The Teams: Tarleton Texans (11-21, 0-0 WAC) vs. Texas State Bobcats (20-3, 5-0 SBC); Dixie State Trailblazers (13-14, 1-2 WAC)
Where: San Marcos, Texas; St. George, Utah
Stadium: Bobcat Stadium (Tuesday); Karl Brooks Field (Friday-Saturday)
Times: 6:00 p.m. CT (Tuesday); 3:00 p.m. / 5:00 p.m. CT (Friday); 2:00 p.m. CT (Saturday)
 
TEXAN SOFTBALL GAME DAY
Tarleton is set to play four games this week with a single midweek showdown in San Marcos against Texas State on ESPN+. Following that single game, the Texans will head to Utah to gear up for the beginning of Western Athletic Conference action in a three-game series against Dixie State.
 
ABOUT THE MATCHUPS

• Tuesday night's game against Texas State will be the first in Tarleton history between the Texans and Bobcats.
• Despite being joint members of NCAA Division II and the South Central Region, Tarleton and Dixie State have no history on the softball diamond. This weekend will be the first meeting between the two schools.
• The series against Dixie State will be the first Western Athletic Conference (WAC) Softball Series in the history of Tarleton State University. The Texans are in their first year as a member of the WAC, alongside Dixie State. Both schools joined on July 1, 2020.

 
QUICK HITS

• This will be Tarleton's third appearance on an ESPN platform this season. The Texans have played on the ESPN Longhorn Network against Texas, ESPN+ against Texas Tech, and now ESPN+ against Texas State.

 
NEW DIVISION WITH A BRIGHT FUTURE

• WELCOME TO THE WAC: After being a part of NCAA Division II and the Lone Star Conference since its inception in 1996, Tarleton Softball is on the move to the Western Athletic Conference and NCAA Division I. The softball program is the only active program at Tarleton with an NCAA-only history.
• WAC PRESEASON POLL: Tarleton was chosen to finish seventh in the WAC Preseason Poll released on February 3. The Texans received eight total votes, which was four votes behind fellow transition school Dixie State in sixth place.
• PRESEASON ALL-WAC: Georgia Capell and Destiny Crumpley's reputation of dominance has carried over to the next level as the Texan tandem was named to the Preseason All-WAC Team.
• CUMPIAN: "MAYBE WE WILL": Following the WAC Preseason Poll, Tarleton head coach Mark Cumpian had this to say: "Judging by last year's standings, I'm not sure I would have picked us seventh. I know we're new to NCAA Division I and the WAC and we need to earn our place, but the tradition we've built here speaks for itself. I know that needs to translate at the next level before we can expect the same kind of preseason respect we had at Division II. And it's hard to say how the season will play out. Maybe we will finish seventh – but I can guarantee, if we do, we will be the toughest, most competitive seventh seed the WAC has ever seen."

 
STRONG SCHEDULE
Tarleton has put together one of the toughest non-conference schedules in the WAC and currently has the second-highest Strength of Schedule ranking in the league based on the NCAA rankings. RPI is the rating percentage index. It is a quantity used to rank sports teams based upon a team's wins and losses and its strength of schedule. Tarleton and NM State are the only two WAC schools with a strength of schedule ranking in the top half of Division I softball. The complete WAC RPI rankings are below:
 

#	School	SOS Rank	RPI Rank
1.	NM State	95	100
2.	Tarleton	128	161
3.	California Baptist	180	193
4.	Seattle U	191	139
5.	Dixie State	195	162
6.	Grand Canyon	213	202
7.	Utah Valley	233	192

 
 
NOTABLES

• ALL-TOURNAMENT IN RUSTON: Katy Schaefer and Hallie Saintignan were named to the All-Tournament team following their weekend in Ruston, La. In her first return to her home state of Louisiana, Saintignan led the Texans at the plate in four games. The Benton, La. native hit .429 with six hits, two runs scored and two RBI while playing a clean centerfield. Meanwhile, Schaefer continued to dominate at the dish with a .357 average against La Tech and Baylor. The round-two freshman went 5-14 with a double and three RBI on the weekend, including a two-run, go-ahead double to give the Texans an 8-7 lead over La Tech.
• BEARS. BRIDGES. BATTLESTAR GALACTICA.: Tristan Bridges was masterful in her two performances against the Baylor Lady Bears in Ruston. Bridges tossed complete games in both starts against BU and had a 2.69 ERA for the weekend to lead the team. In her 13.0 innings of work, she struck out eight batters and gave the Texans a chance to win the tournament finale before suffering a hard-luck loss in a 2-0 pitcher's duel. Bridges also delivered Tarleton's first-ever win against a Big XII program as the sophomore left-hander delivered a valiant eight-inning, complete-game victory against Texas Tech in Lubbock as the Texans defeated Texas Tech 11-9 on March 20, 2021.
• ROAD WARRIORS: Since the 2019 regular season finale against West Texas A&M on April 27, Tarleton has been the very definition of weary travelers. Tarleton Softball has played 60 games since the beginning of the 2019 postseason and 55 of those have been away from Stephenville. The Texans are 27-28 in road games since May 3, 2019 and 5-0 at home.
• RECORD RETURNER: Georgia Capell has put together a Hall of Fame worthy resumé – and it's only been two and a half years. Capell enters the weekend as the program's all-time home run leader (47) and is top 5 in program history in five other offensive categories: runs scored (164), RBI (150), doubles (48), hit by pitch (37) and total bases (385). She's also on pace to be among the all-time leaders in batting average and slugging percentage.
• TOUCH 'EM ALL: Georgia Capell continues to move up the all-time offensive record lists at Tarleton. This season, she has passed Arianna Rodriguez for the second-most runs scored all-time. Capell enters the week with 164 career runs scored and is 11 shy of tying Melody Mayse (175) for the program record.
• DRIVE 'EM HOME: Georgia Capell has moved into sole possession of second place on Tarleton's all-time RBI list. She is 41 RBI shy of tying Nyka Wood for the program's top mark.
• RACKING UP THE BASES: Georgia Capell (385) has moved into sole possession of second place all-time on Tarleton's total bases list. She is three bases shy of tying Arianna Rodriguez (388) for the most in program history.
• BATTLING WITH THE BIG XII: Tarleton has faced five different opponents from the daunting Big XII conference in its first season at Division I. The five opponents from B12 are the second-most from any conference that Tarleton will see this season, behind only the six WAC opponents. The Big XII teams that Tarleton has faced this season have a .558 win percentage this season and boast the unanimous No. 1 team in the nation – Oklahoma with a perfect 25-0 record. Miranda Pruitt is hitting .308 with two HR, six RBI and 10 total bases against Big XII opponents this year.

 
UP NEXT FOR TARLETON
Tarleton will make its home WAC debut next weekend with a three-game series against California Baptist on Friday and Saturday. The Texans will host the Lancers for a doubleheader Friday at 4 p.m. CT and a single game Saturday at 12 p.m. CT. Tickets are available in advance only at TarletonSports.com/Tickets. Walk-up ticket sales are not permitted at Tarleton Athletic events this season.