The Teams: Tarleton Texans (22-21, 6-6 WAC) vs. New Mexico State Aggies (17-17, 6-6 WAC)
Where: Stephenville, TX
Stadium: Tarleton Softball Complex
Times: 4 p.m. / 6:30 p.m. CT (Friday); 12 p.m. CT (Saturday)
Video: ESPN+
 
TEXAN SOFTBALL GAME DAY
Tarleton is back home for another WAC series this weekend when the Texans (22-21, 6-6 WAC) play host to the New Mexico State Aggies (17-17, 6-6 WAC) for a three game series Friday and Saturday.
 
Live stats will be available for all games and the entire series will be streamed on ESPN+.
 
AT THE BALLPARK

• Saturday's game will be Purple Up! Day and fans will receive free purple rally towels, while supplies last.
• It is also 'Bark at the Park' sponsored by the Dapper Dog where Tarleton Athletics will be giving away frisbees and purple tennis balls for Texan canine friends.

 
SERIES HISTORY

• This series will be the first time New Mexico State visits Stephenville. The teams met for the first time in program history in 2021 when the Texans were swept in Las Cruces during their inaugural Division I season. The teams did not meet last season when they were part of separate divisions of the WAC.
• Despite it being New Mexico State's first time visiting Stephenville, it will be the second time playing in Stephenville for NM State head coach Kathy Rodolph. The 20-year veteran coach of the Aggies spent two seasons as the first head coach in Angelo State softball history, which is a former Division II rival of Tarleton State. In 2002 with Rodolph at the helm of the Rambelles, Angelo State played their first games in Stephenville and Tarleton won the series 2-1 on April 5-6, 2002.

 
QUICK HITS

• Tarleton has seven players who played against New Mexico State the last time these teams met in Las Cruces: Katy Schaefer, Jordan Dickerson, Morgan Medford, MacKenzie Peterson, and Alexis Hoang were in the lineup while Tristan Bridges and Makenzie Dunbar saw action in the circle. Schaefer leads the returning players with a career .375 batting average against NM State and three RBI.
• Tarleton enters the weekend with two players among the top-15 in the conference in batting average. Katy Schaefer (.364) and Kelci Hill (.359) lead the Texans and rank No. 12 and 13, respectively, in the WAC.
• Kayla Wallace has risen to new heights in the Texan lineup over the last 10 games. The junior from Flower Mound is hitting .500 in a team-high 30 at bats over the last 10 games. She is 15-for-30 with six runs scored, two doubles, a triple, a home run, and four RBI. She has also swiped two bases and totaled a team-leading 22 bases. Wallace isn't the only Texan posting big numbers at the dish. Over the last 10 games, Tristyn Trull has hit .360 and tied Katy Schaefer with a team high 11 RBI while Kelci Hill has hit .333 and scored a team-best 12 runs over that span.

 
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.
• On Monday, April 3, Tristan Bridges joined the list of WAC weekly winners. The senior southpaw earned her second career weekly honor after serving up a no-hitter against California Baptist in the series opener. She faced two batters over the minimum, allowing baserunners on a hit by pitch and an error. It was the first no-hitter of her career.
• Tarleton enters the week in a five-way tie for fifth place in the WAC standings at 6-6 in league play. The Texans are three games behind conference leader Utah Tech (9-3 WAC) with GCU (7-5), Stephen F. Austin (7-5), and CBU (5-4) in between.

 
SCHAEFER TOPS 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. Her walk-off home run against Grambling State on March 29 moved her into top five all-time at Tarleton. She is now in sole possession of fifth place all-time for RBI in program history (114).
 

RBI
#	Player	Seasons	Total
1.	Georgia Capell	2018-22	215
2.	Nyka Wood	2015-18	191
3.	Arianna Rodriguez	2010-13	149
4.	Alicia Petersma	1999-02	129
5.	Katy Schaefer	2020-23	114
6.	Katelyn Conlee	2013-16	108
7.	Monica Garza	2003-04	107
8.	Melody Mayse	2013-16	105
9.	Jennifer Maupin	1996-99	104
10.	Destiny Crumpley	2018-21	103

 
 
 
BRIDGES CLIMBING THE ALL-TIME STRIKEOUT LIST
Tristan Bridges has also moved into the Tarleton top-5 list for strikeouts. The senior enters the week with 384 career strikeouts and is now tied at No. 4 all-time with Caryn Holbrook. She is 16 strikeouts away from becoming the fourth pitcher in program history with 400 career punchouts.
 

Strikeouts
#	Player	Seasons	Total
1.	Jordan Withrow	2017-20	676
2.	Carla Geeslin	2001-04	521
3.	Randi Fentress	2011-14	445
4.	Tristan Bridges	2019-23	384
	Caryn Holbrook	1997-00	384
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	2019-23	551.0
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. She is one away from moving into top five all-time.
 

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	2020-23	321
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

• 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. She enters the weekend one run away from tying Staci Greear for No. 6 in program history (115).
• 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 507 games and have a record of 295-212 (.583)  together. Game No. 2 of the doubleheader against Grambling was 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 213-134 for a win percentage of .614, 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 eight wins away from 30 this season with 13 games left on the schedule in the regular season.
• POLISHING OFF THE NO-NO: Tristan Bridges accomplished a goal that has been five years in the making when she no-hit CBU on March 31 in a 2-0 victory. Bridges has flirted with a no-hitter three times in her career, going the complete game and allowing only one hit in those previous efforts. The senior southpaw finally accomplished the feat against the Lancers in seven innings. It was the 10th no-hitter in program history.
• 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 wins a game, the Texans have nine hitters in the lineup with a .300 batting average or higher in at least 40 at bats including three hitters eclipsing .400. When Tarleton loses a game, the Texans have no one hitting over .300 at all and only six hitters eclipsing a .200 average with at least 40 at bats.
• POUND THE ZONE: In the circle, the difference between wins and losses have shown in the walk column. In Tarleton's 22 wins this season, Tarleton has walked 51 batters (2.3 bb/g). In the 21 losses, the Texans have walked 110 (5.2 bb/g).
• PUSHIN' RUNS: Tarleton has scored three runs or more 24 games this season and are 20-4 when they push at least three runs across the plate, including 16-1 when they score over six runs.

 
UP NEXT FOR TARLETON
Tarleton will remain at home for the second straight weekend WAC series as the Texans host cross-state rival Sam Houston next Friday-Saturday. The Texans and Bearkats will square off for a Friday doubleheader before wrapping the series next Saturday. After this weekend, there are three weeks left in the regular season and Tarleton will be home for two of the final three.