THE GAMES
The Aaron Meade era of Tarleton Baseball begins this weekend with the season-opening series on the road at new LSC rival, UT Tyler. The Texans will take the field against the Patriots in a three-game series beginning Friday at 7 p.m. All three games will be nine innings and played Friday (7 p.m.), Saturday (6 p.m.) and Sunday (2 p.m.).
 
TICKET INFORMATION
Tickets are available only at the gate from UT Tyler's Irwin Field. Tickets range from $15-$5 at the gate. There are no advanced ticket sales. A link to ticket information can be found on the baseball schedule at TarletonSports.com.
 
GAME COVERAGE
There will be live stats and video available for the games, courtesy of the home team. Links to live stats can be found at the links on the Game Day preview story and Game Day graphics on Tarleton's Facebook and Twitter pages, as well as on the baseball schedule page at TarletonSports.com.
 
CONFERENCE PLAY RIGHT OFF THE BAT
For the first time in program history, Tarleton will be playing a closed conference schedule. With the addition of seven new baseball teams to the Lone Star Conference – bringing the total to 14 – every series of the season will count towards the Lone Star Conference standings.
 
THE NEW-LOOK LONE STAR
The Lone Star Conference has doubled its amount of baseball teams following its expansion to becoming the largest NCAA Division II conference in the country. The LSC, which has 19 total members, now boasts 14 members that sponsor NCAA Division II baseball. New member Dallas Baptist sponsors NCAA Division I baseball and will not compete in the Lone Star. The LSC Champion will be the team(s) with the best winning percentage in regular-season conference games. The LSC Championship will be a two-week tournament featuring eight teams with the opening round on campus on May 1-2. The winners of each opening round series will advance to The Depot in Cleburne, Texas for a double-elimination tournament that will be played May 7-9. The winner of the postseason tournament will be recognized as the LSC Tournament Champion and receive the conference's automatic qualifier to the NCAA postseason.
 
ABOUT THE TEXANS
Tarleton is coming off a 15-36 season but did qualify for the LSC Championship Tournament as the sixth seed. The Texans are under the new leadership of first-year head coach Aaron Meade and return it's two top offensive weapons from a year ago – Tyler Fowler (.320) and Blake Burns (.315). Luke Morton, a member of the 2018 LSC Tournament Champion Texans, and Corey Young join Fowler and Burns as team captains in 2020 after missing last year with injuries.
 
ABOUT UT TYLER
Located in Tyler, Texas, UT Tyler is in its first season of transition into NCAA Division II. The Patriots, who have previously competed at NCAA Division III, are a brand-new member to the Lone Star Conference.
 
DEBUT FOR MEADE
Tarleton head coach Aaron Meade will make his head coaching debut. A former assistant coach at Pitt State, Meade becomes the eighth head coach of the Texans in the modern era (since 1988). He was named the eighth head coach of the Texan Baseball program on July 23, 2019. Meade was a standout pitcher for Missouri State and was a 10th round draft pick of the LA Angels in the 2010 MLB Draft as a starting pitcher. Although only seven head coaches will have official records, Meade's brief predecessor Mike Sirianni was announced in May but was at Tarleton for only a month before accepting a position at Wichita State - opening the door for Meade's arrival.
 
FRESH FACES
Tarleton has 19 new additions to the 2020 active roster, including eight NCAA Division I transfers Wade Raburn (New Orleans), Dean Frew (TCU), Luke Baley (Lamar), Jacob Mattox (Murray State), Cody Vannoy (UTRGV), Rhett Gallagher (Missouri), Colby Feris (Houston) and Devon Patel (Rutgers).
 
CHAMPIONSHIP EXPERIENCE
Luke Morton and Tyler Fowler remain from Tarleton's 2018 LSC Tournament Championship season. Morton hit .250 and scored four runs in the LSC Tournament in 2018 while Fowler was an all-tournament selection after hitting .333 with two RBI and three runs scored against Texas A&M-Kingsville and West Texas A&M in 2018.
 
INSIDE THE SERIES
This is the first meeting between Tarleton and UT Tyler.
 
UP NEXT FOR TARLETON
Tarleton will make their home debut in a three-game series against UT Permian Basin beginning Friday, February 7 at 2 p.m. in Stephenville. The three-game series will be a 1-1-1 format from Friday to Sunday.