THE MATCHUP
 
The Teams: Tarleton Texans (2-2, 0-0 WAC) vs. Eastern Illinois Panthers (1-2, 0-0 OVC)
 
Dates & Times: 5 p.m. CT on Saturday, Feb. 26, 2/5 p.m. CT on Sunday Feb. 27, 1 p.m. CT on Monday, Feb. 28
 
Location: Tarleton Baseball Complex in Stephenville, Texas.
 
TEXAN BASEBALL GAME DAY
The Tarleton Texan baseball team returns to the field for a weekend series with Eastern Illinois following a 1-0 victory on Tuesday over UIW.
 
The series between the teams was pushed back by a day due to the weather and dangerous travel conditions for EIU.
 
The forecast projects chilly temperatures in Stephenville over the weekend. The series opener on Saturday looks to be in the early 30-degree range. The final three games should bring slightly warmer temperatures.
 
GAME COVERAGE & TICKETS
Fans can access a live stream of the games at wacdigitalnetwork.com. All that is required is to create an account. Links to the stream as well as live stats can be found on the baseball schedule page on TarletonSports.com. Fans can purchase season or individual game tickets online at TarletonSports.com/Tickets, by going to the baseball schedule page and following the links, or by purchasing them in person at the Tarleton Athletic Ticket Office on the west side of Memorial Stadium.
 
SERIES NOTES
 
• Tarleton takes on Eastern Illinois this weekend at home for a four-game series. The series is one of two that will include a doubleheader this season with the other coming on Friday, April 15, as ST. Thomas (MN) takes on the Texans at the Tarleton Baseball Complex.

• Tarleton and EIU will play one game Saturday, a twin bill on Sunday, and the final game on Monday.

• Eastern Illinois is coming off a series in Little Rock vs. UALR where they finished 1-2. The Panthers play their first 19 games of the season on the road.

• The game on Saturday will be the first in program history between the schools.

• Outfielder Nathan Aide led the Panthers offensively over the weekend vs. Little Rock. He hit .385 with five hits, three RBI, two doubles and a home run. Utility player Ryan Ignoffo hit .333 with four hits and four RBI.

• As a team the Panthers hit .206. They walked 16 times versus 21 strikeouts.

• EIU's projected starters are, Game 1: Blake Malatestinic, Game 2: Cameron Doherty, Game 3: Jesse Wainscott, Game 4: TBA.

• This is Tarleton's final home series before they embark on a seven-game road trip. They head to Missouri for a three-game series, to Texas A&M for a midweek game and to Sam Houston for their first WAC series of the season.
 
QUICK HITS
 
• Two newcomers, both juco transfers, have had impressive seasons at the plate for the Texans so far. Junior utility player Carter Dobrinski is hitting .538 with seven hits, four runs scored, three walks and three RBI. He played the first two games at DH and the next two in left field. Sophomore outfielder Alec Williams has manned the leadoff spot all season and hit .333 with four hits, two RBI and two runs scored. He played the first game in left field but slotted over to center for the next three.

• True freshman LHP Aiden Adams made his first career start on Sunday vs. UTSA and did not disappoint. The Bryant, Ark. native threw 4.0 scoreless innings, allowing only two hits to gain the first win of his collegiate career. The 4.0 innings is the most a Tarleton starter has pitched in the first four games.

• The Texans bullpen had a rough outing on Friday vs. UTSA but has been on point since. On Saturday vs. UTSA, sophomore Beau Ross threw 3.0 innings of one run baseball, striking out four and allowing only one hit. True freshman Jake Burcham finished the game off pitching 2.1 innings with zero ER and one hit allowed. Sunday the combination of Zane Badmaev and Matthew Hickey threw a combined 3.0 innings allowing one run (Badmaev) to shut the door on UTSA in the run-rule victory.

• In the win over UIW, Isiah Campa threw 6.0 innings of scoreless baseball in relief, striking out six. He earned the win and Matthew Hickey earned the save.

• Tarleton has pitched 15 of their 18 pitchers so far.

• Sophomore catcher Mason Crews has caught all but one inning for the Texans this season. He threw out a UIW runner attempting to steal second base for the final out of the game. He has an on-base percentage of .385.

• As a team thus far in the season, Tarleton has hit .260, totaled 33 hits and seven doubles, walked 19 times, and had an on-base percentage of .360. They have five multi-run innings.
 
