STEPHENVILLE – The Tarleton TexAnn softball team will open the 2011 Lone Star Conference South Division portion of its schedule this weekend when it hosts Texas Woman's for a three-game series. The two teams will play one game at 3 p.m. on Friday, March 11 before playing a doubleheader on Saturday, March 12 beginning at noon.
The Tarleton TexAnns are 10-7-1 overall this season.
Last week, Tarleton went 2-2 with two wins over Panhandle State before losing two games late to Lubbock Christian - an NAIA powerhouse. The TexAnns hit .353 for the week while opponents had a 5.50 ERA. Tarleton pitchers combined for a 2.00 ERA and opponents hit .296 against Tarleton.
Rebecca Wessels leads the team with a .418 batting average, 19 runs scored, 23 hits, two triples and is 10-of-12 in stolen bases. Samantha Swanda (.271) and Arianna Rodriuez (.246) are tied for the team lead in RBI with14 each. Katie Welborn (.231) is second with 12 RBI. Kelsey Latta (.323) is the only other TexAnn hitter with enough at-bats to qualify to be batting over the .300-mark. The team has a combined batting average of .286 to an opponents' ERA of 3.29. Swanda leads the TexAnns in the circle with a 6-3 record and 1.91 ERA. She has pitched in 66.0 innings and has given up 12 walks while striking out 59. Opponents are hitting .218 off the junior.
Katie Smith has pitched in 37.0 innings and has an ERA of 2.08 and is 4-2. She has allowed 14 walks and struck out 22. The TexAnns have a combine ERA of 2.09 and opponents are hitting .238.
The Pioneers posted a 3-2 record last week including a win over No. 9 Nebraska-Omaha. Junior Tiffany Weise led the team with a .500 batting average. The Pioneers continue to be aggressive on the bases as they went 11-for-11 in stolen bases. TWU is now 50-for-52 on the season led by freshman Bailey Vrazel with 20 on 20 attempts. Sophomore Lizzy Kelly is the leader in the circle with a 4-0 record and 2.21 ERA.
