STEPHENVILLE, Texas – Tarleton baseball is set for its third Western Athletic Conference series of the season this weekend at UTRGV.
 
Tarleton will play its first game of the week as they did not have a midweek contest. The Texans will be looking to work their way back up in the WAC standings after having just played four conference games thus far.
 
All three games will be streamed on ESPN+.
 
The Teams: Tarleton Texans (14-8, 1-3 WAC) at UTRGV Vaqueros (12-11, 1-2 WAC)
Where: Edinburg, Texas
Stadium: UTRGV Stadium
Day and Time: Friday at 6:30 p.m. CT; Saturday at 6:30 p.m. CT; Sunday at 12 p.m. CT
Streaming Platform: ESPN+

PROBABLE STARTING PITCHERS (March 24-26):
FRI: TAR RHP Hunter Day (Jr., 30.0 IP, 2-0, 3.00 ERA) vs. UTRGV LHP Randy Garza (So., 19.2 IP, 0-1, 7.32 ERA)
SAT: TAR RHP Grant Garza (Jr., 15.2 IP, 2-1, 5.17 ERA) vs. UTRGV RHP Angelo Cabral (Jr., 29.1 IP, 4-0, 2.45 ERA)
SUN: TAR RHP Peyton Hutson (Sr., 6.1 IP, 0-0, 2.84 ERA) vs. UTRGV RHP Colten Davis Gr., 31.2 IP, 3-2, 3.98 ERA)
 
 Matchup Notes
 
•  Tarleton and UTRGV will meet this weekend in Edinburg for the Texans third WAC series of the season.
•  The Texans and Vaqueros have played 10 previous times at the D1 level, with UTRGV holding a 6-4 advantage. Last season, Tarleton swept UTRGV at home from March 18-20 and UTRGV swept the Texans in Edinburg from April 29-May 1.
•  The Texans did not play in a midweek game this week and played just once this past weekend vs. Utah Valley as two games of the series were canceled due to inclement weather in Orem. The Texans lost 7-6 in the lone game with the Wolverines.
•  UTRGV's last game out was a 6-5 loss to the Texas State Bobcats at UTRGV Stadium in Edinburg.
•  Tarleton is just 1-6 all-time at UTRGV Stadium, being swept last season and losing three of four in the 2021 season.
•          The Texans return to Stephenville following this series for a midweek game on Tuesday with TCU before hosting in state rival Stephen F. Austin at the newly renovated Tarleton Baseball Complex Friday-Sunday.
 
Quick Hits
•  Tarleton will once again shakeup its weekend pitching rotation for this series. Typical Sunday starter Hunter Day, the Texans best arm on the mound this season, has shifted to the Friday night role this weekend. Tarleton is 5-0 in games Day has started. Following that, two Texans will be making their first starts of the season on Saturday and Sunday. Grant Garza, one of the Texans most used arms out of the bullpen, will get the ball on Saturday. On Sunday, Peyton Hutson will start. The senior Lubbock Christian transfer has a 2.84 ERA in 6.1 innings pitched.
•  Kooper Shook has been impressive at the plate in Tarleton's four conference games this season. He leads the team with seven hits and a .467 average in WAC games, as well as four RBI and three stolen bases.
•  Mason Hammonds has been a consistent force with a bat in his hands for Tarleton. The leadoff hitter and shortstop is currently on a 20-game reached base streak and leads the team with 10 multi-hit games.
•  Prior to the UVU game, Jack Wagner held a seven-game hit streak. Wagner leads the WAC in slugging (.794) and is second in on-base percentage (.511).
 
Notables

WAC LEADERBOARDS
Jack Wagner leads the WAC in slugging (.794) and is second in on-base percentage (.511). Kooper Shook leads the league in stolen bases with 15. Mason Hammonds leads the WAC in triples with four.
 
STACKING UP IN THE WAC
Tarleton leads the Western Athletic Conference in team batting average (.316), slugging (.524), on-base percentage (.434), runs scored (207), triples (13) and stolen bases (53).. They are second in RBI (173),  third in doubles (51) and total bases (375) and fourth in walks (115).
 
FRESHMAN COMING IN STRONG
Stephenville native and true freshman LHP Reece Elston has made a strong impact out of the Texan bullpen thus far in 2023. In six appearances, the lefty has allowed just one earned run, striking out 12 and walking seven.  Opponents are hitting .167 off him and he holds a 2-0 record.
 
FACILITY UPGRADES
    The Tarleton Baseball Complex saw a significant facelift in the offseason. Capacity was increased with the complex now seating over 1,000. A cantilever roof structure providing cover was added and a new press box was installed. This comes after new turf, lights and outfield wall were installed prior to the 2022 season. This scope was phase two for the baseball facility that will continue to see renovations over the coming months.
 