 WAC UPDATES
 
NEW LOOK WAC: After finishing 7th out of 10 teams in its inaugural season in the WAC, Tarleton will now compete in the Southwest division as the conference split into two divisions after the addition of four fellow Texas universities. Abilene Christian, Lamar, Sam Houston and Stephen F. Austin begin their first year of competition in the WAC in 2022, joining Tarleton and UTRGV.

WAC PRESEASON POLL: Tarleton was chosen to finish sixth out of six schools in the WAC preseason poll for the Southwest division. The poll was released on February 9. The Texans received seven total votes.

NEW WAC ADDITIONS: Starting on July 1, 2022, the Western Athletic Conference will add two more Texas universities to the fold. University of the Incarnate Word and UT-Arlington will join the conference to run the total of Texas universities to eight. UIW is coming from the Southland Conference and UTA from the Sun Belt Conference. With Sam Houston set for a July 1, 2023, departure to Conference USA, the conference will sit at seven in the Southwest Division for the 2023-2024 season.

CONFERENCE DOUBLEHEADERS NO MORE: COVID-19 played a part in the 2021 season, forcing some conferences including the WAC to schedule four game conference series with doubleheaders on Saturday. 2022 should bring some normalcy back to the college baseball landscape as the WAC and most other Dl conferences are back on the traditional three game Fri./Sat./Sun. series.
 
NOTABLES
• PRESEASON HONORS: Perfect Game USA named senior outfielder London Green and junior right-handed pitcher Bryce Hackett to its preseason All-WAC team. D1Baseball.com named the duo to its list of top 2022 MLB draft prospects in the WAC. Green came in at No. 8 with Hackett following behind at No. 18. D1Baseball also ranked freshman pitcher Kyler Mentzel No. 2 on its "Impact Freshman" in the WAC list. Tarleton did not have any players selected to the All-WAC preseason team which is voted on by the league's coaches.
• TRANSFER PORTAL: Of the Texans 18 newcomers for the 2022 season, five of them come from other DI schools (Boyd, Campa, Crews, Daniell & E. Turnage) and five come from junior college (Dobrinski, Hickey, Kurahashi-Choy Foo, Ross and Williams). The class garnered recognition from Baseball America on their "Notable Under-The-Radar 2021 College Baseball Recruiting Classes" write-up.
• HOT ON THE RECRUITING TRAIL: Speaking of newcomers, the Tarleton coaching staff hit the recruiting trail hard this past season in pursuit of signing an instant impact 2021 class. There were seven freshman who signed with the Texans as well as ten transfers. The freshman class was also mentioned in the Baseball America "Notable Under-The-Radar 2021 College Baseball Recruiting Classes" write-up.
• YOUNG BUT STILL THE BOSS: Tarleton head coach Aaron Meade is the fifth-youngest NCAA D1 baseball coach in the country at 33 years and 292 days of age as of Feb. 18, 2022. Meade pitched in the minor leagues for four years and was an assistant coach at the NCAA D1 and D2 level for a combined six years before becoming the head man at Tarleton.
• CUTTING OUR TEETH: Tarleton is in its second season at the Dl level, but their schedule is as tough as many other experienced programs. The Texans take on five different Power 5 opponents in the 2022 season. Early in the season Tarleton has a stretch of five straight games against Power 5 opponents as they host Washington State (March 2), have a series at Missouri in Columbus (March 4-6), and head back to Bryan-College Station to play Texas A&M for a second consecutive season (March 8).
• RETURNING FIREPOWER: Three Texans on this season's roster garnered honorable mention All-WAC in 2021. Bryan Aguilar, Kemuel Thomas-Rivera and London Green figure to lead the Texan offense this season as they accounted for nearly 30 percent of Tarleton's hits last season.
• FACILITIES UPGRADES: Tarleton installed Hellas Matrix Turf on its baseball and softball field and all bullpen areas before the 2022 season. Surrounding the new turf is brand-new, 10-feet high Champion Wall in the outfield and six-feet high, vinyl-coated chain-link fencing down the foul lines. The baseball field extends up to 16-feet high in center field for the batter's eye. The project also included a new Ephesus LED Lighting system at both fields. The upgraded lighting system enhances both venues and meets the requirements for hosting NCAA regional broadcasts.
 
UP NEXT FOR TARLETON
The Texans will welcome Washington State to the Tarleton Baseball Complex on Wednesday, March 2. First pitch is set for 6:30 p.m. CT. Tickets can be purchased here.