GAME DAY INFORMATION

When: Friday - Sunday, Feb. 3-5, 2017

Times: 2 pm | 4:30 pm | 2:30 pm | 5 pm | 11 am

Where: Magnolia, Arkansas (Dawson Field)

Important Links: Tournament Central

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STEPHENVILLE - New coach. New Culture. New Faces.
 
Same goal in mind – to return to the national playoffs and compete for a national championship.
 
"My expectations for this team are very high," said new head coach Mark Cumpian. "No matter how many new faces we have, I expect this team to go out and compete each and every time they step on the field. These young ladies have bought in and understand that nothing is going to be given to us and everything will have to be earned.
 
"I have coached in this conference and I know what it's going to take to be successful week in and week out," he added. "We are going to have be very disciplined in everything that we do and keep things simple by playing everything one pitch at a time and only worry about what's in front us."
 
Tarleton is two years removed from its first-ever regional championship and boasts arguably its deepest roster in school history with 20 TexAnns filling out the team, including returning 2016 all-conference selections Haley Freyman and Nyka Wood.
 
"This season we return a core group of returners and have brought in a handful of newcomers to help us fight to get back into the NCAA Playoffs," said Cumpian. "We are learning every single day what it's going to take to get to where we want to be as a team. If we can learn to fight from start to finish this team has all the tools to help us make a push as we get down the stretch of conference play. This is team is hungry and I cannot wait to let them loose on February 3."
 
Freyman enters her junior season having already notched the third-most wins by a starting pitcher in school history with 46 W's in each of her first two collegiate seasons. She is also in the top 10 of Tarleton's all-time lists for appearances (91), games started (59), innings pitched (455.2), complete games (44), and strikeouts (228). Last season, Freyman led the TexAnn pitching staff – and Lone Star Conference – with 242.0 innings of work en route to a first-team all-LSC nod.
 
Her battery mate, Nyka Wood, also claimed all-LSC recognition after hitting .376 as a sophomore with 16 doubles, eight home runs, and 46 RBIs. Wood has also etched her named in the Tarleton history books already as the junior catcher heads into the 2017 season as one of eight players in school history with over 100 RBIs (101). No player in TexAnn history has driven in 150 RBIs in their career.
 
Joining Freyman and Wood as returning letterwinners to TexAnn Softball are Avery Mullendore, who was named an NFCA All-America Scholar-Athlete last year in her debut season at Tarleton, as well as Delaney Wayland, Kaitlyn Thomas, Savannah Stech, Mikayla Stogsdill, and Alyssa Ringhausen, who were all members of the 2015 regional championship team. Amanda Conner also returns for her second season with Tarleton.
 
"I have been very happy with the leadership that our returners have brought to this team," said Cumpian. "Coming from a group that has been together the past two years to having more than half the team being new, I am very impressed with how our leadership has strengthened our team chemistry throughout the course of the fall and I believe it has shown on the field and in the classroom."
 
"Haley and Nyka have been workhorses for us the last two seasons and I expect nothing less from them this season," he continued. "They have proven they can compete with the best and I am excited to see those two go back to work and guide our battery staff this season. Our infield will have the veteran presence of Savannah Stech, Avery Mullendore, and Delaney Wayland and I believe having them anchor our infield will help with our communication on the field. Kaitlyn Thomas is the only veteran outfielder we have returning as she returns coming off of ACL surgery a year ago. Mikayla Stogsdill will make the transition and help our outfield greatly after playing the infield for three seasons."
 
In addition to his nine returners, Cumpian added 11 new faces to the roster – made up of seven freshmen and four junior college transfers.
 
"We have a great group of junior college transfers that will see significant time right away," said Cumpian. "Each of them have played for some of the top JUCO teams in the country so their experience will be very valuable to our team early in the season.
 
"Our freshman class is very talented and very versatile," he continued. "They have competed since day one and I'm excited to see them work into the mix early. Each of these individuals knows the expectations of Tarleton Softball and I expect this freshman class to have a huge impact this season and play a big role in our success."
 
Marisa Flores, Meghann Wrinkle, Megan Durante, and Kayleigh Williams come to Tarleton as juniors after spending the last two seasons at the junior college level, while the freshman class consists of Maddie Quintanar, Morgan Ling, Kadyn Kirkpatrick, Elizabeth Schiele, Emilie Blair, Jordan Withrow, and Robyn Gajdica.
 
Tarleton will open the season on Friday, February 3 at the Southern Arkansas Invitational in Magnolia, Ark. The TexAnns will make their home debut to open Lone Star Conference play on Friday, February 17 against Texas A&M-Commerce.
 
"We are very excited to start our journey and begin the 2017 season," said Cumpian. "This team has worked very hard all fall and has made strides on a daily basis so I'm excited to see them finally put it all together. We understand as a team that there will be challenges that lie ahead but if we can get off to a fast start, accelerate in the middle, and finish strong we have the ability to compete with the best in the country.
 
"All I ask from my team is that each day we come out that they give me the best version of themselves," he continued. "Our goal since day one has been continuing the pride of this program, fighting our way back into playoff contention, and getting to the national tournament. The only way we can do that is by taking everything one step at a time and sticking to the process. We are not looking ahead at the future, we are only focused on right here and right now."