The Teams: Tarleton Texans (18-16, 3-3 WAC) vs. Grambling State Tigers (19-11-1, 6-3 SWAC); California Baptist Lancers (19-13, 3-3 WAC)
Where: Stephenville, TX
Stadium: Tarleton Softball Stadium
Times: 12 p.m. / 2:30 p.m. CT (Wednesday); 4 p.m. / 6:30 p.m. CT (Friday); 12 p.m. CT (Saturday)
Video: ESPN+
 
TEXAN SOFTBALL GAME DAY
Tarleton will be back home for the first time since March 14 this week when they play host to five games against Grambling State and California Baptist. The weekend series against CBU will be the home WAC opener.
 
Friday's game against CBU will be "Purple Out" and Tarleton Athletics will be giving away 100 free visors. Live stats and video on ESPN+ will be available for all games.
 
SERIES HISTORY

• After opening WAC play with back-to-back road trips, Tarleton is home in Stephenville for four games this week including their first home league series.
• On Wednesday, Tarleton hosts Grambling State in the first-ever meeting between the Texans and Tigers. The doubleheader was originally scheduled for Tuesday; however, rain pushed the Tigers' weekend series against Prairie View A&M to Sunday-Monday. The game was moved to give the Tigers a day between contests.
• Tarleton and California Baptist will meet for the first time since 2021 when the Lancers were also the first home WAC series of the year for the Texans. Tarleton hosted CBU and won the series 2-1 with back-to-back walk-off wins. The first was 14-5 when Jordan Dickerson ended it early with a walk-off grand slam. The series finale was a 3-2 thriller that Katy Schaefer ended in a more traditional walk-off way: an RBI single to score Georgia Capell. CBU won the series opener in 2021 with a 1-0 pitching duel between Kerisa Viramontes and Tristan Bridges.

 
QUICK HITS

• The last time CBU came to Stephenville, Jordan Dickerson enjoyed quite the weekend. Dickerson hit .500 for that series (4-8) with two runs scored and five RBI. She also hit her first career walk-off – a grand slam to cap a 14-5 victory in five and even the series.
• Tarleton returns four hitters from the starting lineup against CBU in 2021. Morgan Medford, Jordan Dickerson, MacKenzie Peterson, and Katy Schaefer started all three games against CBU two years ago. The four combined to hit .353 (12-24) with 14 RBI and 10 runs scored.
• Tristan Bridges pitched in all three games of Tarleton's last series against CBU. Bridges started games one and three of the series, throwing complete games in both starts, while also throwing 1.1 innings of relief in game two. Bridges has a 1.39 ERA in 15.1 innings against CBU in her career with three strikeouts and six hits allowed.
• Austin Germain has been one of the best in the nation at collecting two-base hits. The sophomore from San Antonio leads the team with 13 doubles in the 32 games she's played. Her average of 0.41 doubles per game would rank her No. 14 in the nation. She is second in the WAC behind only NM State's Kendal Lunar (0.48), who is No. 5 in the nation.
• Katy Schaefer and Austin Germain are among the best in the nation in being the toughest to strikeout. The two have combined for only 10 strikeouts this season in 172 total at bats.
• Tarleton returns home to the friendly confines of the Tarleton Softball Complex where the Texans are 10-3 this season. At home, the Texans are hitting .334 and outscoring opponents 62-30. Katy Schaefer (.538), Austin Germain (.471), and Kelci Hill (.450) have played and started in all 13 home games this season and are all hitting .450 or higher at home. Grace Garcia leads the pitching staff with a 4-1 home record and a 1.86 ERA in Stephenville.
• The difference between winning and losing for Tarleton this season has come at the plate. When Tarleton wins a game, the Texans have seven hitters in the lineup with a .300 batting average or higher in at least 30 at bats. When Tarleton loses a game, the Texans have only one player hitting over .300 in total.
• In the circle, the difference between wins and losses have shown in the walk column. In Tarleton's 18 wins this season, Tarleton has walked 39 batters. In the 13 losses, the Texans have walked 91.

