The Teams: Tarleton Texans (14-25, 3-3 WAC) vs. New Mexico State Aggies (18-18, 3-3 WAC)
Where: Las Cruces, New Mexico
Stadium: NM State Softball Complex (Friday-Saturday)
Times: 4:00 p.m. / 6:30 p.m. CT (Friday); 2:00 p.m. CT (Saturday)
 
TEXAN SOFTBALL GAME DAY
Fresh off its first-ever series win as a member of the Western Athletic Conference, Tarleton heads west for a showdown with perennial conference contender New Mexico State in a three-game series. The Texans and Aggies will square off with a 4 p.m. CT doubleheader Friday and again at 2 p.m. CT in the series finale Saturday afternoon. Tickets will be available only at the gates, which open one hour before the first game of each day.
 
ABOUT THE MATCHUP

• Tarleton is headed to Las Cruces, New Mexico this weekend with a showdown against perennial WAC power, New Mexico State. The Texans and Aggies will square off in a three-game series beginning Friday with a 4 p.m. CT doubleheader and wrapping up with a 2 p.m. CT single game Saturday afternoon.
• Tarleton and New Mexico State will feature a battle of perennial powerhouses over the last several seasons at their respective levels. During their time at Division II, Tarleton was an annual representative in the national tournament and led the LSC in wins over their final three seasons. Meanwhile, the Aggies in Las Cruces have been among the top two finishers in the WAC standings every season since 2013 with league titles in 2015, 2016 and 2018. Both Tarleton and NM State were sitting atop their respective league standings in 2020 when the spring stopped.
• This will be the first-ever meeting between the Aggies and Texans.

 
 
QUICK HITS

• Tarleton is coming off its first series win as a member of the Western Athletic Conference. The Texans took two of three against California Baptist last weekend in Stephenville.
• Through the first six WAC games of the season, Tarleton has two players hitting above .400 in conference. Georgia Capell is hitting .471 (8-17) while Jordan Dickerson is hitting .412 (7-17). Those two Texans have combined for three HRs and 11 RBI through the first two WAC series of the year.
• In league play, Tristan Bridges leads the Tarleton pitching staff with 30.0 innings through the first two conference weekends. She has a 3.50 ERA with all three wins.

 
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.
• 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 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	132	123
2.	Tarleton	150	194
3.	Dixie State	190	177
4.	Seattle U	195	138
5.	California Baptist	196	199
6.	Grand Canyon	210	198
7.	Utah Valley	232	218

 
 
NOTABLES

• 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 67 games since the beginning of the 2019 postseason and 59 of those have been away from Stephenville. The Texans are 28-31 in road games since May 3, 2019 and 7-1 at home. Tarleton went 713 days between home losses (April 27, 2019 to April 9, 2021).
• RIPPING UP THE RECORD BOOKS: 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 (48) and total bases (399) and is top 5 in program history in five other offensive categories: runs scored (170), RBI (155), doubles (51) and hit by pitch (43). 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 170 career runs scored and is five 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 36 RBI shy of tying Nyka Wood for the program's top mark.
• RACKING UP THE BASES: Georgia Capell has added another all-time record to her Hall of Fame worthy resumé – and it's only fitting she used a home run to do so. With her sixth-inning home run in the series opener against Dixie State, Georgia Capell passed Arianna Rodriguez for the most total bases in Tarleton Softball history. Her next base makes her the first Texan in program history with 400 total bases in her career.
• EYES ON FIFTY: In the history of diamond sports (baseball and softball) at Tarleton State University, there has only ever been one person to hit over 50 home runs while wearing the purple and the white. Texan Baseball star Mike Cantu is the program's all-time home run leader with 58 roundtrippers from 1988-91. Capell (48) is two homers shy of becoming the second Texan in university history from either baseball or softball to hit 50 home runs in her career.
• RIGGS STEPPING UP: Bailee Riggs has started 16 of the last 17 games for the Texans since debuting in the starting nine against #10 Texas on March 13. Since March 17 against ACU, Bailee Riggs has been a mainstay in the lineup and is the team's leading hitter this season with a .333 average. Since her first career start, she is a .340 hitter with seven runs scored.

 
SCHEDULE UPDATES

• NORTH TEXAS: Tarleton was originally scheduled to host North Texas for a single game on April 21. When weather cancelled an earlier meeting between the two at UNT's tournament, that game shifted to a doubleheader in Stephenville. The game times are now set at 2 p.m. and 4 p.m.
• UTAH VALLEY: The game times for Tarleton's series at Utah Valley have been slightly altered due to graduation ceremonies on campus. The new start times for the final series of the season are 3 p.m. CT (DH) on May 7 and 11 a.m. CT on May 8.

 
UP NEXT FOR TARLETON
Tarleton will return home for five straight games next week. The Texans will host North Texas in a doubleheader on April 21 at 2 p.m. before welcoming Seattle University to town for a three-game series next weekend.