DIVISIONS NO LONGER
    After playing in the Southwest Division of the WAC in 2022, the conference moved to scrap the divisions ahead of 2023. The Texans will play GCU, NM State, California Baptist, Seattle U, Utah Valley and newcomer UT Arlington this season, teams they did not see in 2022.
 
WAC PRESEASON POLL
       Tarleton was chosen to finish 10th out of 13 schools in the WAC preseason poll. The poll was released on February 10.  The Texans received 40 total votes and slotted in ahead of Utah Valley, Seattle U and Stephen F. Austin. Grand Canyon was picked to win the league, followed by Sam Houston and California Baptist.
 
PRESEASON RECOGNITION
       Three Texans saw their names on preseason 2023 MLB Draft prospect lists released this preseason. RHP Will Stevens came in as the No. 11 2023 MLB Draft prospect in the WAC by D1Baseball.com. He was followed by LHP Dylan Delvecchio at No. 22. Jordan Andrade was rated as the No. 10 2023 MLB Draft prospect in the WAC by Perfect Game. All three players are transfers new to the team in 2023. Stevens is a Kansas City, Mo. native that played last season at Wichita State. Delvecchio comes to Stephenville by way of Palomar College in California, a juco. Andrade transferred to the Texans following a three-year stint at UNLV and figures to see time at second base and shortstop.
 
TRANSFER PORTAL
The Texans added 17 newcomers to the roster via the transfer portal. 10 come from the junior college ranks while seven come from other four year universities.
 
A STORY TO WATCH
Grant Kerry is a newcomer to the Texan roster in 2023 after playing the last two seasons at Northwest Nazarene, a D2 school in Idaho. Kerry was born in Hong Kong, his family hails from England and he has lived in Kuwait, Australia and the United States. He played his high school ball in Australia before coming to the United States to play for a Boise State baseball program that was revived in 2019 after being dormant since 1980. After the covid-19 pandemic hit and the Broncos had played just 14 games, Boise State officials moved to cut the baseball program, citing budget issues. Kerry transferred to NNU where he was an All-American and helped lead them to the Division 2 World Series in 2021. Kerry is a utility player that could see time at first base as well as in the outfield.
 
BIG TIME BASEBALL IN STEPHENVILLE
Tarleton will host the likes of Oral Roberts (March 14), TCU (April 4), NM State (April 21-23), Grand Canyon (May 5-7), Baylor (May 16), and Sam Houston (May 18-20) this year at the newly renovated Tarleton Baseball Complex.
 
PLAYING FOR POSTSEASON
The Western Athletic Conference announced that for the 2022-2023 calendar year, Tarleton Athletics will now be postseason eligible for all conference postseason events despite the Texans being in year three of a reclassification period from Division 2. That means that if the Texans finish in the top eight of the WAC standings, they will travel to Mesa, Arizona, to participate in the 2023 WAC Baseball Tournament at Hohokam Stadium.
 
FRESHMEN
       Tarleton added six true freshmen to its roster ahead of the 2023 season. Five of the six hail from the great state of Texas. Tyson Drake is an outfielder that won the 2022 Texas 6A state championship at Southlake Carroll. Landry McKittrick led Godley to a regional semifinal appearance in 2021, hitting .427. Reece Elston hails from Stephenville where he was an all-state pitcher and all-state wide receiver. Tyler Sudderth struck out 70, holding a 2.22 ERA his senior season at Granbury. Breck Bradshaw played at Lake Dallas HS and shined for the travel ball team USA Prime. Dominic Corgiat played at Fenwick HS in Illinois where he was ranked the No. 15 LHP in the state in 2022 by Perfect Game.
 
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+ for the first time ever.
 
BEHIND THE DISH
  Last season the Texans featured two catchers primarily. Mason Crews and Jaime Perez each started 19 games as both missed time with injury. The 2023 season has been much of the same as Crews has started 10 games and Perez 12.

GREAT PLAINS TO THE COWBOY CAPITAL
Redshirt junior utility player Jack Wagner has seen his fair share of experience at the Division 1 level. He spent four seasons as a member of the Kansas Jayhawks in the Big 12. Wagner missed last season due to an injury and took a redshirt, but prior to that he performed well in Lawrence. As a redshirt sophomore in 2021, he appeared in 43 games, starting 31 and hit .257 with 17 RBI and a .385 on-base percentage. Thus far in 2023 for Tarleton, Wagner has impressed, leading the Texans with 26 RBI, six home runs and has 21 runs scored.
 
NEXT UP 
Tarleton will return home to host TCU on Tuesday for its Military Appreciation Day with first pitch slated for 6:30 p.m. The game will be streamed on ESPN+.