 
BROADCASTING ON THE WORLDWIDE LEADER

• Part of the latest renovations to the Tarleton Baseball Complex and Tarleton Softball Complex included the capability to match ESPN standards of multiple camera angles on the broadcast. With that, Tarleton will stream select 2023 baseball and softball home games on ESPN+.
• Over the last two years and this past week, Tarleton has broadcast all their baseball and softball home games on WAC International, formerly called WAC Digital Network. Due to specific renovations regarding the ability to have added camera angles, Texan games can now reach a larger audience on the ESPN platform.

 
A LOOK AT THE WAC

• Tarleton was chosen to finish sixth in the WAC Preseason Poll released on February 2. The Texans received 62 total votes, which was two votes ahead of ACU. Grand Canyon was picked at the top of the conference with Seattle U (2), SFA (3), California Baptist (4), and Utah Valley (5) finishing ahead of the Texans.
• On Feb. 20, Katy Schaefer and Grace Garcia were named the Western Athletic Conference Hitter and Pitcher of the Week for their dominant showings last week. This is the first WAC Player of the Week award for both players. Schaefer couldn't be stopped at the plate and led the Texans with a .650 (13-20) batting average while driving in nine RBI, including one home run and four doubles. Garcia went 3-0 with an ERA of 0.00 over 13.2 innings, allowing zero runs on five hits, with 10 strikeouts and zero walks. She pitched two shutouts and improved to 4-0 on the season. She capped off her week with a six-inning perfect game on Sunday against Texas A&M-Commerce. It was the second perfect game in program history and first since 1997.
• Garcia got the nod from the league office for the second time this season on Monday, March 20 after a stellar performance in the Pacific Northwest. The senior right-hander bested Seattle U, not once but, twice to lift the Texans to a series win. For the week, she threw 16.2 innings of work and struck out seven. She is the second Tarleton pitcher to win the WAC Pitcher of the Week award twice in the same season.
• Two weeks into league play, there are eight teams sitting at .500 or better in conference play. The Texans are one of four teams sitting at 3-3 through the first two weekends on WAC games while three teams are at 4-2 and Utah Tech is 5-1 after series against Abilene Christian and New Mexico State.

 
BRIDGES CLIMBING THE ALL-TIME STRIKEOUT LIST
Tristan Bridges begins the season among the Tarleton top-10 list for strikeouts. The senior enters the week with 378 career strikeouts. She now has her sights set on Caryn Holbrook at No. 4 with 384.
 

Strikeouts
#	Player	Seasons	Total
1.	Jordan Withrow	2017-20	676
2.	Carla Geeslin	2001-04	521
3.	Randi Fentress	2011-14	445
4.	Caryn Holbrook	1997-00	384
5.	Tristan Bridges	2019-22	378
6.	Samantha Swanda	2011-12	349
7.	Haley Freyman	2015-18	333
8.	Brooke Saulters	2007-08	320
9.	A.J. Bristow	2003-05	280
10.	Jill Ratliff	1999-02	276

 
OVER 500 INNINGS FOR BRIDGES
Tristan Bridges has been a mainstay in the pitching circle for Tarleton since day one. The senior surpassed the 500-inning plateau. She reached her 500th inning with a swinging strikeout to lead off the bottom of the third inning against Tulsa on March 3. Only seven pitchers in Tarleton history have thrown 500 innings.
 

Innings Pitched
#	Player	Seasons	Total
1.	Haley Freyman	2015-18	678.0
2.	Carla Geeslin	2001-04	647.1
3.	Jordan Withrow	2017-20	608.0
4.	Randi Fentress	2011-14	563.0
5.	Jill Ratliff	1999-02	558.0
6.	Caryn Holbrook	1997-00	554.0
7.	Tristan Bridges	2019-22	530.2
8.	A.J. Bristow	2003-05	474.0
9.	Brooke Saulters	2007-08	423.0
10.	Samantha Swanda	2011-12	356.2

 
MEDFORD MAKES THE PLAY
In game two of the series at Seattle U, Morgan Medford became the sixth player in Tarleton history to record 300 career defensive assists. She is currently No. 6 all-time and is chasing the all-time leader, Kelly Siskowski, at 367.
 

