The Teams: Tarleton Texans (17-33, 5-9 WAC) vs. Utah Valley Wolverines (20-26, 5-10 WAC)
Where: Orem, Utah
Stadium: Wolverine Field (Friday-Saturday)
Times: 11:00 a.m. CT (Friday); 11 a.m. / 1:30 p.m. CT (Saturday)
 
TEXAN SOFTBALL GAME DAY
Tarleton will close out is inaugural Division I softball season with its second Utah road trip of the season with a three-game series in Orem against Utah Valley. Due to graduation ceremonies at UVU, the series has been altered from its originally scheduled format and will now consist of an 11 a.m. CT / 10 a.m. MT single game on Friday and a doubleheader on Saturday beginning at the same time.
 
ABOUT THE MATCHUPS

• This will be the first meeting between Tarleton and Utah Valley on the softball diamond.
• Utah Valley is just the second team from the state of Utah that Tarleton has faced in program history, joining Dixie State earlier this season.

 
QUICK HITS

• In conference games this season, Tarleton has five .300 hitters with Georgia Capell leading the way at .350 in 14 games. Bailee Riggs (.348), Jordan Dickerson (.333), Katy Schaefer (.304) and Alexis Hoang (.300) are also hitting .300 or above in WAC play.
• In games against schools outside of the Big XII this season, Katy Schaefer is hitting a scorching .345 with seven home runs and 32 RBI.
• Tarleton's only road WAC win of the season thus far has come in the state of Utah – an 11-5 win in the series finale against Dixie State. The Texans have only played two road conference series prior to this weekend.

 
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 in the top half of Division I softball with their strength of schedule. The complete WAC RPI rankings are below:
 

#	School	SOS Rank	RPI Rank
1.	Tarleton	101	194
2.	NM State	150	103
3.	California Baptist	190	199
4.	Dixie State	194	207
5.	Seattle U	215	126
6.	Grand Canyon	217	211
7.	Utah Valley	242	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
1.	M. Medford	AST	102
2.	T. Bridges	IP	160.0
2.	T. Bridges	CG	18
4.	G. Capell	AB	148
5.	K. Schaefer	RBI	35
5.	T. Bridges	W	10
5.	M. Peterson	PO	214

 
NOTABLES

• LOOKING FOR A THIRD PLACE FINISH: Tarleton has a mathematical chance to finish as high as third in the conference standings. Tarleton would need a sweep of UVU and series losses from Grand Canyon (vs Seattle) and California Baptist (vs NM State).
• 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 78 games since the beginning of the 2019 postseason and 63 of those have been away from Stephenville. The Texans are 28-35 in road games since May 3, 2019 and 10-5 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. She enters the weekend as the program's all-time leader in runs (175), home runs (50) and total bases (416) and is top 5 in program history in four other offensive categories: RBI (162), doubles (53) and hit by pitch (44). 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. She is now tied for the program's all-time lead in runs scored with Melody Mayse (175).
• DRIVE 'EM HOME: Georgia Capell has moved into sole possession of second place on Tarleton's all-time RBI list. She is 29 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. She enters the weekend with 416 total bases.
• FIFTY TIMES AROUND THE BASES: With a grand slam against Grand Canyon on May 1, Georgia Capell became the first softball player in Tarleton history to hit 50 career home runs. She joined Tarleton Baseball Hall of Famer, Mike Cantu, as the only two players in the history of diamond sports (baseball and softball) at Tarleton State University to hit 50 long balls while wearing the purple and the white. Texan Baseball star Mike Cantu is the baseball program's all-time home run leader with 58 roundtrippers from 1988-91. Capell is the softball program's all-time leader.
• RIGGS STEPPING UP: Bailee Riggs has started 24 of the last 25 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 .321 average.
• WALK-OFF WINNERS: Each of Tarleton's last five wins have come by walk-off. Jordan Dickerson and Katy Schaefer have each accounted for two of them. Dickerson's grand slam in the fifth inning to complete a run-rule walk-off against California Baptist on April 9 was the first and Katy Schaefer followed with a game-winning single the next day. Dickerson did it again against UNT on April 21 and Georgia Capell added one with a game-winning double in the series opener against Seattle. Schaefer ended last Saturday's game against GCU early with a three-run HR to compete an 11-1 win.
• CREATING NEW RIVALRIES: In Tarleton's first year of NCAA Division I, the Texans have squared off against a slew of new opponents. Including the opponents this week and Utah Valley next week, Tarleton has 26 different opponents on the schedule this season and 21 of them will be the first meeting in program history.