1.93 ERA. She is 14-4 and has 37 walks and 85 strikeouts. Heather Haas is 4-1 with a 2.58 ERA with 19.0 innings of work for second on the team. The staff has a combined ERA of 3.10 and opponents are hitting .251.
In the two previous games this season, Munoz and Crystal Keller got the losses for the Lady Rattlers while Smith and Norris each got a win. Norris scored the winning run in the bottom of the eighth in game one on an error as Kelly reached first. Norris had been moved to third on a sacrifice bunt by Gonzalez. In game two, Norris went two-for-four with two runs scored and three RBI.
The series began in 1998, and Tarleton leads the all-time tally 23-18 after the two previous victories this season.