Defensive Assists
#	Player	Seasons	Total
1.	Kelly Siskowski	1996-99	367
2.	Nicole Cone	2006-09	358
3.	Cheryl Dickens	2000-03	343
4.	Jennifer Cervenka	1996-99	330
5.	Arianna Rodriguez	2010-13	322
6.	Morgan Medford	2020-22	306
7.	Jalayne Rinewalt	1996-99	296
8.	Savannah Stech	2015-17	288
9.	April Gonzalez	2007-10	280
10.	Delaney Wayland	2015-17	263

 
 
TURNING THINGS AROUND QUICKLY
The Texans' 30 wins in 2022 highlighted an incredible turn of events for Tarleton, who won only 17 games in its debut Division I season in 2021. The Texans enjoyed a 12.0 game improvement, which was the 17th best in NCAA Division I from 2021 to 2022. The programs with at least an 11.5 game improvement are as follows:
 

Biggest Turnaround from 2021 to 2022
Rank	School	Head Coach	'21 W-L	'22 W-L	Imp.
1.	Penn St.	Clarisa Crowell	7-34	32-22	18½
2.	Boise St.	Justin Shults	20-25	40-10	17½
3.	Grand Canyon	Shanon Hays	19-30	39-16	17
4.	Murray St.	Kara Amundson	22-29	40-18	14½
	South Dakota	Robert Wagner	13-39	28-25	14½
6.	Belmont	Laura Matthews	15-26	33-17	13½
	Louisiana Tech	Josh Taylor	22-30	39-20	13½
	North Florida	Marcie Higgs	21-23	42-17	13½
9.	Fla. Atlantic	Joan Joyce	12-35	29-26	13
	Georgia Tech	Aileen Morales	20-26	38-18	13
	Omaha	Mike Heard	20-28	32-14	13
	USC Upstate	Chris Hawkins	29-17	48-10	13
13.	Nebraska	Rhonda Revelle	22-22	41-16	12½
	New Mexico	Paula Congleton	10-36	26-27	12½
	Presbyterian	David Williams	15-19	36-15	12½
	UNCW	Kristy Norton	15-23	32-15	12½
17.	Akron	Meaggan Pettipiece	8-46	18-32	12
	Samford	Kimball Cassady	18-27	34-19	12
	Tarleton St.	Mark Cumpian	17-36	30-25	12
20.	Oregon St.	Laura Berg	20-26	39-22	11½
	Rutgers	Kristen Butler	8-36	25-30	11½
To determine games improved, add the difference in victories between the two seasons to the difference in losses, then divide by two. Ties not counted. This includes postseason play.

 
CUMPIAN JOINS ELITE TEXAN COACHING COMPANY
It hasn't taken long, but Mark Cumpian has already climbed to the elite status of Tarleton Athletics coaches. With his 200th career win last Sunday, Cumpian is the eighth head coach in Tarleton Athletics history (seventh with NCAA wins during their tenure) to reach the 200-win milestone. He is the fourth-fastest coach at Tarleton to reach the milestone and the fastest among baseball or softball coaches to reach the plateau.
 

