The Teams: Tarleton Texans (14-28, 3-6 WAC) vs. North Texas Mean Green (24-9, 6-2 C-USA); Seattle University Redhawks (19-17, 6-3 WAC)
Where: Stephenville, Texas
Stadium: Tarleton Softball Complex (Wednesday; Friday-Saturday)
Times: 2:00 p.m. / 4:30 p.m. CT (Wednesday); 4:00 p.m. / 6:30 p.m. CT (Friday); 12 p.m. CT Saturday
 
TEXAN SOFTBALL GAME DAY
Tarleton will make its longest stretch of home games since 2019 this week when they host five games against North Texas and Seattle University this week. The Texans will play host to UNT Wednesday afternoon with a 2 p.m. doubleheader and then host Seattle for a three-game series beginning Friday. Rain in the forecast on Friday could cause change to the schedule. Stay tuned to TarletonSports.com for updates. Tickets are available only in advance at TarletonSports.com/Tickets.
 
ABOUT THE MATCHUPS

• When the Texans square off with North Texas, it will pit Mark Cumpian against former Lone Star Conference coaching rival Rodney DeLong, who spent three seasons at Cameron. DeLong was the head coach of the Aggies in 2015 when the Texans defeated Cameron in the South Central Region 1 Finals in Canyon. Delong is 5-9 as a head coach against Tarleton.
• This will be the first meeting between Tarleton and Seattle U.

 
QUICK HITS

• Georgia Capell is Tarleton's leading hitter in WAC play this year. The junior is hitting .360 in nine WAC games with three doubles, one home run and five RBI. She is one of four Texans hitting above the .300 plateau in conference games – Jordan Dickerson (.333), Alexis Hoang (.333) and Bailee Riggs (.300).
• Tarleton will play nearly as many home games this week as they have all season. The Texans enter this week's contests with a 5-1 record at home this season. Tristan Bridges has been a star in the circle in Stephenville this year, boasting a 1.02 ERA and a 4-1 record in 27.1 innings of work.
• Tarleton is 11-2 at home since April 16, 2019.

 
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 were 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 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 is the only WAC school 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.	Tarleton	135	207
2.	NM State	152	114
3.	California Baptist	187	200
4.	Dixie State	196	181
5.	Seattle U	200	141
6.	Grand Canyon	204	202
7.	Utah Valley	237	216

 
AMONG THE BEST IN THE WAC
As Tarleton prepares for WAC play, the Texans head into the week with select players among the best in the Western Athletic Conference offensive, defensive and pitching statistics:
 

Rank	Player	Category	Total
2.	T. Bridges	CG	15
2.	M. Medford	AST	87
4.	T. Bridges	W	8
4.	G. Capell	AB	124
5.	B. Riggs	SB	8
5.	K. Schaefer	AST	84
2.	T. Bridges	CG	15

 
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 70 games since the beginning of the 2019 postseason and 62 of those have been away from Stephenville. The Texans are 28-34 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 (400) and is top 5 in program history in five other offensive categories: runs scored (171), 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 171 career runs scored and is four 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. She reached 400 total bases with a game-two, fifth-inning single against New Mexico State on April 16, 2021.
• 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 19 of the last 20 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 .316 average.
• BRIDGES AT HOME: Tristan Bridges has been stellar at home this season. The sophomore southpaw has appeared in five of Tarleton's six home games this year and accounted for 27.1 of the 38.0 innings played at the Tarleton Softball Complex. She is 4-1 with a complete game in each of her four starts and boasts a 1.02 ERA with 14 strikeouts.

 
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 hit the road for a single midweek game next week at Sam Houston State in Huntsville and will then turn their attention to the final two WAC series of the season, beginning in Stephenville next weekend with Grand Canyon.