- Season Stats
- Tournament Central
STEPHENVILLE - Tarleton is heading north this weekend to take part in the 2012 Best Western Premier Spring Fling at Texas Woman's University, beginning at 4:30 p.m. Friday against Fort Hays State.
The annual tournament in Denton is playing host to 17 teams, who will play 42 games in three days. The TexAnns will play five of them.
The TexAnns begin the tournament coming off back-to-back doubleheader sweeps over Texas Wesleyan and No. 24 Colorado Mines.
Tarleton swept CSM to wrap-up last weekends West Texas A&M tournament and added Texas Wesleyan to the schedule Tuesday, then swept the Rams with late rallies and strong pitching performances from Samanatha Swanda and Randi Fentress.
Against TWU, Swanda and Fentress combined for two complete game wins allowing one run on eight hits and 18 strikeouts while Arianna Rodriguez, Kelsey Latta and McKaylee Pittman drove in runs to complete the TexAnn wins.
At the dish, Tarleton has six players - with at least 10 at bats - batting over .300.
Katie Welborn leads the team in average at .412 while Swanda leads the team in slugging percentage (.765), home runs (4), and RBIs (15).
Welborn (.412), Swanda (.392), Rodriguez (.392), Bailee Mauldin (.375), Alexandria Orf (.360), and Courtney Vroman (.300) are the other over-.300 TexAnn hitters.
Here's a look at the TexAnn opposition this weekend:
Friday Feb. 24 - Tarleton vs Fort Hays State @ 4:30 pm - Field 4
Fort Hays enters the tournament 4-1 on the season, with their only loss coming to Abilene Christian in Wichita Falls Sunday.
The Tigers' Maddie Holub is the only Tiger pitcher with an ERA under six (2.47) and is also the team's leading hitter at .467, three home runs and seven RBIs.
Tarleton has never lost to Fort Hays (4-0) since the series began in 1999.
Friday Feb. 24 - Tarleton vs Washburn @ 6:45 pm - Field 3
Washburn comes in with just a 1-2 record after having its last three games cancelled due to rain. The Lady Blues' losses have come to Texas-Permian Basin and Southeastern Oklahoma.
Alex Zordel leads the team with five hits in 10 at bats (.500 avg). Haley Heincker and Kristen Bell are also batting .500 this season on 4-8 batting. Combined, all but one of those hits have been singles with Bell adding a home run.
Kayla Oldham is the team's top pitcher with a 1-1 record and a 1.56 ERA.
Tarleton is 4-3 all-time against Washburn since the series began in 1999.
Saturday Feb. 25 - Tarleton vs Texas-Permian Basin @ 9 am - Field 3
UTPB has struggled early this season, jumping out to a 2-12 record with their only wins coming against Southeastern Oklahoma (4-2) and Washburn (5-1).
Desiree Valero is the teams top pitcher with both victories and a 3.24 ERA. The next highest ERA for the Falcons is 7.33. The Falcons have only three players above the .300 batting average mark with Anna Hollingsworth leading the way at .361.
The TexAnns were scheduled to play UTPB in the St. Mary's College Classic at the beginning of the season, but the game was cancelled due to rain.
Tarleton has won the only meeting against UTPB, which came in 2010.
Saturday Feb. 25 - Central Missouri @ 4:30 pm - Field 2
Central Missouri is a perfect 5-0 entering the tournament and led by a pair of aces, Megan Schallon and Katie Shockley.
Schallon and Shockley are combined 2-0 with a 0.00 ERA with eight walks and five strikeouts. The Jenny hitters are led by Katie Groves with a .462 average and Braylyn Bivens' .429 average.
This will be the first-ever meeting between Tarleton and Central Missouri.
Saturday Feb. 26 - St. Edward's @ 1:30 pm - Field 1
In the tournament finale, the TexAnns will face off with St. Edward's for the second time this season. In the first meeting, Tarleton blew out the Hilltoppers, 8-2.
SEU is led on the mound by Sara DeBrow with a 2-1 record and a 3.26 ERA. DeBrow also has 14 strikeouts in 19.1 innings.
At the dish, Miranda Yeager is hitting .500 in 18 at bats while Ally Valdez is the Hilltoppers' power threat with a .333 average, two home runs and five RBIs.
Tarleton is 19-22 all-time against St. Edward's since the rivalry started in 1996.
For box scores and game recaps from the weekend's action, check out TarletonSports.com. For live stats and tournament information, check out Tournament Central.