Fastest Tarleton Coach to 200 Wins
#	Coach	Sport	Games to Reach 200
1.	Jan Lowery (all NAIA)	W. Basketball	277
2.	Ronnie Hearne	W. Basketball	299
3.	Lonn Reisman	M. Basketball	307
4.	Mark Cumpian	Softball	316
5.	Jack Allen	Baseball	330
	Julie Mata	Softball	330
7.	Mary Schindler	Volleyball	339
8.	Bryan Conger	Baseball	350

 
NOTABLES

• CUMPIAN AGAINST THE SWAC: Mark Cumpian enters this week's game with a 12-0 record against teams from the SWAC conference. This will be Cumpian's first time to square off against Grambling State.
• SCHAEFER ECLIPSES 100 RBI: Katy Schaefer is entering Tarleton elite territory as an all-time run producer. The Sweeny, Texas native drove in her 100th career RBI with a run-scoring single up the middle on March 5 against Maine. Schaefer is tied for No. 9 on the Tarleton all-time list and is five RBI away from entering the top 5.
• RUN HOME, MORGAN MEDFORD: Morgan Medford already holds the Tarleton record for runs scored in a single game and now she has top-10 all-time in that category for her resumé. With a run scored against Houston, Morgan Medford passed Amanda Smith for No. 10 all-time with 107 runs scored. She is two runs away from tying Kelli Gayle (2006-08) for No. 9.
• BETTER TOGETHER: Mark Cumpian and Stefanie Phillips have reached the decade mark of time spent together. The two joined forces as assistants in 2014. They spent three seasons as assistant coaches together before Cumpian took over as head coach. They have been together for 498 games and have a record of 291-207 (.574)  together. Game No. 2 of Wednesday's doubleheader against Grambling will be the duo's 500th game together on the Tarleton coaching staff.
• CUMPIAN AMONG THE BEST: While reclassifying programs are not counted among the national records and yearly record books, Tarleton head coach Mark Cumpian would be considered among the elite coaches in the nation. The seventh-year head coach enters the week with a career record of 209-129 for a win percentage of .618, which would rank him among the top 50 active coaches in the country for win percentage.
• EYEING 30 AGAIN: Tarleton is coming off its first 30-win season as a member of NCAA Division I. The Texans reached 30 wins by winning the second game of the National Invitational Softball Championship (NISC) in Fort Collins, Colo. last May. The Texans' invitation to compete in the NISC marked the first postseason invitation for any program at the Division I level for Tarleton State University. The Texans are 12 wins away from 30 this season with 22 games left on the schedule in the regular season.
• REACHING 20 WINS: In Tarleton's 28 seasons of playing fastpitch softball, the Texans have now recorded 20 wins in 24 of them. It's the second 20-win season for Tarleton at the NCAA Division I level. The 2020 season had Tarleton with a 19-4 record when the season ended due to COVID-19, snapping a streak of 22 straight seasons of 20+ wins.
• THAT EPIC SUNDAY WIN: On Sunday, Feb. 19, Tarleton enjoyed quite the afternoon. Grace Garcia became the second pitcher in program history to throw a perfect game. She went 18 up and 18 down over six innings to defeat Texas A&M-Commerce 8-0. She joins Caryn Holbrook (3/29/97) as the only Texans with a perfect game in program history. Mark Cumpian became just the seventh head coach of any sport in Tarleton State Athletics history to win 200 games for Tarleton. He notched career win No. 200 in his 316th game at the helm of Texan Softball. Not to be lost in the shuffle of Cumpian's milestone win and Garcia's perfecto, the Texan offense set a new school record with seven doubles in Sunday's game. The previous record of six was set in 1997 and has been matched five times since, most recently in 2017.
• WINNING AT THE PLATE: When Tarleton pushes runs across, good things happen for the purple and white. The Texans are 17-2 this season when scoring at least three runs in a game, including a perfect 13-0 record when scoring six or more runs.
• SCORING FIRST: The first run of the game has been a tale-tell sign for the outcome of Tarleton games this season. Tarleton is 13-4 when scoring first this season and 5-12 when they allow their opponents to get the first run of the game. Tarleton is also 11-3 on the season when they score in the first inning.

 
UP NEXT FOR TARLETON
Tarleton will play four games on the road next week with North Texas and Abilene Christian. Tarleton will make the trip to Denton for a single game Tuesday night against the Mean Green before heading to Abilene for a weekend WAC series against the Wildcats.